Handel in the Strand—Percy Grainger

Although performance and teaching of the piano were Percy Grainger’s primary sources of income, he preferred writing musical arrangements of folk music from the British Isles during a time when Holst and Vaughan Williams also made use of the musical heritage of England. Handel in the Strand is one of Percy Grainger&early light orchestral pieces, originally composed in 1911 for piano and two or more strings. His work has found itself the subject of many transcriptions for orchestra and band, the current one being the original concert band version arranged by Edwin Franko Goldman. Percy Grainger wrote of this piece “My title was originally Clog Dance. But my dear friend William Gair Rathbone (to whom the piece is dedicated) suggested the title Handel in the Strand, because the music seemed to reflect both Handel and the English musical comedy (the "Strand" – a street in London – is the home of London musical comedy) – as if jovial old Handel were careering down the Strand to the strains of Modern English popular music.” We now present to you “Handel In the Strand,” by Percy Grainger.