Molly on the Shore

Percy Grainger was an avid collector of folk tunes, arranging and adapting many of them for publication. Molly on the Shore dates from 1907, and combines two Irish reels in a composition Grainger presented to his mother Rose as a birthday present. This original version was for string quartet (or string orchestra), and marked to be played “fast”, in the rousing spirit of Irish traditional music. The basic rhythm of the piece is established at the outset by a plucked violin and cello, the viola entering with the scampering reel melody. All four instruments take their turn at carrying the tune, whose irrepressible energy is interrupted only briefly by flirtations with the minor key, before the mischievously impish coda and a final punchy pizzicato. Typically, Grainger made other versions of Molly too, including a particularly colourful arrangement for military band, with parts for glockenspiel, drums and steel marimba.