Hill Song No. 2

Percy Apridge Grainger (1882 – 1961) wrote his first Hill song for solo piano starting in 1901. In
1907 he revisited the ideas from his first Hill song to compose Hill song no. 2 For two pianos, four hands
in 1907 and later scored it for 23 wind instruments in its most familiar setting for wind band. This
arrangement is made from the 1907 two piano setting.

Grainger writes:

"My hill-songs arose out of thoughts about, and longings for, the wildness, the freshness, the purity of
hill-countries, hill peoples, and hill-musics — the scottish highlands and their clansmen, the Himalayas and
their hill-men, the Scottish and Asiatic bagpipes, etc, these compositions were part of a back to nature urge,
and were written as a protest against the tameness of plain-countries and plaindwellers and the dullness,
samishness and thwartingness of life in towns. Musically speaking, my hill-songs sought to weave the bagpipe
tone-type (the skirling drasticness of the “chaunter,” the nasal fierceness of the drones) into many-voiced
polyphonic textures. Hilt-song ii is the outcome of a wish to present the fast, energetic elements of
Hitt-song 1 as a single-type whole, without contrasting elements of a slower, more dreamy nature.”

Instrumentation: 423.11 brass ensemble

• Trumpet 1 in E♭
• Trumpet 2 in B♭ (doubles on Piccolo)
• Trumpet 3 in B♭
• 2 Flugelhorns
• 2 Horns
• 2 Trombones
• Bass Trombone
• Euphonium
• Tuba

This arrangement is part of our Boulder Brass Signature Series.