Country Gardens (Schmid revised orchestration)

One of Percy Aldridge Grainger's most popular encores was improvisations on English Morris Dance tunes that he programmed as Country Gardens. An instant hit, Grainger finalized this setting in spring 1918, and after publication in 1919, the sales of the sheet music broke publishing records and brought in the sort of steady income that is the envy of composers everywhere.  While he used the funds to subsidize the careers of many fellow artists, Grainger became so identified with this rather lightweight piece that he came to despise it.  Publisher G. Schirmer, wishing to capitalize on the popularity of Country Gardens, assigned Adolf Schmid, one of their in-house writers, to create this excellent orchestral version published in 1925.  Schmid was an Austrian-American composer of some stature who, as a staff writer for the firm G. Schirmer, created orchestral versions of Grainger's Irish Tune from County Derry and Children's March, as well as music by numerous other composers.  Schmid's orchestration served as the source material for a band version of Country Gardens that appeared in 1931, attributed to Tom Clark.  The following note appeared on the concert band "Synoptic Score" (a most un-Grainger-like term): "String-Bass and Harp (or any other) parts from Adolf Schmid's Arrangement of this number for orchestra (Galaxy No. 269) may be used with this band arrangement," affirming the relationship between Schmid's orchestration and Clark's band version. This edition has been revised and edited by R. Mark Rogers. Instrumentation: 2(2nd dPicc).2.2.2: 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(4-5): Hp.Pno(opt.): Str(9.8.7.6.5 in set).