‘Take Her Out and Air Her’: Irish Dances as Arranged by Stanford and Grainger

Abstract

Irish-born composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) has received both acclaim and criticism for his integration of Irish folk melodies in his compositions and for his role in publishing collections of Irish folk melodies. Throughout his career, the music of Ireland provided the inspiration for a number of compositions including orchestral works, songs, opera and chamber music. This article critically examines his Irish Dances op. 89, later published and referred to as Four Irish Dances, the source material for the work and versions created for piano by both Stanford and the Australian composer Percy Grainger (1882–1961). The article also addresses gaps in scholarship related to the performance and reception of the work(s). It also highlights inaccuracies in contemporary commentary, and returns the authorship of the works to Stanford. This examination parallels other studies and enhances an understanding not only of Stanford’s compositional practice but the social, cultural and economic contexts of music at the turn of the twentieth century and their reception amongst audiences and critics.

Introduction

Irish-born composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) has received both acclaim and criticism for his integration of Irish folk melodies in his compositions and for his role in publishing collections of Irish folk melodies. Throughout his career, the music of Ireland provided the inspiration for a number of compositions including orchestral works, songs, opera, and chamber music. This article critically examines his Irish Dances, op. 89 (later published and referred to as Four Irish Dances), the source material for the work from the Petrie Collection, and arrangements for piano by both Stanford and the Australian composer Percy Grainger (1882–1961). While Stanford and Grainger are both referred to as arrangers, in these dances their approach to arrangement differs considerably. While Stanford selected existing single-line melodies, composing harmonies and assembling them to create substantial pieces, Grainger interpreted Stanford’s works with minimal additional arrangement. This article examines different versions of the piece, critiques the reception of Grainger’s version, highlights inaccuracies in contemporary commentary, and returns the authorship of the works to Stanford.

Beginning with a critical consideration of Stanford’s work in relation to folk music and music for the piano, this article introduces Grainger as a young musician who became acquainted with Stanford in London. The relationship between the two composers provides context for the development of the different versions of the Irish Dances. The article addresses gaps in scholarship related to the performance and reception of the work(s), focusing on Stanford but recognizing Grainger’s role as a friend and fellow composer who published a version of Stanford’s Irish Dances. This enhances an understanding not only of Stanford’s compositional practice but the social, cultural, and economic contexts of music at the turn of the twentieth century and their reception amongst audiences and critics.

Stanford, Folk Music, and the Piano

Stanford was born into an Anglo-Irish family in Dublin and moved to England to study classics at Cambridge University, where he became Professor of Music in 1887. Upon his arrival in England in 1870, Stanford immersed himself in English musical life as performer, musical director, conductor, teacher, and composer. Through his work with performers and performing groups he became acquainted with eminent musicians and quickly rose in prominence as an important musical figure in England (Dibble 2002; Rodmell 2002).¹ During the 1880s, Stanford began publishing collections of Irish folk melodies, his first collection being Songs of Old Ireland (Stanford 1882).² These collections included arrangements of folk melodies for voice and piano. Stanford was not a folk-song collector and he had not travelled around Ireland collecting folk melodies from musicians, instead editing works or collections by Thomas Moore or George Petrie (Stanford 1895, 1905a) and collaborating with Alfred Perceval Graves in the compilation of some of the collections. His knowledge of these collections of Irish melodies provided a solid basis to integrate folk melodies into his compositions.

Stanford was one of four musicians appointed as vice-president of the Folk Song Society, which was founded in 1898.³ It is clear from Stanford’s writings and compositions that he had a strong interest in folk music, not only of Ireland but also England, Scotland, and Wales. He also made arrangements of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English folk songs for The National Song Book published initially by Boosey and Hawkes in 1906, in which he aimed to create modest arrangements that were accessible to teachers with limited skills (Stanford 1906b). His article ‘Some Thoughts Concerning Folk-Song and Nationality’ (Stanford 1915) demonstrates a musician who understood the nuances of folk music from a number of European countries. E.J. Moeran, who wrote Stanford’s obituary for the Journal of the Folk-Song Society, credited Stanford as being ‘the first composer in England to incorporate folk-songs and their style into symphonic music’ despite not being an active collector (Moeran 1924, 199).

Discussions on Stanford’s integration of Irish folk melodies into his compositions often focus on Stanford’s symphonic works and other parts of his output, with some commentators critical of his approach.⁴ His ‘Irish’ Symphony (1887) was the first of his works to overtly use Irish folk music. The work appealed to audiences, and despite criticism in some quarters, this symphony gained an international appeal with performances across Europe and the USA during his lifetime. George Bernard Shaw was deeply critical of Stanford’s ‘Irish’ Symphony, commenting in an 1893 review on Stanford’s dullness, and he was unimpressed by Stanford’s use of ‘so-called’ folk music (Shaw 1981, 876, 879). Although some writers have focused on specific works including the ‘Irish’ Symphony (Keebaugh 2004; White 2014), a critical examination of other parts of Stanford’s output that utilize Irish folk melodies has been overlooked. Stanford’s Irish Dances, op. 89 (1903),⁵ for example, has hitherto been neglected by scholars save for occasional references, but even in these cases the focus has been more on their existence than their source material or Stanford’s compositional approach (see for example, Dibble 2002, 354; Rodmell 2002, 239). Although Stanford created arrangements of the dances for orchestra and solo violin, this article will focus primarily on Stanford’s and Grainger’s versions for piano.

Stanford’s works for piano have not always been included in accounts of piano music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and where they are included, the accounts only refer to a small number of his works for solo piano (Porte 1921; Fuller Maitland 1934, 24; Gibb 1972; Parry 1988; Caldwell 1999, 325). Even then, the writers fail to demonstrate a critical examination of his piano music, focusing in some instances only on published works. The neglect of Stanford’s output for piano was not uncommon as there was a general opinion that piano music in England did not represent the strongest part of composers’ output at the time, and orchestral and large-scale choral music had a higher status.⁶ John Fuller Maitland was negative in his account of the piano works of both Hubert Parry and Stanford, stating that ‘the piano works of the two composers need not detain us long’ (Fuller Maitland 1934, 24). He did not include the full list of Stanford’s compositions for piano, also absent from various volumes of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians.⁷ John Parry’s chapter on piano music from 1870 to 1914 provides an overview of piano composition in the period (Parry 1988). Although he includes some positive commentary on a selection of Stanford’s piano output, he criticizes Stanford’s lack of ‘real imagination or originality’ (Parry 1988, 430). John Caldwell’s two-volume survey of English music lists only two piano works by Stanford, both with incorrect titles (Caldwell 1999, 304).⁸ Not all publications included Stanford in their accounts of piano music from the period, with James Gibb concluding that ‘the nineteenth century was a bleak one for British music’ (Gibb 1972, 301). More recent publications have included more comprehensive accounts of Stanford’s compositions for piano (Dibble 2002; Rodmell 2002; Commins 2012, vol. 2),⁹ but the earlier neglect of Stanford’s piano music has led to a paucity of critical examinations of his compositions for piano. The Irish Dances are worthy of discussion as examples of Stanford’s piano output, and as important examples of Stanford’s integration of folk melodies in his compositions.

In the period leading up to the composition of the Irish Dances, Stanford had completed a number of works which demonstrated the influence of Irish folk tunes, including Six Irish Fantasies for violin and piano, op. 54 (1893), his comic opera Shamus O’Brien, op. 61 (1895), Phaudrig Crohoore, op. 62 (1895) and his first two orchestral Irish Rhapsodies, op. 78 and op. 84 (1902 and 1903), the first of which uses the ‘Londonderry Air’ from the Petrie Collection. At the turn of the century Stanford was immersed in editing the Petrie Collection (1902–1905), based on the manuscripts of George Petrie (1790–1866), an Irish painter, musician, antiquary, and archaeologist who travelled throughout Ireland collecting Irish traditional music.¹⁰ Published as three volumes of dance melodies, Stanford’s efforts were both welcomed and critiqued, with critics citing duplication (‘The Complete Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music’ 1902, 93–95; ‘The Complete Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music’ 1903, 121),¹¹ and errors in key signatures (Fleischmann 1972, 213). Aloys Fleischman also commended the publication, stating ‘it is probably the richest single volume of folk music ever published, of an astonishing variety and range’ (Fleischmann 1972, 213). Stanford’s friend and biographer Harry Plunket Greene indicated that ‘it must be acknowledged that some of it [the criticism] is deserved’ (Greene 1935, 179).¹²

The Irish Dances are the first and most extensive example of Stanford using Irish folk melodies in his compositions for solo piano. While he completed a collection of piano works later in his career called Irish Airs Easily Arranged for Pianoforte Solo (c.1922), the market and purpose of these works were different from those of the Irish Dances, as the later publication included popular Irish melodies suitable for the domestic and amateur market. A small number of other piano works, composed towards the end of Stanford’s career, while not overtly including references to folk melodies, demonstrate fleeting influences of Irish folk music. Some examples include his use of harp-like swooping, arpeggiated figures in Prelude, op. 163, no. 7 and no. 19, and the warm-hearted lyricism of the central section of Prelude, op. 163, no. 16, which is reminiscent of an Irish lament and the contour of a number of Irish folk melodies. Some harmonic references suggestive of Stanford’s homeland evoke an Irish atmosphere, one example being the use of the flattened seventh on the strongest beat of the bar in Prelude, op. 163, no. 20. This prelude bears a resemblance to the character of an Irish dance.¹³ It is important to consider Stanford’s conscious evocation of an Irish musical sound in his work in the context of musical trends and popularity amongst audiences. There was increasing interest in folk music internationally, a growing middle class in the Irish diaspora, and great tension in Anglo-Irish relations leading towards the Irish War of Independence.

A Musical Camaraderie

Stanford was not alone in exploring Irish folk music. He developed a significant musical relationship with the young Australian pianist Percy Grainger following the latter’s arrival in London. Born near Melbourne, Grainger emigrated to Germany in 1895 to attend the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. He moved to London in 1901, where he was initially best known as a pianist, before he developed a strong interest in folk music and collecting, which is well documented (Bearman 2003; Freeman 2009). Early influences include Edvard Grieg’s Norwegian folk songs, and his first forays into publishing folk songs occurred in the late 1890s. In 1902 Grainger completed an arrangement of the Irish Tune from County Derry for unaccompanied chorus, and made other arrangements of the work between 1902 and 1920. In his ‘Anecdotes,’ written between 1949 and 1954, Grainger noted that he viewed his arrangements of Irish Tune from County Derry and Molly on the Shore ‘as an out-cropping of that in-love-with-Irishness that I had breathed in as a child in Melbourne from Irish friends such as the McGees, Curtains etc’ (Grainger 1949a). Grainger wrote that he ‘always had a warm feeling towards the Celt’ and indicated that he was learning the Irish language (Freeman’s Journal 1908, 26). He also suggested that when he had thoroughly mastered the language he would travel to Ireland to make himself ‘acquainted with the old Irish songs’ (Freeman’s Journal 1908, 26). Taking the initiative to learn the language with a view to visiting the country suggests a strong interest in deepening his knowledge of Irish folk music. Although Grainger had visited Denmark, Germany, and Norway to collect folk music and meet with musicians, it does not appear that he travelled to Ireland to collect folk music; his visits to Belfast were performance related.¹⁴ He left England for the USA at the outset of World War I.

Correspondence between Stanford and Grainger exists from 1904 until 1911, and Anne-Marie Forbes has provided an illuminating account of the relationship (Forbes 2000). Although the letters were often about musical matters and performances of works, Stanford frequently addressed his letters to Grainger in a very warm and amusing fashion using variants of the phrase ‘My dear Polar Bear.’ (see for example Stanford, 1905c)¹⁵ Drawings on some of the letters included the constellations of Ursa Major (the Great Bear) and Ursa Minor (the Little Bear) and a bear trap (Stanford 1905b, 1906a, 1907). Stanford even sent Grainger a cutting from an advertisement for ‘“The Bear” Manuscript Music Books’ and included his own inscription: ‘muffins and marmalade to order’ (Stanford n.d.b). This level of playfulness by Stanford gives an indication of his rapport with the young pianist.

Grainger indicated in his ‘Anecdotes’ that Stanford had asked him to look in on him any Sunday morning he could and, over time Grainger became devoted to Stanford and admired his genius (Grainger 1949b).¹⁶ During this period, Stanford composed and dedicated his Three Rhapsodies for Pianoforte Solo, op. 92 to Grainger (see Stanford, n.d.a, 1905d, 1905b), and chose Grainger to perform his Concert Variations upon an English Theme, op. 71 in 1904 under Stanford’s baton at a Queen’s Hall Sunday Concert (Dibble 2002, 303).

The relationship between Stanford and Grainger was not sustained. The two men did not share a similar approach to composition, with Grainger interested in more modern concepts including microtonality. Grainger also had different opinions to Stanford on the role of folk music in relation to art music; Grainger had written an article for the Folk Music Journal in 1908 which clashed with the views of some of the eminent musicians involved in the society since its inception (Grainger 1908). Graham Freeman has indicated that the publication of this article ‘marked a period of considerable ideological turbulence within the folksong community’ (Freeman 2011, 411). It is not clear from their correspondence how Stanford may have reacted to this article, but it is likely that Grainger’s opposing views may ultimately have contributed to a breakdown in their relationship.

Writing much later in his life, Grainger was quite critical of Stanford. Stanford had invited Grainger to perform Concert Variations Upon an English Theme at the 1915 Norfolk Music Festival in the USA, but Grainger declined. Grainger noted, ‘I could not see myself making my bow to America in such a patchwork quilt of good and bad as Stanford’s variations are.’ Grainger also believed that Stanford had thought that Grainger was a ‘turncoat’ for having left England for the USA (Grainger 1949b). The change in their relationship may have been related to Stanford’s vanity and criticism of Grainger’s work, as he perceived Grainger to be more successful but disagreed with his musical approach. This is implicit in Grainger’s statements: ‘[Stanford and America] gave me the cold shoulder the moment I made any sign of being a great man in my own right’ (Grainger 1949d),¹⁷ and ‘it was clear that he disliked my barging in and setting Irish tunes—a realm in which he fain would have been the only king’ (Grainger 1949c). Grainger also condemned aspects of Stanford’s character, ‘he was a simple-minded, mean-natured but quite lovaly [sic] natural Irishman,’ although he recognized that he ‘was always wonderfully kind getting me engagements and being really fond of me’ (Grainger 1949c).

Despite their apparent close relationship in the first decade of the twentieth century, Grainger later wrote a damning account of Stanford’s piano music in his ‘Anecdotes,’ describing the Irish Dances and Three Rhapsodies for Pianoforte Solo as dry and dull, and declaring: ‘Who else would have bothered with his dry “Four Irish Dances” & miserably dull Dante Rhapsodies?’ (Grainger 1949b, 1949c).¹⁸ Grainger’s ‘Anecdotes’ were written in the later years of his life and presented his thoughts on events and relationships with key individuals in his life, sometimes in a negative way.¹⁹ By this stage in his life he was also critical of his own work.

From Petrie to Stanford to Grainger: Versions of the Irish Dances

The Irish Dances comprise four different Irish dance tune rhythms: jig, march, hornpipe, and reel, based on seven melodies taken from the Petrie Collection. Writing on the English folk-song revival, Georgina Boyes notes that between 1904 and 1911 the focus changed from folk song to dance (Boyes 2010, 64).²⁰ Although he commenced the arrangement shortly before Boyes’ suggested dates, Stanford’s arrangement of dance tunes from the Petrie Collection suggests a moving away from folk songs parallel to contemporary attitudes in England, although he had included dances as part of larger works, such as the ‘Irish’ Symphony, no. 3 (1887) and Shamus O’Brien (1895). Stanford’s Irish Dances exist in a variety of arrangements for different instrumentation by both Stanford and Grainger. Stanford prepared three versions: he completed the solo piano and orchestral versions in 1903, and commenced an arrangement of three of the dances for violin and piano in 1917.

Few of Stanford’s compositions were arranged by other musicians,²¹ so the interpretation of the work by Grainger is notable. Grainger published his arrangement of the individual dances for solo piano in 1907, 1908, and 1910 with Houghton, and assigned the copyright to Stainer & Bell in 1912. He later released a ‘new edition,’ published by J. Fischer in 1916. Grainger included the dances in many recitals, thus raising awareness of Stanford’s music globally. Interestingly, James Friskin and Irwin Freundlich included the Irish Dances as the only example by Stanford in their publication on piano music. However, they noted that they were arranged most effectively by Grainger (Friskin and Freundlich 1973, 178).²² Friskin and Freundlich used the title Four Irish Dances despite Stanford’s manuscript titling the work as Irish Dances. It was the Grainger arrangement which initially included ‘Four’ in the title.

Table 1 presents all of the versions known to exist of Stanford’s Irish Dances.

Table 1. Versions of Irish Dances.

Date of completion	Title of work	Instrumentation	Publication details
November 1903	Irish Dances, op. 89	Solo piano	Unpublished manuscript. Additional manuscript 4136, Royal College of Music (London). 11 pp. Presented by H. Plunket Greene (Hudson, 1994, I11)
November 1903	Irish Dances for Small Orchestra, op. 89	Orchestra	Unpublished manuscript. Manuscript 4833, Royal College of Music (London). 66 pp. Presented by Stainer & Bell in 1978 (Hudson 1994, I11)
1907–1910 1907: no. 1, no. 3 1908: no. 4 1910: no. 2	Four Irish Dances, composed by C. Villiers Stanford and arranged for the piano by Percy Grainger	Solo piano	Houghton (London)
1912	Four Irish Dances, composed by C. Villiers Stanford and arranged for the piano by Percy Grainger	Solo Piano	Stainer and Bell (London), published using the original Houghton plates
1916	Four Irish Dances, composed by C. Villiers Stanford and arranged for the piano by Percy Grainger	Solo piano	J. Fischer (New York)
1917–1924 1917: no. 3 1920: no. 4 1924: no. 1	Four Irish Dances, op. 89, arranged by Stanford for violin and piano	Violin and piano	Stainer & Bell (London)

The piano arrangements by Stanford and Grainger provide two different approaches to setting the tunes for the same instrument, with Grainger using Stanford’s original score as the basis for his work. Both composers display examples of their inventiveness and compositional style with Grainger credited for demonstrating a more virtuosic idiom in his writing (Dibble 2002, 354). Stanford’s resourcefulness as a composer is evident in his arrangement, which should be noted both as an important work in his piano output and as a significant example of his compositions inspired by folk music.

There are some important points to be noted in relation to title, opus number, and date of completion. The original manuscript for both Stanford’s versions for piano and small orchestra is titled Irish Dances (Stanford 1903a, 1903b). After Grainger’s published arrangements in England and the USA added ‘Four,’ all subsequent published versions adopted this, including Stanford’s publication for solo violin, despite only including three of the dances. Newspaper accounts of some early performances of the works refer to the Four Irish Dances.²³ Frederick Hudson noted the confusion in relation to the opus number assigned to the dances (Hudson 1976, 107), which he believed started in the second edition of Grove’s Dictionary (1900), where Fuller Maitland incorrectly listed both op. 79 and op. 89 as Four Irish Dances for Orchestra.²⁴ Later references to these works by Fuller Maitland used either one or both of these opus numbers. John Porte’s catalogue listed the orchestral version as op. 89 but indicated the piano version as op. 79 (Porte 1921, 73, 76). It would not have been appropriate to include Stanford’s opus number in the Grainger–Stanford arrangement as this was Grainger’s arrangement of Stanford’s dances. The opus number was included in the publication of Stanford’s arrangement for piano and violin.²⁵

Although Stanford’s orchestral arrangement includes 5 November as the completion date for one of the dances, there is a lack of clarity as to which version of the overall set of dances was composed first—that for solo piano or the orchestral version. Unusually for Stanford, he only included the month on the manuscript for solo piano with no reference to a day in November (Stanford 1903a). Paul Rodmell suggests that the solo piano version may have been completed first, while Jeremy Dibble appears more certain in his account of the piece in his biography of Stanford, indicating that it was the arrangement for orchestra that came first (Dibble 2002, 354; Rodmell 2002, 239). Hudson suggested that during ‘the process of composition he changed his mind and orchestrated them at once’ (Hudson 1994, I13). Hudson further noted that ‘there can be no doubt that the version for orchestra must be regarded as the main medium, in spite of the popularity and much more frequent public performances of his later arrangements of three of the four dances for violin and piano’ (Hudson 1994, I13, I14).

In Grainger’s ‘Anecdotes’ he recalled the morning he heard Stanford ‘dishing up his “Four Irish Dances” for piano solo,’ and that he had heard the arrangement for orchestra shortly before this (Grainger 1949b). References to early performances of some of the dances and Grainger’s publication also confirm that Stanford completed the dances originally for orchestra.²⁶ The manuscript for Stanford’s orchestrated version is entitled Irish Dances for Small Orchestra and indicates completion dates of 22 November 1903, 15 November 1903, 21 November 1903, and 5 November 1903 for each dance, respectively (Stanford 1903b). This diligence is in contrast to Stanford’s choice of including only November 1903 at the end of the fourth dance in the solo piano version.²⁷ The orchestral version is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B flat, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, side drum and triangle, and strings. There are also ad libitum parts for third and fourth horns, three trombones, and piccolo. The decision to score the work for small orchestra is unusual considering Stanford’s experience with large-scale orchestral works, although he may have been considering performances in a different context and conceived the works as light music. The first documented public concert performance of the dances was the orchestral version, which was performed at Bournemouth on 12 January 1905 under Stanford’s direction, with a later performance by the London Symphony Orchestra also conducted by Stanford at Queen’s Hall (London) on 21 May 1905 (London Daily News 1905, 1).²⁸ The dances had also been performed at an official function at Buckingham Palace on 22 April 1904 by the King’s Band directed by Walter Parratt, but they were played as a background to proceedings as distinct from a concert with a seated audience (Hudson 1994, I11).²⁹

Some fourteen years later, Stanford started work on the violin arrangement for three of the dances for English violinist Sybil Eaton (1897–1989).³⁰ Eaton informed Hudson in a 1977 letter that Stanford’s friend Harry Plunket Greene had asked Stanford to arrange the dances for her, and she indicated that Stanford completed the arrangement of ‘The Leprechaun’s Dance’ on the day he received the letter (Hudson 1994, I14a). The reason Stanford did not arrange the second dance for violin with piano accompaniment is unknown, and the cover page of each of the three dances lists Four Irish Dances as the title. Eaton included ‘The Leprechaun’s Dance’ in concerts straight away in 1917 with a performance at Wigmore Hall on 1 November (Evening Mail 1917, 8).³¹

Grainger’s arrangements were originally published by Houghton in 1907, 1908, and 1910, followed by Stainer & Bell in 1912.³² Grainger indicated that he accepted no royalties for the Stainer & Bell edition.³³ He suggested that sales may not have been particularly high, implying that the works also failed to sell in the USA, and noted that Stanford did not answer him when he enquired as to sales of the works (Grainger 1949b).

Grainger moved to the USA in 1914, seeking to raise his profile there. He wrote to Stanford shortly after his arrival, indicating that the publishing house Fischer wanted to buy the US rights to his Irish Dances, offering £200 for both Stanford’s orchestral version and Grainger’s piano arrangement. Stanford agreed to the proposal (Grainger 1949b).³⁴ Despite the declining interest in Stanford’s music in England, with fewer performances of his large-scale works, many concerts in the USA featured a range of Stanford’s pieces with programmes leaning heavily on his Irish-infused compositions, especially Stanford’s arrangements of folk melodies from a variety of his collections, including the Petrie Collection and Moore’s Irish Melodies (Stanford 1895). A number of his Irish works were featured in articles in the US press and critics responded for the most part positively to his music.³⁵

At this time in the USA there was widespread interest in Irish music, particularly among members of the diaspora. Concerts of Irish music were popular and the Washington Herald reported on a concert of national music of Ireland hosted by the Friday Morning Club, which included a paper read along with illustrations of songs and a performance of Stanford’s ‘Jig’ from Six Irish Fantasies, op. 54, no. 3 (Washington Herald 1911, 6). The large number of concerts featuring Irish musicians and Irish repertoire is testament to the strong interest in Irish culture in the USA. Therefore, Fischer’s interest in buying the US rights to the Irish Dances is not surprising, and Grainger would have been aware of the potential for sales and performances of his arrangements, which helped boost his burgeoning career in the USA.

Although Grainger would later express some disdain for Stanford’s music, noting that the dances were dry (Grainger 1949c), his interest in making his own arrangements of Stanford’s Irish Dances had Stanford’s full approval (Hudson 1994, I13). According to Grainger:

I liked some of the music in them [Four Irish Dances] … I could not forbear saying that I thought such pieces should be pianised in a sparkling, show-off sort of way—even if they thereby became hard to play. So Stanford said: ‘Very well. You do them. You’re the man to do them.’ And I did. (Grainger 1949b)

Grainger was very familiar with the Irish Dances, having played them often for musical evenings at Stanford’s home (Grainger 1949c), and it was Grainger’s arrangement that brought the works to public attention. One account inaccurately suggested that Grainger wrote the ‘fascinating dances’ in collaboration with Stanford (Freeman’s Journal 1906, 25). A common misconception, found in many of the reviews of Grainger’s performances of his arrangement of the dances, was that Stanford had only completed an orchestral version, and that it was Grainger who created a piano version based on dances composed by Stanford (Daily News 1905, 12; Lyttelton Times 1909, 8).

Grainger may have accepted the challenge from Stanford out of respect for the older gentleman, and he may have had a genuine interest in seeing whether he could improve on the work, given his enthusiasm for Irish folk music and his admiration for Stanford’s folk song arrangements.³⁶ He also may have been seeking an opportunity to show off as he suggested in the earlier quotation (Grainger 1949b). Grainger had prior experience with the Petrie Collection. His setting of Irish Tune from County Derry was based on the original air from the Petrie Collection.³⁷ Wilfrid Mellers believed the arrangement to be Grainger ‘paying homage to Stanford,’ while Lewis Foreman cited their friendship as the stimulus (Mellers 1992, 127; Foreman 1981, 137). Grainger included his arrangements of the third and fourth dances in performances as early as 15 November 1905 in the Bechstein Hall, London (Daily News 1905, 12; Scotsman 1905a, 5),³⁸ despite his first arrangements not being published until 1907.³⁹ A review from the Perth Daily News in July 1907 suggested that the ‘Allegro’ was performed for the first time in July 1907 (Daily News 1907a, 6).⁴⁰

Publications of the Dances: Some Observations

A study of the various versions provides insight into the source material for the work. Stanford’s manuscript for solo piano does not include references to the actual dance forms, but the manuscript of no. 3 includes the subtitle ‘The Leprechaun’s Dance’ (Stanford 1903a). The manuscript for the orchestral arrangement includes the titles for all four of the dances: ‘A March-Jig,’ ‘A Slow Dance,’ ‘The Leprechaun’s Dance,’ and ‘A Reel’ (Stanford 1903b). It appears that Grainger had to check the title of the fourth dance with Stanford, as Stanford wrote to Grainger in 1905: ‘you can call No. 4 Reel—in brackets after the changes’ (Stanford 1905e). No information on the melody sources for each dance is provided in the Stanford manuscript, nor in the English publications by Houghton and Stainer & Bell. In contrast, reflecting Grainger’s meticulous gathering of details relating to songs he collected and other published arrangements, it is the 1916 Fischer publication that provides the most significant information on the sources of the dances. Subtitles for all four of the dances are included, with the additional subtitle of ‘Maguire’s Kick’ for the first dance.⁴¹ This revised edition was a reprint of the 1907 publication with some additional annotations and corrections made to the score. The source of the material was known before the original publication; reviews of early performances referred to the Petrie Collection (see for example Daily Telegraph 1905, 7).

The preface to the 1916 publication confirms that the folk tunes were taken from the Petrie Collection, edited by Stanford (1905a), and notes that these volumes ‘should be consulted by everyone interested in folk-music in general and in Irish melodies in particular’ (Stanford, arr. Grainger 1916, 1). This recommendation may also have been part of the marketing strategy in the USA. Such affirmation of these editions as an important source is interesting considering the negative reception to Stanford’s edition of the Petrie Collection by a number of critics in Ireland and England. The information on page numbers and tune numbers, in addition to tune titles from the Petrie Collection, is particularly useful, considering their omission from Stanford’s manuscripts. The prefaces in the Fischer publication make for an important and attractive addition to the Four Irish Dances, and are a more worthwhile contribution to Stanford scholarship than the original Houghton publication. However, the Houghton edition should not be faulted for the exclusion of such information as it was not the practice of English publishers to include such detailed prefaces in their publications at this time. The Fischer edition shares many similarities with layouts of Grainger’s other folk music arrangements. The Schirmer publication of Grainger’s Molly on the Shore (1911), which was based on two reels from Stanford’s edition of the Petrie Collection, includes notes about the source material and also makes a positive recommendation of the Petrie Collection by Stanford.⁴² Country Gardens, published by G. Schirmer in 1919, also includes a preface detailing the source material and bears a resemblance to the Fischer publication.

Sources

The melodies used in the first dance, ‘A March-Jig,’ are both marches in 6/8, which was not uncommon for some Irish marches. Indeed, Stanford had noted that ‘it is not always easy to differentiate between Irish jigs and marches’ (Stanford 1915, 239). An examination of the other melodies used in this dance highlights the resemblances between them. The openings of no. 409 and no. 1051 share a similar contour, which also mirrors the second part of no. 410. Such similarities between Irish folk melodies are not unusual and the inclusion of tunes with similar titles or melodies was the subject of the scathing criticism of Stanford’s Petrie Collection (‘The Complete Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music’ 1902, 93–95). Greene also acknowledged that ‘in spite of all our care there are a good many repetitions of the same tune … which escaped us’ (Greene 1935, 179).

Although the second dance has an ‘Allegro Moderato’ marking, Grainger also called it a slow dance in his arrangements and added ‘quasi Tempo di Bourée’ to the original tempo marking (Stanford, arr. Grainger 1916, 2).⁴³ The Fischer publication notes that ‘the composer, having regard for its rhythmical character, has aptly designated “quasi Tempo di Bourée”’ and that it is ‘reminiscent rather of the art music of the 17th century than of the Irish country-side’ (Stanford, arr. Grainger 1916, 2). Both the Stainer & Bell and Fischer editions included a brief explanation of leprechaun, clearly recognizing the marketing potential for these works.⁴⁴

The four varied dance tunes create an interesting set or suite. It is difficult to confirm Stanford’s intentions behind his choice of folk tunes for his Irish Dances, given the lack of detail or references to the sources on his manuscript or in his writings. The mix of tunes presented in Irish Dances suggest an aesthetic rather than a thematic or political choice. There does not appear to be a distinctive link between the tunes chosen for the arrangement and this was a similar approach followed in his other works using Irish folk melodies. Despite the first dance being an arrangement of a rebel song, this theme is not maintained through the collection. The tunes represent a mix of time and key signatures, rhythmic patterns, and character, making for an attractive and diverse collection of dances and form a balanced Irish suite of sorts (Table 2).

Table 2. Source material for Irish Dances.

Dance no.	Tune no. in Petrie Collection	Name of tune in Petrie Collection		First appearance of opening of tune in Stanford’s piano arrangement (bar no.)
1	410	Maguire’s Kick (The rebels’ march in 1798)		7
1	952	A County of Leitrim Jig		66
1	212	A Sligo Air		25
1	409	MacGuire’s Kick—A March		25
1	955	A Leitrim Jig		66
1	1051	Plough Whistle		25
2	716	Madame Cole (One of Carolan’s Finest Airs)		13
3	975	Jig		1
3	980	Hop-Jig		32
4	397	Take her out and air her—A Cork Reel (From P. Carew’s MSS)		1
4	394	The Cutting of the Hay (From P. MacDowell Esq.)		99
4	917	Reel (From Mr. P. Joyce)		13

Examining the Arrangements

A comparison between the two piano versions demonstrates that Grainger followed Stanford’s arrangement very closely. The most significant differences relate to texture and pianistic devices, a change in key for the first dance, and some minor structural changes. Considering the close likeness of the two arrangements, Fuller Maitland’s claim, in an early edition of Grove’s Dictionary, that Grainger completed ‘his set of Four Irish Dances on themes by Stanford’ is not plausible (Fuller Maitland 1940; Hudson 1976, 108). This suggestion was echoed in newspaper reviews (Register 1924, 10; Brand 1937, 2). This was wholly inaccurate given that Stanford himself had made substantial arrangements of the themes from the Petrie Collection. Fragments of Grainger’s sketches do not reveal significant details about Grainger’s approach to his arrangement (Grainger n.d.b). Both composers maintain the essence of the original folk melodies and follow the melodies closely. Stanford made some amendments to the original keys of a number of the melodies in the Petrie Collection. These key changes are maintained by Grainger, with the exception of the first dance, which Grainger presents in the more virtuosic key of F sharp major. In Stanford’s case, the overall key scheme is cyclic, adding credence to the idea that he had intentionally compiled the dances as a set. Grainger may not have intended to play the dances as a set, as is evident from the fact that he often included only one or two of the dances in a programme. A ternary type of form is suggested in dance no. 3 and no. 4. In dance no. 3 the first tune returns in G major after the presentation of the second tune in E minor, while in dance no. 4 the first reel returns in A minor after the second reel in F major.

Given the similarities between the two arrangements, it is important not to underestimate the level of composition and arrangement undertaken by Stanford. Grainger was in possession of a prescribed structure and plan for each dance, and his role as arranger was to build upon Stanford’s ideas with the intention of making a more virtuosic interpretation of the dances (Table 3).

Table 3. Comparison between the Stanford and Grainger arrangements of Irish Dances for solo piano.

	Dance no.
Characteristic	1		2		3		4
Subtitle used by Stanford in his orchestral arrangement	A March-Jig		A Slow Dance		The Leprechaun’s Dance		A Reel
Subtitle used by Stanford in his piano arrangement	None		None		The Leprechaun’s Dance		None
Subtitle used by Grainger (1912)	A March-Jig		A Slow Dance		The Leprechaun’s Dance		A Reel
Subtitle used by Grainger (1916)	A March-Jig (Maguire’s Kick)		A Slow Dance		The Leprechaun’s Dance		A Reel
Time signature of original dance tune	1. 6/8 2. 6/8		Common Time		1. 9/8 2. 9/8		1. Common Time 2. 2/4
Time signature	PG	CVS	PG	CVS	PG	CVS	PG	CVS
	6/8	6/8	Alla Breve	Alla Breve	9/8	9/8	2/4	2/4
Length (in bars)	PG	CVS	PG	CVS	PG	CVS	PG	CVS
	188	205	144 (with repeats)	152 (with repeats)	93 (1907 ed.) 94 (1916 ed.)	93	251	235
Key of original dance tune	1. B flat major 2. A minor		A minor		1. G major 2. G minor		1. A minor 2. F major
Key	PG	CVS	PG	CVS	PG	CVS	PG	CVS
	F sharp major, F sharp minor	F major, F minor	C minor	C minor	G major, E minor	G major, E minor	A minor, F major	A minor, F major

CVS, Charles Villiers Stanford; PG, Percy Grainger.

Stanford introduced the folk melodies clearly early in each dance, sometimes as fragments (see no. 2, bars 1–9; no. 3, bars 1–2; no. 4, bars 1–4), with the opening of the folk melody appearing early in the dance (no. 1, bar 7; no. 2, bar 13; no. 3, bar 3; no. 4, bar 5).⁴⁵ The opening bars of the first dance (bars 1–5) act like a call to attention with the motif rising over different registers before the appearance of the opening of ‘Maguire’s Kick’ (bar 7). The descending scale-like idea followed by punctuated repeated notes used as introductory material in the second dance is taken from the opening of the second part of the folk melody and features prominently throughout the dance. The opening bars of the third (bars 1–2) and fourth dances (bars 1–4) take a fragment of the beginning of the first folk melody on which each dance is based, and the fragment is repeated before continuing into the first phrase of the respective folk tune. Elements of the opening bars return later in the dances, functioning as transitionary links and ensuring a sense of cohesion throughout each dance. For example, the turn-like ideas from the opening of the first dance are then reused later in the dance (see for example bars 32–34, where the recurrence of the turn-like ideas act as a transition before the repeat of the second part of tune no. 410, preparing for an alternative harmonization). In contrast, the opening bars of the second dance rely on a scalic pattern, taken from the second part of the folk melody. The dance ends with the same scalic pattern with a punctuated dominant to tonic harmony to bring the dance to a close. The return of opening material in the closing bars of no. 2 and no. 3 creates a frame and a sense of closure. Dance no. 3 begins with a fragment of the opening of tune no. 975, based on falling tonic to dominant intervals, which is then resolved in the closing bars from dominant to tonic (see Example 1). The descending scale idea from the opening of no. 2 is resolved to the tonic in the final bar (see Example 2).

Example 1. Stanford, ‘Irish Dances,’ op. 89, no. 3, bars 1–4. Transcribed by the author from Additional Manuscript 4136, Royal College of Music (London). Reproduced with permission of the Royal College of Music, London.

Example 2. Stanford, ‘Irish Dances,’ op. 89, no. 3, bars 89–93. Transcribed by the author from Additional Manuscript 4136, Royal College of Music (London). Reproduced with permission of the Royal College of Music, London.

Such resolution of ideas was a common compositional tool used by Stanford. In terms of his approach to arranging each folk melody, Stanford employed a range of compositional techniques including harmonic variation, registral displacement, extension, and fragmentation. He also explored a variety of means to fill out the texture and utilize the full range of the piano. At times the melody, either in its entire or fragmented form, is presented in different registers on the piano, while an array of pianistic devices including octave doublings, doubling in sixths and thirds, chordal formations, and scale and arpeggiac writing add variety to the original tune and the accompaniment line.

In addition to using motifs from the folk melodies for motivic development, Stanford utilizes the fragments at important structural points, serving as introductory material, signalling new sections, and forming closing sections. For example, a simple motif from tune no. 397 draws the middle section of the fourth dance to a close, leading to a return of music based on tune no. 394 (see Example 3).

A favoured technique by Stanford throughout his compositional writing was the presentation of a motif or figure heard across three octaves (see bar 17 of the third dance in which he used the technique for transition purposes between various sections).⁴⁶ In addition to utilizing the original tunes, Stanford also added in some new material, often between sections, for transitionary purposes. Stanford quoted original ornamentation as included in the Petrie Collection (see for example the second dance), and also introduced a variety of turn-like ideas, reminiscent of ornamentation heard in Irish music, to ensure a strong Irish flavour (Stanford 1915, 238).

Example 3. Stanford, ‘Irish Dances,’ op. 89, no. 4, bars 136–51. Transcribed by the author from Additional Manuscript 4136, Royal College of Music (London). Reproduced with permission of the Royal College of Music, London.

Grainger’s Treatment of the Tunes

Although it is titled as an arrangement of Stanford’s dances by Grainger, Grainger does not make substantial changes to his treatment of the folk tunes. In the original arrangement, Stanford had worked out the structure for the suite of four dances, considering carefully which tunes to use to ensure that each dance would work both individually and as part of an overall suite of dances. He planned the key scheme of each dance and of the four dances collectively and worked out a harmonic structure for each dance. Throughout the collection of dances, the melodies are clearly recognizable and he made clever use of motifs and fragments from the folk tunes for development and presentation. Grainger’s approach to the arrangement of the folk tunes, however, is different. Grainger did not base his arrangement on the original folk tunes, but on Stanford’s arrangement of the folk melodies. Grainger took Stanford’s plan for each dance and retained the overall architecture of Stanford’s arrangements. Both Stanford and Grainger maintained the integrity of each dance through the appropriate choice of time signature and it is only in the final dance that the original quavers are written as semiquavers, although this does not make any significant change to the feeling and character of the dance.

In terms of length there is no clear pattern to the alterations made by Grainger: the first and second dance are shortened by seventeen and eight bars, respectively, while the fourth dance is sixteen bars longer.⁴⁷ The 1916 publication of the dances included an extra bar in the closing section of the third dance, drawing out the drama of the pause before a favoured cadential progression of Stanford: #IV7–V7–I.⁴⁸ Grainger used a variety of means for altering the lengths of Stanford’s arrangement. For example, in the first dance, Grainger omitted bars in the middle of the work and in the closing section. Grainger omitted one bar (bar 134) in the middle of the fourth dance, which kept the momentum in the music. He increased the length of the work by extending and developing melodic ideas based primarily on the first part of tune no. 397. The additions allowed him an opportunity to present more virtuosic ideas and put a more personal stamp on the music. In the closing section Grainger also omitted four bars from the closing section (bars 224–48), which resulted in a more abrupt and dramatic change to block chords indicating the closing cadential progression. Hudson detailed some of the differences between Grainger’s 1907 publication and Stanford’s piano arrangement, commenting in particular on the differences in length and noting the bars which were omitted. He indicated that the third dance was equal in length but Hudson’s 1976 catalogue did not include reference to the 1916 Fischer publication which was one bar longer (Hudson 1976, 108). Grainger’s alterations to the lengths of individual dances removed redundant bars and his arrangement kept the momentum in the dances.

Grainger made very few significant changes to the structure, form, or harmonic structure initially employed by Stanford. Most of his changes involved an augmentation of texture (see for example no. 2, bars 5 and 88), doubling notes at the octave (no. 2, bars 75, 77, and 79), or adding in the sixth or third of a chord if not already present. Grainger thinned the texture by removing notes, in some instances leaving an octave configuration instead of a chord or reducing the music to a single line (see for example no. 2, bar 10). Some chords were reconfigured and involved a different spread of the notes between the hands for ease of playing, which also adds depth to the chords and increases the complexity of the work for the performer (no. 3, bars 32–35). Some parts of the melodic lines are presented in different registers of the piano, altering the sound slightly (no. 2, bars 79 and 88; no. 3, bars 20–21). On a small number of occasions, Grainger altered the voicing by swapping the position of the melodic lines (no. 1, bar 99). Other changes involved converting long held notes into a busier melodic line. While Grainger augmented the texture in places, by adding in octave and sixth doublings to a number of Stanford’s passages to present a more virtuosic interpretation (no. 1, bar 7; no. 2, bars 75, 77, 79, 81, and 93–97; no. 4, bars 1–4), on occasion Stanford’s texture was more filled out than Grainger’s. Grainger often omitted notes from Stanford’s chords, which may reflect a more folk aesthetic (no. 1, bar 4). Many of Grainger’s adaptations resulted in a more virtuosic interpretation, as opposed to substantially altering the original arrangement of the folk melodies by Stanford.

Grainger’s desire for a precise interpretation of the dance by the performer is evident through his choice of additional tempo markings throughout the dances and his attention to articulation markings. Grainger made a number of changes to the articulation markings either by removing staccato notes or adding in additional staccato markings and accents. He also altered the dynamic markings and expanded the dynamic range. Arpeggios were added to some left-hand chords to support the performer’s performance of the line (no. 2, bar 46). Considering Grainger’s overall interpretation of Stanford’s piano arrangement, he still maintained the underlying essence of Stanford’s presentation. While filling out chords adds richness and places greater demands on the performer, it is the small changes which Grainger made to some cadential points that added more interest to the dances (see Example 4, Example 5, and Example 6).

Example 4. Stanford, ‘Irish Dances,’ op. 89, no. 1, bars 186–90. Transcribed by the author from Additional Manuscript 4136, Royal College of Music (London). Reproduced with permission of the Royal College of Music, London.

Example 5. Stanford, arr. Grainger, Four Irish Dances, no. 1 (London: Houghton, 1907), bars 184–88. Reproduced by kind permission of Bardic Edition Music Publishers.

Example 6. Stanford, arr. Grainger, Four Irish Dances, no. 1 (New York: J. Fischer, 1916), bars 184–88. Reproduced by kind permission of Bardic Edition Music Publishers.

Grainger’s revised edition of 1916 included a greater level of alterations to articulation and dynamics compared to his original arrangement. The revised publication is heavily annotated with many clear instructions to the performer. These directions may relate to his views on collecting folk music, such as when he noted all performance details of a singer from whom he had collected folk material. Transcriptions of folk melodies collected by Grainger are full of exact performance directions and markings, and many were highly annotated. The Fischer publication includes suggested metronome markings and clear performance indications with very precise pedalling suggestions. There is a greater dependence in the Fischer publication on written out articulation markings, with a large number of added accents and staccato notes. Despite Grainger having changed some of the dynamic markings in his first arrangement from the Stanford, he indicated further dynamic changes and additional articulation markings in the Fischer edition, in which he also placed a greater emphasis on widening the band of dynamic markings, with many sff and fff, adding to the dramatic performance of the dances. Some note values are shortened, often at the ends of phrases, and this aids clarity in the line (see Example 7, Example 8, and Example 9).

Example 7. Stanford, ‘Irish Dances,’ op. 89, no. 2, bars 17–22. Transcribed by the author from Additional Manuscript 4136, Royal College of Music (London). Reproduced with permission of the Royal College of Music, London.

Example 8. Stanford, arr. Grainger, Four Irish Dances, no. 2 (London: Houghton, 1907), bars 17–22. Reproduced by kind permission of Bardic Edition Music Publishers.

Example 9. Stanford, arr. Grainger, Four Irish Dances, no. 2 (New York: J. Fischer, 1916), bars 17–22. Reproduced by kind permission of Bardic Edition Music Publishers.

Although Grainger augmented the texture of chordal progressions, a small number of notes are omitted from the Fischer publication. One revision of a note is evident in the second dance with a change from A to A flat (bar 27). Some of the performance directions are very explicit in the Fischer publication and include ‘The top notes very prominent’ (bars 6 and 7, 16 and 17 in no. 1 and bar 13 in no. 2). He also provides indications of notes which can be omitted (see for example no. 1, bar 40). Grainger presented very exact detail in relation to pedalling. In some instances, the pedal marking is indicated below the notes, while on other occasions the instruction to hold the sustaining pedal is written over the notes with boxes around the exact notes which he requires to be pedalled. Revised fingering is also included in the 1916 edition. The greater level of exactness in this version would be valuable to a performer trying to interpret a composer or arranger’s intentions. In this respect, Grainger is acting like Stanford’s editor and demonstrates the influence of ethnographic fieldwork experience not possessed by Stanford.

Grainger received praise for his arrangements of Stanford’s dances: ‘his set of four “Irish Dances” on themes by Stanford … are all marked by strong individuality and brilliant treatment’ (Register 1924, 10; Brand 1937, 2). He was noted as ‘a world authority on the subject of ancient folk-lore’ and his Four Irish Dances were ‘special favourites’ (Argus 1953, 21; Townsville Daily Bulletin 1953, 8). A review of a performance of the Four Irish Dances noted that he had ‘added an altogether bewitching arrangement of his own to Stanford’s “Irish Dances”’ (Adelaide 1908, 9). Despite Grainger’s version including more virtuosic writing, a thorough examination of the arrangement does not fully substantiate these claims. Dorothy de Val believed that Grainger ‘demonstrated inventiveness in his arrangements of traditional tunes, experimenting with texture, dissonance, and other aspects of the modern style while still a pupil of Karl Klimsch in Frankfurt, in 1899’ (de Val 2014, 7).⁴⁹ Commenting on the ‘tinges of modernism’ in many of his settings of English and Scottish songs, de Val noted that Grainger was a ‘natural innovationist’ in his approach to folk song settings (de Val 2016, 79). In comparison to his contemporaries involved in arranging folk music, Grainger was described as ‘progressive and experimental’ (Freeman 2012, 42). Despite these comments, modernist tendencies are not as easily recognizable in Grainger’s arrangements of the Four Irish Dances, which remain very close to Stanford’s arrangement of the original melodies, particularly in terms of harmonic structure. It appears that reviewers may have considered Grainger’s publications to be arrangements of folk melodies, and been unaware of the similarities to an earlier version by Stanford. Although Stanford’s arrangements may not be as intricate as Grainger’s, they are demanding for a performer and are more than simple dance themes.

Performances and Reception of the Irish Dances

Performances of the Four Irish Dances were frequent in the first half of the twentieth century but nearly always given by Grainger himself during his tours of England, the USA, and Australia.⁵⁰ ‘A March-Jig’ proved most popular and featured regularly in the Ada Crossley English Tour of 1907–1908 (Grainger 1949b). Natalie Bellio judged the Four Irish Dances to be one of Grainger’s ‘signature pieces’ (Bellio 2013, 15, 59, 71).⁵¹ Notable performances took place at the Aeolian Hall, Bechstein Hall, and Wigmore Hall with mixed reviews, and the dances were often performed as an encore (Scotsman 1905b, 7; Daily Telegraph 1905, 7; Daily News 1907b, 5; H.A.S. 1905, 19).⁵² Reviews in the USA spoke positively about the works and examples of performances include Chicago (1915), New York (1919), Maine (1919), and overseas in Cuba (1920) (Bellio 2013, 23, 27, 31, 37). Concerts in the USA often referred to the source material for the dances, which may have been part of the advertising strategy.⁵³

In addition to performing his arrangements of Stanford’s Irish Dances in piano recitals in the USA, Grainger included some of the pieces on a list of works he believed to be important to be studied by his piano students during his brief period as guest teacher, lecturer, and conductor at the Chicago Musical College.⁵⁴ Grainger’s arrangement of Stanford’s Irish Dances was the most successful of the versions of the Irish Dances. Reviews noted that they are ‘full of Grainger’s characteristically extrovert piano writing, to the hyper-romantic lushness and incredible pianistic sophistication’ (‘Grainger: Rambles & Reflections’). Despite Grainger’s later disdain for Stanford’s Irish Dances, he benefitted from an association with the works and many critics included reference to the dances in articles about him. They were also often included in lists of works composed by him in advertisements for upcoming concerts as a means of attracting audiences, or in articles discussing his recent endeavours (Stanford Daily Archives 1939, 1). Grainger also made a recording of the dances in 1908 as part of his first recording session for the Gramophone Company.⁵⁵

Conclusion

Although Stanford completed three different versions of the Irish Dances, they were not performed widely during his lifetime or posthumously. While the orchestral version was performed shortly after its completion, there are few records of performances of the work thereafter.⁵⁶ Stanford’s piano arrangement remains in manuscript and there does not appear to be any record of a public performance of the work, although Grainger recalled that he performed the works at concerts in the Stanford home (Grainger 1949c). Absent from scholarship and performance, it is important to consider Stanford’s Irish Dances to get a fuller understanding of Stanford’s use of folk music and his compositional approach in this most substantial use of folk music in his piano compositions. Although Stanford used folk music extensively in his compositional practice, was one of the initial vice-presidents of the Folk Song Society, and was involved in other projects, scholars have engaged selectively with this aspect of his work. Despite the numerous articles written in relation to Stanford’s treatment of Irish folk music in his compositions, writers fail to refer to these dances in the discourse of his treatment of Irish folk tunes. Considering the importance placed on the Petrie Collection in musicological and ethnomusicological studies, these arrangements of tunes from the collection should be re-examined and considered for re-entry to performance repertoire.

The dances followed the trends of the time and included a shift in focus from folk song to folk dance material. In Grainger, Stanford had a contemporary with shared interests and the talents of a performer to attract an audience. Significantly, the works, despite being arranged by both men, did not continue to be performed. The lack of attention has meant that confusion around the pieces has proliferated, and this article provides some evidence relating to the historiography and development of the arrangements and their authorship. While this article asserts the primacy of the works, it recognizes the important role of Grainger in their performance and popularity. Although it was Grainger’s arrangement that brought Stanford’s Irish Dances to public attention, the dances did not continue to be performed by other pianists, possibly owing to the virtuosic nature of Grainger’s arrangement.

The works demonstrate the variety of compositional techniques utilized by Stanford and highlight his ability to write strong arrangements of simple folk melodies for the piano. Through the choice of keys and varied time signatures, Stanford maintained excitement and interest in the set of dances. In both Grainger and Stanford’s hands, folk melodies were a medium for innovation and creativity. The dances are an important part of the Stanford–Grainger relationship. Considering that both men were eminent musicians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with strong interests in folk music, their link to the Petrie Collection should be valued. The existence of these works may also suggest that Stanford’s contribution to piano music of the British Musical Renaissance is more complex. His Irish Dances offer an entry point to developing new perspectives on his works.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Alice Little and Julia Bishop for their comments on an earlier draft of this article and to the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful responses and worthwhile suggestions. The author is very grateful to Elizabeth Kertesz for her time and expertise in copyediting the article; to Sarah Batchelor and Michael Mullen in the Library at the Royal College of Music, London, for their assistance with acquiring copies of manuscripts; to Heather Gaunt, Jennifer Hill, Astrid Britt Krautschneider, and Sarah Kirby at the Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne for their assistance with some of the author’s queries and for facilitating requests to receive copies of material in the collection; to Barry Ould at Bardic Edition Music Publishers for his assistance with copyright queries; to the staff at Stainer & Bell for their assistance with queries in relation to their holdings of Stanford works; and to Elaine Archbold in the Special Collections and Archives at Newcastle University Library, for her assistance with queries in relation to the Stanford (Charles Villiers) Archive.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adèle Commins

Adèle Commins is Head of Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music at Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland. Her main research focuses on musicological studies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with a specific focus on the music of Charles Villiers Stanford. She is also a composer and performer who has toured internationally and has released an album of compositions entitled A Louth Lilt (2017) with Daithí Kearney.

Notes

1 For many musicians and critics Stanford was an integral part of the fabric of musical life in England, and some ‘adopted’ him as an Englishman, referring to him as an English composer, musician, or Englishman. His Irishness and Irish nationality were forgotten by many. Confusion about Stanford’s nationality has been subject to examination previously. See for example Ryan (1995), Murphy (1998), Klein (2001, 145), White (1998, 106–109), and Shaw (1981).

2 Stanford’s collections of folk music include Stanford (1882, 1893, 1895, 1901, 1905a).

3 The other vice-presidents were John Stainer (1840–1901), Alexander Campbell MacKenzie (1847–1935), and Hubert Parry (1848–1918).

4 See for example Ryan (1995); Murphy (1998); Klein (1996); White (1998); Shaw (1981, 876–83).

5 For further details on the dates of composition for each of the versions of Irish Dances, see Table 1.

6 One critic noted that many of the composers, ‘from the greatest to the least, are not at their best in writing for the pianoforte’ (The Times 1901, 15).

7 S.G. incorrectly lists 1875 as the date of composition for the Three Rhapsodies for Pianoforte Solo (sometimes referred to as Three Dante Rhapsodies) and only lists the first set of Twenty-Four Preludes, op. 163 (S.G. 1975). Other incomplete listings include Hudson (1980, 70–74), B.D.B. (1954), and Fuller Maitland (1940).

8 Although Caldwell gives the opus numbers and dates of compositions, neither are given their correct title. Five Caprices are noted as the Capriccios while the Three Rhapsodies for Pianoforte Solo are listed as the Rhapsodies.

9 There are, however, some omissions from Dibble’s catalogue.

10 Petrie’s daughter gave her father’s manuscripts to Stanford, who edited the Petrie Collection for publication in three parts between 1902 and 1905, sponsored by the Irish Literary Society of London (Stanford 1905a). Involved in the antiquarian movement, Petrie was also prominent in the 1851 establishment in Dublin of the Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland. The first volume of his collection was originally published in 1855, although some earlier sections of it were published in smaller publications from 1853. For further information on Petrie, see O’Sullivan (1946) and Cooper (2002).

11 I am grateful to Seóirse Bodley for alerting me to the articles in Irish Music Monthly.

12 Harry Plunket Greene (1865–1936) was an Irish baritone who regularly performed Stanford’s music, some of which Stanford dedicated to him. He was a close friend of Stanford and wrote the first biography of Stanford in 1935. He was married to Hubert Parry’s daughter Gwendolen Maud.

13 See Commins (2012, vol. 2) for further information on the qualities of the writing in Twenty-Four Preludes in All the Keys for Pianoforte, op. 163 which are suggestive of an Irish influence.

14 Grainger performed in Belfast with the Belfast Philharmonic Society at the Ulster Hall on 1 February 1907, at Mr Phillips’s Subscription Concert at the Ulster Hall on 16 February 1912, and with the Belfast Philharmonic Society at the Ulster Hall on 7 February 1913. Incidentally, he performed his arrangement of ‘A March-Jig’ at the concert in 1912 and the ‘Reel’ at the concert in 1913. For reviews of his performances in Belfast, see Belfast Newsletter (1907a, 11) and Northern Whig (1912, 9; 1913, 10).

15 Forbes has suggested that the reference to a polar bear may have been on account of Grainger’s appearance (Forbes 2000, 6). The complete Stanford–Grainger correspondence held in the Grainger Museum Collection, University of Melbourne, is reproduced in Forbes (2000, 10–16).

16 See also Percy Grainger interview in the British Australasian, 3 January 1906 in Forbes (2000, 6), and also Grainger (1994, 66). During his time in London, Grainger lived at a number of addresses but at one time he lived very close to Stanford’s house on Holland Street, residing at 4 Hornton Street in 1902 and Abingdon Road in 1902–1903. For further information on Grainger’s addresses during his time in London, see Dreyfus (2002).

17 Forbes also considers the deterioration of the Grainger–Stanford relationship (Forbes 2000, 8–11).

18 In another anecdote, Grainger gives further insight into his opinion of Stanford (Grainger 1949d).

19 Grainger wrote his ‘Anecdotes’ between 8 October 1949 and 6 November 1954, and they are now housed in the Grainger Museum Collection, University of Melbourne.

20 See also Roud (2017, 135–36, 165).

21 Charles Wood arranged the four-hand piano version of Stanford’s ‘Irish’ Symphony no. 3 and Symphony no. 4 (1888 and 1890, both published in London and New York by Novello, Ewer).

22 Friskin had been a pupil of Stanford at the Royal College of Music.

23 See, for example, Daily Telegraph (1905, 7).

24 Fuller Maitland only referred to the version for orchestra in the fourth edition (1940). Confusion surrounding the opus number(s) continued in later editions of Grove’s Dictionary.

25 Despite Hudson addressing the confusion with the opus number, it was unfortunate that a recording of Grainger’s Four Irish Dances released by Hyperion records in 2002 included op. 79 as the opus number for the dances, while also including incorrect details for the date of composition by Stanford (Ould 2002).

26 See Stanford, arr. Grainger (1916, 1). See also programme for concert presented by the Westfield Symphony Orchestra on 20 February 1931, which also notes the sources of the original tunes (Simon 2003, 77).

27 This could lend credence to the idea that the orchestral version came first, as it suggests Stanford may not have conceived this arrangement as the primary version.

28 The dances were also performed by the Municipal Orchestra in 1906 (Bournemouth Graphic 1906, 78).

29 For a full account of the evening, see London Evening Standard (1904, 4). Interestingly, ‘Four’ is included in the title of the work, which was performed again at Buckingham Palace on 13 July 1906 (Morning Post 1906, 5).

30 Sybil Eaton performed regularly in England and premiered a number of works including Gerald Finzi’s Violin Concerto.

31 Two of the dances, no. 1 and no. 3, were also performed by Eaton in 1923 (Northampton Courier and Echo 1923, 8).

32 The title page of each dance in the published piano arrangement edition includes the text: ‘The Orchestra Score and Parts may be obtained on application to the Publishers,’ but Stainer & Bell do not currently hold a published copy of the orchestral version in their archive.

33 The chronology in Grainger’s ‘Anecdotes’ may be incorrect. Grainger indicated that he had slips printed advertising the Stainer & Bell publication during his 1907–1908 English tour with Ada Crossley (Grainger 1949b). However, the dances were not published with Stainer & Bell until 1912.

34 Grainger arrived in the USA on 1 June 1914. It is not clear exactly when this correspondence took place but most likely in late 1914. See Grainger (1949b) for an approximate timeline on this correspondence. It is not clear from Grainger’s ‘Anecdotes’ how the £200 might have been split between Grainger and Stanford.

35 For more information on the reception of Stanford’s music in the USA, see Commins (2019).

36 Two versions of this note exist in the archive. (Grainger, n.d.a, n.d.b).

37 Originally arranged for string quartet in 1907, Grainger made an arrangement for orchestra in 1914 and later completed an arrangement for piano and band, perhaps owing to the popularity of the work.

38 The Bechstein Hall at 36 Wigmore Street, London was later renamed Wigmore Hall.

39 The programme for the concert indicates that it was the first performance of these two works. See Hudson (1994, I14).

40 ‘Allegro’ most likely refers to the first dance, ‘A March-Jig.’

41 Maguire’s Kick is not named in the Houghton or Stainer & Bell editions.

42 ‘Temple Hill’ (no. 901) and ‘Molly on the Shore’ (no. 902) were on the same page in Stanford’s edition of the Petrie Collection. Stanford and Grainger corresponded on the copyright of the folk tunes for use in Molly on the Shore, with Stanford appearing to correct Grainger’s spelling of Petrie: ‘It is NB Petrie (not Petri like Egon)’ (Stanford 1911).

43 The second dance was based on ‘Madame Cole,’ a tune composed by Turlough O’Carolan (1670–1738) to celebrate the wedding of Jean Cole in Fermanagh in 1719. The tune appeared in collections by Bunting in 1796 (Trimble 1979, 37).

44 ‘In some parts of Ireland the rural population still believes in the existence of Leprechauns, tiny man fairies who wear tall hats and knee-breeches. The man that can catch them becomes fabulously rich, it is asserted. But they are hard to catch. In fact, few Irishmen ever succeed in catching a Leprechaun—“except in America”, as Mr H.T. Parker wittily remarked in the “Boston Evening Transcript”. Quite recently a Leprechaun was reported seen in Ireland, and a man was even said to have put his hat over him. But on the removal of the hat the fairy was found to have vanished. Stanford’s composition reflects the elusive quality of the Leprechaun’ (Stanford, arr. Grainger 1916, 2). The Stainer & Bell 1912 publication included the following note: ‘A Leprechaun is a tiny man-fairy who wears a tall hat and knee-breeches’ (Stanford, arr. Grainger 1912, no. 3, 1). The 1917 Stainer & Bell violin and piano arrangement does not include this description (Stanford 1917–1924).

45 The bar numbers in this discussion refer to the 1903 Stanford manuscript for solo piano (Stanford 1903a).

46 Other examples of this can be found throughout Stanford’s Twenty-Four Preludes in All the Keys for Pianoforte. See for example, Prelude, op. 163, no. 3, bars 48–51 and Prelude, op. 179, no. 25, bars 29–30.

47 The bar numbers in this discussion refer to the 1907 Houghton edition of Grainger’s arrangement of Stanford’s Four Irish Dances (Stanford, arr. Grainger, 1907–1910).

48 Much of Stanford’s later piano music includes numerous occurrences of this cadential progression, including his Twenty-Four Preludes in All the Keys for Pianoforte, op. 163 and op. 179, with more than thirty of the forty-eight Preludes featuring the sharpened fourth in a functional and strategic role. For further insight into Stanford’s preference for this cadential progression, see Commins (2012, vol. 2).

49 For further insights into Grainger as a modernist, see Robinson and Dreyfus (2016).

50 Rare performances of the dances by other pianists include a performance by George F. Boyle in Belfast in October 1907 and a performance by Edgar Carr at the Grotrian Hall, London in 1932 (Belfast Newsletter 1907b, 8; Hendon and Finchley Times 1932, 12). The performance by Boyle is significant given that the works were only recently published. A concert held by the Cheltenham Philharmonic Society on 28 October 1914 included the ‘Reel’ (Looker-On 1914, 6). I am grateful to Francis Smith of the Cheltenham Philharmonic Orchestra for furnishing me with a copy of the programme from this event. Some radio performances of the works were undertaken in the 1920s and 1930s, including performances by Gordon Bryan and Cathleen Wright (Dundee Courier 1925, 3; Gloucester Citizen 1925, 5; Derry Journal 1936, 3).

51 Further details on the popularity of individual pieces in different countries are available in Bellio (2013, 71). Her reference to ‘Allegro Vivace’ as a separate entry could be mistaken for the ‘Reel’ from the Four Irish Dances.

52 The Daily News (Perth) described ‘The Leprechaun's Dance’ as dainty, delicate, and bewitching (1907b, 5). See also Morning Post (1905, 9), Queen (1905, 908), and Referee (1905, 5).

53 See for example Sacramento Union (1916, 18) and Richmond Times Despatch (1917, 4).

54 In the repertoire list for Extreme Pianissimo Playing he includes ‘The Leprechaun’s Dance’ from Four Irish Folk Dances, and for Brilliance and Attack he includes ‘Irish Reel’ from Four Irish Folk Dances (Bellio 2013, 34).

55 The recording was made on 6 May 1908. John Bird believed that he included the work on one of his first recordings on 16 May 1908 (Bird 1976, 126).

56 The work was performed in Dublin in 1909 as part of the Feis Ceoil festival on 18 May (Dublin Daily Express 1909, 2).