Percy Grainger called the saxophone ‘the world’s finest wind-tone tool, the most voice-like’, and wrote for it a series of fascinating but hitherto little-explored works....

Percy Grainger called the saxophone ‘the world’s finest wind-tone tool, the most voice-like’, and wrote for it a series of fascinating but hitherto little-explored works. These arrangements are special in that, unusually, Grainger largely abandoned his idea of ‘elastic scoring’ and noted specific instrumental configurations. The selections include the music of J.S. Bach, British and Norwegian folksongs, old polyphonic instrumental and vocal music, as well as two original compositions, each indelibly stamped with Grainger’s experiences as pianist, folk-song collector, and proponent of early music.