Sunday 7 February 2010
Tune of the Day: Country Gardens
Traditional English morris dance tune
“Country Gardens” is one of the many English folk tunes that was collected and notated by British folk tune revivalist, Cecil J. Sharp.
Australian-born composer Percy Grainger arranged the tune for piano in 1918 as a birthday gift for his mother, Rose. At the ending of a concert in 1918, he played this arrangement, and the audience was so pleased with it that Grainger decided to have it published. “Country Gardens” broke all selling records; in the U.S. more than 40.000 copies a year were sold. Grainger eventually hated the piece, because he was always associated with it.
American singer Jimmie Rodgers has recorded a well-known version of the tune.