Danny Boy: Songs and Dancing Ballads by Percy Grainger

Grainger was one of music's true originals. Folk-song collector, bandmaster, composer of quirkily original orchestral and choral music, his works have yet to be fully appreciated--or even cataloged. The problem was that he liked to keep his performance options open, and generally produced several versions of the same piece, some of which were complete rewrites (and therefore new works), while others were modest rescorings. The choral music largely consists of folk tune and popular song arrangements that Grainger collected on his travels through the English and Irish countryside. You owe it to yourself to hear them; they are, one and all, delightful. --David Hurwitz