Handel in the Strand

• This is one of Percy Grainger’s pre-WWI works, from the time he was based in London, establishing a career as a concert pianist, and collecting folk songs. Handel in the Strand was composed 1911-12.¹
• This work is subtitled Clog Dance. In a clog dance, the dancer wears wooden-soled shoes to draw attention to the complex rhythms created by the feet. The technique is seen in Irish step dancing as well as in folk dances from Northern England.²

“My title was originally Clog Dance. But my dear friend William Gair Rathbone (to whom the piece is dedicated) suggested the title Handel in the Strand, because the music seemed to reflect both Handel and English musical comedy (the “Strand” is the home of London musical comedy). I have made use of matter from some variations of mine on Handel’s “Harmonious Blacksmith” tune.”

Percy Grainger’s program note³

1. Malcolm Gillies and David Pear, “Grainger, (George) Percy,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 10, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000011596.
2. “Clog Dance,” Encyclopædia Brittanica (July 23, 2014), accessed October 15, 2019,  https://www.britannica.com/art/clog-dance.
3. Quoted in Richard Freed, “Handel in the Strand,” The Kennedy Center, accessed October 15, 2019, https://www.kennedy-center.org/artist/composition/3786.