It’s the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up just one boy on her own … Well, not really. The story of Rose Grainger and her precocious son Percy has more in common with Fifty Shades of Grey than The Brady Bunch. Abandoned by a drunken, syphilitic husband, the domineering mother home-schooled her son, introducing him to a wide range of literature, including the Nordic legends that influenced his music so deeply. By age 16, it appears that Percy had developed a taste for sadomasochism and as he grew
 up his mother did her best to stymie her son’s budding romantic relationships. The suggestion that she was incestuously involved with her son played tragically with her already fragile mental health and
 she jumped to her death out an office block window.

It’s no surprise,
then, that Grainger 
remained obsessed
 with his mother for the
 rest of his life. The works recorded here (most for the first time) bear her imprint. Marching Song of Democracy is dedicated to her and celebrates their “adoration” of Walt Whitman, while Thanksgiving Song extols “womankind’s contribution to terrestrial immortality”. Scored for wordless chorus and large orchestra, these works reveal Grainger’s masterly orchestration and questing idealism.

Most of the other works here reflect the other main passion of Grainger’s work: folksongs and folkloric texts. Listening to the strongly characterised accounts of the arrangements on this disc, I’m sure these gems will become popular with choruses, despite considerable vocal demands. Danny Deever, The Wraith of Odin, Sir Eglamore and The Lads of Wamphray are full of vibrant ‘boy’s own’ drama and humour. The Bride’s Tragedy, a tale of two eloping lovers who drown, is a plangent expression of Grainger’s own tortured sexuality.
 On a happier note, Tribute to Foster is a marvellous arrangement of Camptown Races, a song which Rose sang to the young Percy at bedtime. Featuring such Graingeresque devices as glass harmonium and bowed marimba, this is a splendid overview of his style delivered with suitable panache by the MSO forces.

In this 75th anniversary year of Melbourne’s Grainger Museum, this is a very fine tribute to one of Melbourne’s most colourful sons.