Jungle Book Suite, The

This 5-movement suite contains half of Grainger’s Jungle Book Cycle, including Morning Song in the Jungle, The Inuit, The Hunting Song of the Seeonee Pack, The Beaches of Lukannon, and .

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Level: 5 | Duration: 12:00

Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flute 1/2 (4)
Oboe 1/2 (2)
English Horn (1)
Bassoon 1/2 (2)
B-flat Clarinet 1/2/3 (3 each)
B-flat Bass Clarinet (2)
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet (1)
B-flat Soprano Saxophone (1)
E-flat Alto Saxophone 1/2 (2)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone (1)
E-flat Baritone Saxophone (1)

B-flat Trumpet 1/2/3 (2 each)
F Horn 1/2 (2)
F Horn 3/4 (2)
Trombone 1/2/3 (1 each)
Euphonium (2)
T.C. Baritone (1)
Tuba (3)
Double Bass (1)
Organ (Mvt. 4 only)

Percussion (up to 9 players)
Timpani, Snare Drum, Tenor Drum, Bass Drum, Cymbals, Castanets, Tambourine
Metal Tuneful Percussion (Orchestra Bells, Crotales, Vibes, Chimes)
4 Players on 2 Marimbas

Program Notes
"My Kipling 'Jungle Book' Cycle, begun in 1898 and finished in 1947, was composed as a protest against civilization." (Grainger's program note, 1947)

Percy Grainger (1882-1961) studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany from 1895-1901 (aged 13-19). Grainger's mother Rose wrote her husband John of her fears that young Percy was becoming "more Germanized every day." In response to Rose's concern, and to "tickle up the British Lion in him," John (who was estranged from Rose) sent Percy, among other things, several books by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

Kipling's writings captivated Percy immediately, and he soon started writing choral settings of the poetry, especially those of Kipling's Jungle Books. Grainger's settings of the poetry of Kipling are as extensive as his settings of British folk music; Kay Freyfus's catalog of Grainger's manuscript scores lists 36 settings, though Grainger in a 1926 letter to Kipling mentions "some 40 or 50" settings.

Grainger felt a strong kinship for Kiplin's writing, and Kiplins appreciated and approved of Grainger's work at setting his poetry. Grainger played several of his choral settings for Kipling during a meeting at Kipling's home in 1905; of Grainger's settings of his poetry, Kipling said, "Till now I've had to reply on black and white, but you do the thing for me in color."

This 5-movement suite contains half of Grainger’s Jungle Book Cycle, including the following:

1. Morning Song in the Jungle
2. The Inuit
3. The Hunting Song of the Seeonee Pack
4. The Beaches of Lukannon
5. The Peora Hunt

Three of the movements are available for individual purchase:

Morning Song in the Jungle (AAM-029)
The Inuit (AAM-027)
The Beaches of Lukannon (AAM-026)