On a Badlands walkabout with Percy Grainger's "Children's March"

The badlands of western North Dakota are, perhaps, the least hospitable landscape for marching. Rocky and rattlesnake-ridden, the prairie of western North Dakota is arid, hot, and prone to flash-flooding late in summer. Yet, when I scramble over bentonite buttes and sage-scented gullies, I think of Percy Grainger—the underappreciated Australian composer—and his rollicking "Children's March."

For many, Grainger is well-known for his piece "Country Gardens," a very Australian composition that riffs on tunes from Down Under. "Children's March," though less familiar, is light—sometimes edgy—warm, and buoyant.

The piece appears deceptively simpe; it's impossible not to tap your foot to it. Beginning with Grainger's noted predilection for woodwinds, the listener is bopping along as clarinets and oboe alternate the melodies. Slowly, layer by layer more instruments fill out the color of this piece; horns, drums, trumpets, saxophones. A whirl of woodwinds and brass lifts the listener to the stately march of drums, trumpets, and woodblock. Then, a surprise: A portion of the ensemble lends their voices to a brief choral interlude. The melody continues to float among instruments.

Percy Grainger was something of a child prodigy with the piano, and a wit with words: In this piece he directs the horns to play as "violently and roughly" as possible. The piece itself was composed between 1915-1919, with its debut at Columbia University. Grainger came to the United States during the outset of World War I, enlisting as a bandsman, and eventually became a citizen in 1918.

"Children's March," like other Grainger pieces, is not solely a work for band. The instrumentation is flexible: two pianos may play "Children's March," as well as woodwind quintet, even a full symphony orchestra. The piece itself is odd for its time: it uses a piano as a prominent feature in the full band orchestration and it also calls for two four-part vocal sections throughout this brief work.

As I clamber across scoria, and black charcoal, I watch the sun ribbon the badlands in a palette of purples, oranges, greys, and reds. I think of the color, of the buoyancy of "Children's March" as my mind and body march as one, this delightful tune rolling around in my head.

Taylor Brorby is a writer, environmentalist, and GLBT rights activist. He received his M.A. in Liberal Studies from Hamline University in 2013, and is currently a graduate student at Iowa State University in Creative Writing and Environment.

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