The elaborate and sometimes highly charged folk song arrangements of Australian composer Percy Grainger have become his trademark. A well-known example is ‚Shepherd‘s Hey‘, a traditional English dancing tune.
Grainger discovered it in the folk-song collection of the musicologist Cecil Sharp who, for his part, had heard the violinist of the Bidford Morris Dancers play this merry tune in 1906. A proof of how popular Grainger's arrangement is, is The frequency with which all the different versions and numerous instrumentations ranging from piano to wind orchestra are performed is proof of how popular Grainger's arrangement is. 'Shepherd's Hey' is an ideal encore piece for orchestras which will guarantee their audience goes home with a smile on their face.