Grofe
Grand Canyon Suite
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

1981 CBS Mastersound Half Speed Reissue, Still In Original CBS Outer Sleeve With Broken Sticker Seal. "This Is By Far The Most Popular Of Many Suites By This Master Orchestrator Depicting Scenic Wonders Of America (Others Include The Mississippi And Death Valley). It Is Effective And Entirely Direct, With The Clear Melodism Of American Popular Song. Originally Written For Paul Whiteman's Concert Jazz Band, Grofé‚ Scored It Expertly For Symphony Orchestra, And Filled It With Outstanding Musical Effects. The Suite Begins With A Dynamic "Sunrise," Even Prefacing It With The Faint Rumbling Of The Expanding Air That Can Just Barely Be Perceived When Sunrise Is Experienced In A Place Of Utter Quiet. The Second Movement, With Eerie, Static Harmonies, Pictures The Nearby Painted Desert. The Center Movement, "On The Trail" Is The Most Famous: A Humorous Depiction Of The Ride That May Be Undertaken On The Backs Of Patient Mules (Not "Burros"!), Descending To The Tumbling Waters Of The Colorado River At The Bottom Of The Canyon, And Including A Stop For A Snack In A Cabin With A Music Box. The Spectacular Sunset Is Depicted In A Movement Possessing A Theme Of Puccinian Ardor And Loveliness, Sweetly Scored For The High Strings Including Harmonics And Touched By The Glitter Of Celesta. Finally, A Pounding Desert Thunderstorm At Night Illuminates And Shakes The Canyon With Thunder And Lightning, Before The Clouds Disperse Showing The Canyon In Glorious Moonlight." AMG review By Joseph Stevenson.