The published musical compositions of Percy Grainger (1882–1961) fall into two main categories: (a) original works and (b) folksong settings.
Works tended to be written concurrently, and were often developed over very long periods of time—in some cases extending to several decades—before eventual publication.
Many of the compositions exist in a number of different versions, some of which refer to "elastic scoring", a means which permits performances by undefined musical forces ranging from small instrumental groups to full orchestra.
Grainger's biographer John Bird has referred to the near-impossibility of cataloguing all of the composer's work, bearing in mind that "[h]is original compositions are scattered to the four corners of the earth".
[2][3] Grainger assembled many of his works under generic collection headings:[4] 1922, 1924 1937 1949 Bardic Edition (b) Baritone, chorus and instruments (b) Orchestra Kipling setting