Presents
William Henry Reed
Legende for String Quartet-World Premier Edition
William Henry Reed (1875-1942) was born in the English village of Frome in Somerset. He studied violin with Emile Sauret and composition with Frederick Corder at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He served as Leader (Concertmaster) of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1912-1935. He was a very close friend of Edward Elgar with whom he often collaboratged and was the first to write a partial biography Elgar as I knew him. A leader of several string quartets, Reed was also a composer. Though he wrote five string quartets, the only one that was ever published was his String Quartet No.5 which took second place in the prestigious 1916 Cobbett Chamber Music Competition coming second to Frank Bridge.
Reed's Legend for String Quartet was completed in 1923 and dedicated to his friend and former student Jessie Snow, leader of her own string quartet, known as the Snow Quartet, for three decades. It premiered by the Snow Quartet in the beginning of 1923 receiving much praise from the reviewers. A prominent critic who attended the premiere wrote, “Like all Mr. Reed’s work…a refined and sensitive quality of musical thought and considerable ingenuity in quartet writing. The first movement alternates between pastoral idyll, again reminiscent of Vaughan Williams, and a melancholy, nostalgic waltz. The second has a strong flavour of rustic romp, while the middle section in 6/8 sounds rather as though an Irish leprechaun has come face-to-face with Dukas’ sorcerer’s apprentice. At the end, the music simply skitters away into nothingness.
Despite the positive reviews, it remained as a manuscript and was never published until now. Our edition is from Reed's own manuscript which resides in the library of the Royal College of Music in London. The parts and score which have been edited by Garik Hayrapetyan and Raymond Silvertrust have preserved Reed's bowings. This fine work certainly deserves concert performance and would be a good choice where a shorter work is required.
Parts: $24.95
Parts & Score: $33.95
