Merritts Hill Music

Merritts Hill Music

Dvořák Legends

These ten colourful and dramatic pieces, less well known than the Slavonic Dances, exist in both orchestral and piano-duet form, but have not previously been available for wind orchestra. They are not often performed complete and they don’t seem intended as a cycle, but any one of them stands happily alone, and they are at their most effective in groups of three or four. They are clearly programmatic, but the composer left no clue as to what their stories might be.

They were originally composed in 1881 for piano duet, and soon afterwards orchestrated at the request of Dvořák's publisher, Fritz Simrock. (This is strange, as Simrock normally resisted publishing large-scale works on grounds of cost and lack of sales, preferring Dvořák to write songs and other smaller works which were cheap to produce for the mass market.) The dates where given at the top of the movements are those of the composer's orchestrations. The present arrangements are based on the piano originals, so if you're better acquainted with the orchestral versions, be prepared for some subtle differences.

All ten arrangements now have a contrabass part which appears in the score as an E flat contra-alto clarinet; parts are also included for B flat contrabass, and in C for a string bass or contrabassoon. If you have purchased a previous version and would like any of these extra parts free of charge, please ask.

Although the alto and bass clarinets are occasionally written in German-style bass clef to save space in the score, the parts are in treble throughout.

Discounts are available on purchases of three or more Legends - there are too many combinations to list so please enquire. If you represent an organisation which requires a traditional invoice, this can be obtained at the address below.

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