Legend of the Redwoods

Legend of the Redwoods by Grace Becker Vamos is a showpiece for solo harp, written at an early advanced level. The work was the 1949 winner of the Norther California Harpists’ Association Award, a mid-century composition competition dedicated to encouraging composers to write for the harp. The piece is a single movement work with different sections using various standard harp techniques, including a wide variety of arpeggios, rolled chords, glissandos, and harmonics. The notation throughout is fairly clear, but many of the arpeggio sections can be divided between the hands in various ways based on each harpists’ individual preference. Legend of the Redwoods is dedicated to the well-known harpist Anne Louise David.

A link to a performance of the work can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN4i6w9Q07Y