Bax’s Legend for viola and piano is clearly influenced by his fascination with Celtic folklore. Many of his works show his deep involvement with the myths and legends of this period in our history which created such an impressionable aura. Orchestral works such as Tintagel and The Garden of Fand reflect this in Bax’s output, as others do in a variety of works by Ireland, Howells and Moeran for instance.

The Legend has a thick, gloomy atmosphere, particularly at the start. The whole work is ideally scored for the viola and, once again, the instrument is in its element in this rather elegiac mode. Bax wrote the piece in 1928 between the third and fourth symphonies, when he was in his mid-forties.

from notes by Paul Spicer © 1994