Suite for Piano

Editor's Note:

Ms. Lee was continuously and deeply inspired by her grandfather, William J. Edwards, and his work in uplifting African-Americans through education. His 1918 memoir, Twenty-Five Years in the Black Belt, held imagery that Ms. Lee returned to throughout her life. The first piece in this suite, “Ray of Light,” was likely inspired by the third chapter of Edwards’ memoir, and shares its title. Other works in Ms. Lee’s catalog can also be traced to this chapter of Edwards’ memoir; for example, her children’s operetta Summer Sun, Winter Wind contains a musical realization of the parable of the ants and the grasshoppers. The complete third chapter from Twenty-Five Years in the Black Belt is thus included at the end of this book, alongside the biography of Ms. Lee by her daughter, Monica Moorehead. The second piece in this suite, “Study in Fifths,” is a concert study on Ms. Lee’s use of shifting patterns of fifths found throughout her works. The third piece in this suite, “Cam’s Cradle,” was written for her son, Dr. Cameron Moorehead.