Henry David Leslie (1822-1896) was an
English composer and conductor. Leslie
was a leader in supporting amateur choral
musicians in Britain, founding prize-winning
amateur choral societies. He was also a
supporter of musical higher education, helping
to found several national music schools.
In 1840 he published a Te Deum and
Jubilate in D. His Symphony in F was
performed in 1848 by the Amateur Musical
Society under Michael Balfe. The next year,
at the Norwich music festival of 1849, his
much-admired anthem "Let God Arise" was
premiered. Leslie conducted the Amateur
Musical Society from 1853 until it dissolved
in 1861.
Leslie's dramatic overture, The Templar
(1852), was followed by his well-regarded
oratorios Immanuel (1854) and Judith (1858),
and some chamber music. In 1855, he
founded a madrigal society which grew to
200 voices and became known as Henry
Leslie's Choir. He was its conductor until
1880. The choir introduced many important
choral works to English audiences, including
J. S. Bach's motets.
Leslie's operetta Romance, or, Bold Dick
Turpin, was presented at Covent Garden
in 1860. After this, he wrote the cantatas
Holyrood (1860) and Daughter of the Isles
(1861), and a Jubilate in B (1864). In 1865,
he wrote a romantic opera Ida, a.k.a. The
Guardian Storks.
Leslie published over a hundred songs for
choir. Some of these became very popular,
including the trio "O Memory", "The Pilgrims",
and "Annabelle Lee" set to the famous poem
by Edgar Allan Poe. His output also included
a quantity of chamber and piano music.
Leslie's only major composition later in life
was his second symphony, Chivalry, which
premiered in 1881 at The Crystal Palace.