Hey! Who says Leroy Anderson is “lightweight,” anyway? That is, “containing little serious matter”? Just because his music is accessible and fun, with clever sound effects, does that mean it’s not worth our time? Okay, enough with the questions, Let’s get to some answers.
So no, Leroy Anderson was most decidedly not lightweight in terms of his accomplishments. If I were just to list what he did during his life I’d probably take up my entire word limit, so here are some highlights:
- Started piano at age 5; wrote his first composition at age 12; demonstrated a Mozartian ability to play songs that he had heard but never been taught.
- Earned a B.A. and M.A. from Harvard in music; studied composition with Walter Piston and George Enesco.
- Earned a Ph.D. from Harvard in languages; by my count he knew 10 languages total, including Icelandic, which led to the fact that he . .
- Had a long career in military intelligence, using his facility in languages. During WWII he was stationed in Iceland where he used his linguistic knowledge in a number of ways, and after the war he worked at the Pentagon as Chief of the Scandinavian Department of Military Intelligence.
- Was offered the position of U.S. Military Attaché to Sweden in 1946 at the age of 38 but declined because his composing and arranging career was taking off.
Yes, while doing all of the above Anderson was also doing lots of extracurricular stuff. During his time in grad school he was the director of the Harvard University Band, and his clever arrangements for that group brought him to the attention of none other than Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops Orchestra. (I have to interrupt myself here to tell this funny story: While Anderson was still in high school he somehow got into the Harvard Marching Band—I guess if you were good enough you could play even if you weren’t currently a student at the university–and his father insisted that he learn to play the trombone so that he’d have to be on the front row when they marched on the field. That way, his dad would be able to see him easily. Anderson ended up being able to play piano, organ, double bass, trombone, tuba and cello.)
By the time Anderson devoted himself full time to composing he had already attained huge success, with “The Syncopated Clock” being one of his early hits with the Boston Pops. “Sleigh Ride” got its start in the summer of 1946 during a heat wave while Anderson was living out in the countryside of Connecticut. He wrote the middle section, which I assume is the “giddy-yap let’s go” part, apparently not referencing Christmas in particular but winter in general as a relief from the heat. He didn’t think the piece was strong enough with just that part, though, and he didn’t finish it until February 1948, by which time he’d added the “Just hear those sleigh bells ring-a-ling” and perhaps the “Farmer Grey” lines. It’s not spelled out anywhere what section is which, but that’s what makes the best sense to me. Ironically enough, SR’s premier took place with the Boston Pops in May. I guess Fiedler liked it so much that he didn’t want to wait until Christmas to program it. And by December of that year New York department stores were playing the song over their sound systems! Isn’t that seriously cool? (No pun intended.)
Anderson is known for adding sound effects to his pieces; apparently any trumpet player trying out for a symphony orchestra has to demonstrate that he can do the horse’s whinny. (Although a recorded whinny is sometimes used.) In addition to the whinny there needs to be the clip-clopping of hooves and the cracking of a whip. These sounds can be produced by the percussion section with wood blocks and a slapstick. I have to say that the very first piece I ever heard from the Cherry Creek Chorale (of which I am now a member) was “Sleigh Ride,” in December 2011. It seems particularly appropriate for me to mention that performance here because it involved our beloved and sadly-missed associate conductor Greg Marsh who played the sleigh bells. He, conductor Brian Leatherman and pianist Cindy Runkel came out and played an instrumental version of the song at the very beginning of that concert. It’s amazing how vividly I remember it, and especially how much fun they seemed to be having up there. As I recall, Brian would snap that slapstick right on the far edge of the beat. ‘Is he going to make it?’ I’d think, and then “snap”—there it would be, just in time.
Well, I think I’ve proved that Leroy Anderson himself was no slouch, but I haven’t really dealt with the quality of his music. He’s always described as a composer of “light concert music” or “miniatures.” But you know what? I think that perhaps that description needs to be revised if we take “light” to mean “flimsy.” I’d encourage you to read his full biography on his website and to note the tremendous reach of his music around the world. He touched lives and encouraged musical interest in a great way. More and more I’ve come to realize that effortless artistry is never attained without effort. (You may use that aphorism free of charge.) In fact, it’s very interesting that two other artists who are also sometimes disparaged as being as lightweight are having their own moments in our culture right now: Fred Rogers and Dolly Parton. Mr. Rogers just walked onto that set and improvised, right? And since Dolly Parton sounds like a Barbie doll (IMHO), she must not have any real talent, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Anderson, Rogers and Parton all worked/work extremely hard. (Fun fact: Fred Rogers had a degree in music composition.)
As always, I’m compelled to stop because I’ve more than reached my word limit. Here’s one of the most popular versions of “Sleigh Ride,” sung by—who else?—the Ronettes.
And, because I’ve been determined to shoehorn this video in somewhere, here’s a video (very low-def, as usual) of the most beautiful TV ad ever made (which shows a sleigh ride, so it’s completely and totally revelant.)
© Debi Simons
