Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride
Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride Program Notes
Leroy Anderson’s well known and iconic piece of Christmas music, Sleigh Ride, was rather ironically written in July, at the Anderson summer home in Woodbridge, CT, during a heat wave. Mr, Anderson is was close to home when he went to Harvard as a student in the twenties – he was born in Cambridge to Swedish immigrant parents. Serving during the Second World War, his linguistic skills led to his heading the Scandinavian Military Intelligence desk at the Pentagon. However, it is for his lifelong association with the Boston Pops that we know him. For the Boston Pops and Arthur Fiedler, its conductor, Anderson’s pieces included Bugler’s Holiday, Fiddle-Faddle, Syncopated Clock, and The Typewriter. (Often, Anderson conduct the orchestra in his works, and for The Typewriter, he would pretend to type while the orchestra played along with a percussionist at the eponymous typewriter!) Born: June 29, 1908, Cambridge, MA Died: May 18, 1975, Woodbury, CTSleigh Ride is a beloved holiday orchestral piece by American composer Leroy Anderson, evoking the joy of a winter sleigh ride with vivid musical sound effects and irresistible melodic charm. It is one of the most frequently performed holiday pieces in the orchestral repertoire.
Anderson composed Sleigh Ride in the summer of 1946 during a heat wave — imagining winter while sweltering — and it was premiered by the Boston Pops Orchestra on May 4, 1948, conducted by Arthur Fiedler.
A typical performance lasts approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
Listen for the clip-clop of horse hooves in the percussion, the crack of the whip, and the horse's whinny near the end — all created by orchestral instruments and percussion. Anderson's orchestration is a masterclass in creating vivid programmatic effects with wit and economy.
Anderson was a Harvard-trained composer and arranger who worked closely with the Boston Pops and Arthur Fiedler, creating a series of witty, tuneful miniatures that have become permanent fixtures in the American concert repertoire. Sleigh Ride, The Typewriter, and Blue Tango are among his most beloved works.
