Anderson: Sleigh Ride & Other Holiday Favorites / Slatkin, BBC Concert Orchestra

$13.99
Label
Naxos
Release Date
October 28, 2008
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      ANDERSON, LEROY
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Bbc Concert Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Slatkin
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      October 28, 2008
    • UPC
      636943962121
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      8559621
    • LABEL
      Naxos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Wind Ensemble/Band Music
    Works ⌄

    1. Sleigh Ride

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    2. Horse and Buggy

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    3. Song of the Bells

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    4. Suite of Carols (version for brass)

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    5. The Waltzing Cat

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    6. A Christmas Festival

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    7. The Golden Years

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    8. I. Angels in our Fields

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    9. II. O Sanctissima

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    10. III. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    11. IV. O Come, Little Children

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    12. V. Coventry Carol

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    13. VI. Patapan

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    14. China Doll

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    15. Bugler's Holiday

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Performer: Catherine Moore, John Blackshaw, David McCallum

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

    16. Suite of Carols (version for strings)

      Composer: Leroy Anderson

      Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra

      Conductor: Leonard Slatkin


It's hard not to like Leroy Anderson, a skilled orchestral craftsman with a rich supply of clever ideas, an ingratiating musical imagination, and, thank heaven, a sense of humor. Most of his music embodies the term "American light classical", and you can't listen to pieces such as Sleigh Ride or Bugler's Holiday without a smile and feeling just a bit lighter of spirit. The selections featured here, billed as a "collection of Leroy Anderson's holiday music", are taken from Naxos' excellent multi-volume series devoted to Anderson's orchestral music. Although it's not clear why such numbers as Horse and Buggy, The Waltzing Cat, and The Golden Years are here, in style and mood they take nothing away from the more obvious Christmas/holiday pieces. And while it's possible to imagine just a bit more personality and panache in the articulation in some places (à la Boston Pops), Leonard Slatkin is an unqualified expert in this repertoire, and he leads his British orchestra with consummately entertaining style, all of it most favorably recorded.

Four years ago Decca released A Leroy Anderson Christmas, which contains many of the same works featured on this program--performed both by the Boston Pops and Arthur Fiedler (Sleigh Ride) and by Anderson conducting his own orchestra. Although that one is worthy for its historical aspects, this one is superior for its consistently high-quality performances, much more satisfying ambience, and first-rate sound. Highly recommended.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com