Sleigh Ride

Description

Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was a popular American composer of light music in the mid-twentieth century. He made his name as an arranger and composer for the Boston Pops Orchestra under Arthur Fiedler, starting in 1936 and again after the war.

Sleigh Ride, begun ironically during a heat wave 1946, became an instant hit when completed in 1948 and has remained one of the most popular seasonal songs across the world.

The transcription here for recorders makes for a fun and festive Christmas concert piece.

Performance Notes:

Sleigh Ride is designed for intermediate players of around Grade 3/4+, including confident bass players. The optional extra Tenor/Descant part is novice (pre-Grade 1) level.

• A minimum of 7 players is required:  Sno S A A/T T B B/Gb Cb (opt)
• The Sopranino player may double on any other part when not required on their own line. For convenience options, this part is also supplied alongside Descant 1, and also alongside Treble 1. Doubling Treble 1 rather than Descant 1 may help to avoid intonation problems.
• The Descant 2/Tenor 3 part is optional and designed for novice players. It is also supplied alongside the Tenor 2 part for convenience.
• The Sopranino and Treble parts are also supplied in transposed versions to read in C.
• The Bass 2 and Great Bass parts are essentially the same, for groups without a Great Bass.
• All Bass parts are supplied in both bass and treble clef; the Bass and Contrabass parts in F are also offered in transposed versions to read in C.

• Audio Excerpt