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A Leroy Anderson Centennial Celebration
Jelani Eddington
5/80 Theatre Pipe Organ
Jasper & Marian Sanfilippo Residence
Barrington, Illinois
As reviewed in the American Record Guide (September/October 2007).
Leroy Anderson may well be better known to listeners than many classical composers--simply because he wrote so many popular
tune that found immediate acceptance by the public: think of 'Sleigh Ride', 'Bugler's Holiday', and 'Fiddle-Faddle'. He was a Harvard
graduate with two music degrees. Later he became good friends with Arthur Fiedler, and his compositions were heard in
pops concerts across the country.
His gifts as an orchestrator helped Eddington, a young award-winning theatre organist, to arrange these 52 selections
in an accurate and musical manner. The recordings were done at the home of Jasper and Marian Sanfilippo in Barrington, Illinois.
They built a large concert room to house a 5-80 Junchen theatre organ. Eddington did all the performances, including two pieces given
their world premieres here....In the piano concerto, he performed the organ accompaniment first and then the piano solo. What we hear
in the concerto are fragments of other familiar pop tunes rather than anything unique. The three short movements are played without a break.
Although Anderson was an organist, the only piece here that could be used in services is the Easter Song, a hymn-like simple melody
played three times, each with unique registration. The concluding time allows the full organ to be heard, with chamade ranks over a huge
Pedal sonority. Quite nice in spite of its simplicity.
Every track has something appealing about it. Eddington's arrangements are always true to Anderson's original
orchestrations. Listeners who have enjoyed tunes like 'Syncopated Clock' or 'Jazz Pizzicato' will love these two discs. The playing is top
notch, and the arrangements allow this remarkable instrument to be heard at its best.
METZ
To order these CDs, Click Here!
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