Leroy Anderson: Scottish Suite (1954)

I do not know if American light music composer Leroy Anderson ever visited Scotland. I understand that there is no specific record of travel to that country. That said, he seems to have absorbed the mood and ethos of that country’s scenery and lore. Few composers have created such an evocative medley of traditional songs and tunes.

Anderson’s Scottish Suite (1954) was a touch problematic for him. It began as a work in six movements, however only four were completed. These were Bonnie Dundee, Turn Ye to Me, The Bluebells of Scotland and The Campbells Are Coming. Plans to include Scotland the Brave and Charlie is My Darling were abandoned. After some performances and a single recording, he withdrew all the movements save The Bluebells of Scotland.

Further complications for this work’s revival arose due to Turn Ye to Me being published only as a piano piece, with the full score and parts being lost. For Leonard Slatkin’s Naxos recording (8.559391, 2008) David Ross recreated the orchestral score from Anderson’s 1954 recording used in the Decca A Leroy Anderson Pops Concert.

The Suite opens with the dashing Bonnie Dundee which evokes the eponymous hero on horseback, hunting or being chased across the moors. It is full of rhythm and Scotch snaps. The heart of the work is the haunting Turn ye to Me, that originally had words by the Scottish poet John Wilson (1785-1854), who wrote under the pseudonym Christopher North. The beautiful words tell of his courting of ‘Mhairi Dhu’ (Dark Mary) and her eventual death in the “angry waves.”  Anderson has written a charming waltz, which evokes the melancholic mood. The Bluebells of Scotland is given a dancing, baroque turn, which reflects the singer’s sentiment “O where and O where does your highland laddie dwell/He dwells in merry Scotland where the bluebells sweetly smell.” Note the composer’s word painting with bells and chimes suggesting the flowers. The finale presents a swaggering version of the war song The Campbells are Coming. With hostile intentions the Great Argyll marches forth. Anderson’s take does not take this militarism too seriously.

Leroy Anderson’s Scottish Suite is a charming composition that reflects his ability for creating music with a keen sense of place and character. The suite’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to evoke the Scotland as clearly as any native composer.

A recording of Leroy Anderson’s Scottish Suite can be heard as the composer’s webpage, here.