Fanfares and Jig from Dance Suite No.1 Op.53

Kenneth Leighton was one of the most accomplished composers working in Scotland in the second half of the 20th century. Although he was born in Wakefield, trained as an Anglican cathedral chorister and studied at Oxford, he spent more than half his life in Edinburgh, the last 18 years as Reid Professor of Music, and made an enormous contribution to Scottish music life not only as an academic but also as a conductor and pianist. Highly sophisticated composer though he was, he could also write most effectively for amateur and youth ensembles. His Dance Suite No.1 for example, which was commissioned by the Corporation of Glasgow for the Glasgow Schools' First Orchestra in 1968, was so successful that it led to the composition of two more scores under the same title and of a similar same kind.

Fanfares and Jig, the second of the three movements of Dance Suite No.1, is a characteristic example of Leighton’s skill in writing orchestral music that is highly effective and yet not too difficult to play. It opens with a fanfare which is passed from brass to strings and woodwind and developed by all three sections before the tempo accelerates for the jig. Introduced by violins, the tune is adapted from an 18th-century dance known as Mrs Grant of Leggen’s Favourite. Both it and a broader counter-theme are restricted mainly to strings and woodwind, the brass being held in reserve for an impressive recall of the fanfare as the jig rhythms continue elsewhere.