''A Trumpeter's Lullaby'' is a short

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature * Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

for solo

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, written by American composer

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ) (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him ...

in 1949. The two and a half minute piece was premiered on May 9, 1950, by the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Sym ...

with

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one ...

conducting and French-born American

Roger Voisin Roger Louis Voisin (June 26, 1918 – February 13, 2008) was an American classical trumpeter. In 1959, The New York Times called him "one of the best-known trumpeters in this country." Performing career Among the most influential trumpet p ...

as trumpet soloist. It was composed at the request of Voisin, who was principal trumpeter of the Boston Pops Orchestra at the time. It was first recorded on June 18, 1950, with Fiedler conducting Roger Voisin and the Boston Pops. Three months later it was recorded with Anderson himself conducting and

James F. Burke (Musician) James Francis Burke (April 15, 1923 – June 26, 1981) was an American cornet soloist. He was the principal cornet soloist with the Goldman Band from 1943 to 1974. He was also the principal trumpet with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1943 ...

as trumpet soloist. The first

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

recording was made in October 1956 with Frederick Fennell conducting the Eastman-Rochester Pops Orchestra, recorded in one take without rehearsal. The (uncredited) soloist was

Sidney Mear Sidney Mear (June 23, 1918 – March 13, 2016) was an American trumpeter and professor at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He studied with Herbert L. Clarke and Bohumir Kryl as a child in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and with Pattee Eve ...

. On the genesis of the piece, the composer states:

"(''A Trumpeter's Lullaby'')...had its beginning backstage at Symphony Hall in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
. In addition to composing and conducting, I was
arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...
for the Boston Pops Orchestra for a number of years—and after one of the concerts I was sitting, talking with the conductor Arthur Fiedler and the first trumpet of the Boston Pops, Roger Voisin. Suddenly Roger Voisin asked me why I didn't write a trumpet solo for him to play with the orchestra that would be different from traditional trumpet solos which are all loud, martial or triumphant. After thinking it over, it occurred to me that I had never heard a lullaby for trumpet so I set out to write one — with a quiet melody based on bugle notes played by the trumpet and with the rest of the orchestra playing a lullaby background."

Discography

''A Trumpeter's Lullaby'' has been recorded by: *

Canadian Brass The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. ...

, "Noel", RCA Victor 09026-62683-2 (1994), (Adapted for solo tuba) * Harry Freistadt, "Leroy Anderson Conducts", Decca 9-151 (1950) *

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album '' Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the them ...

, "Jazzin' at the Pops", Pro Arte 687; *

Rafael Méndez Rafael Méndez (March 26, 1906 – September 15, 1981) was a Mexican virtuoso solo trumpeter. He is known as the " Heifetz of the Trumpet." Early life Méndez was born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, Mexico to a musical family. As a child, he perform ...

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) a ...

, "Trumpet Spectacular", Telarc Digital CD-80223 (1990) *

Susan Slaughter Susan Slaughter is an American orchestral trumpet player. She was principal trumpet player of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for 40 years, from 1972 until 2010. She is the first woman to hold the position of principal trumpet in a major American ...

* Roger Voisin, soloist, Boston Pops Orchestra, RCA Red Seal 49-3049-B

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trumpeter's Lullaby Compositions by Leroy Anderson Compositions for trumpet 1950 compositions