Kenneth Leighton

Book excerpt: Kenneth Leighton, best known for his organ and sacred choral music, was a composer of great depth and talent who wrote a significant body of works. Many of those works were written for large orchestras and a significant number of pieces of chamber music were composed for a variety of instrument groupings, as well as for instrumental solos. Anyone interested in 20th-century music as well as British and Scottish Cathedral music will find a wealth of works listed with a description of each. Kenneth Leighton, best known for his organ and sacred choral music, was a composer of great depth and talent who wrote a significant body of works. Many of those works were written for large orchestras and a significant number of pieces of chamber music were composed for a variety of instrument groupings, as well as for instrumental solos. Anyone interested in 20th-century music as well as British and Scottish Cathedral music will find a wealth of works listed with a description of each. This volume begins with a brief biography of Leighton and is followed by an alphabetical listing of works and performances. Also included is a discography and a bibliography of articles, reviews, books, and dissertations. The last section is a chronological list of compositions. Smith helps us to realize that Kenneth Leighton was an extraordinary composer of 20th-century music with a varied body of works and also a virtuoso pianist of some note.