 He was a craftsman-composer of a type more common in the 18th century than the 20th century.Almost all his music was written for immediate use; like Haydn, he would not have dreamed of fulfilling a commission without ascertaining the probable capabilities of his performers; he could turn to any number of different idioms according to the needs of the occasion.An obituary in "The Times" credits Leigh as being "the first British composer to undertake a complete study of the many problems relating to the sound-track in the production of films", and cites the score for "The Song of Ceylon" as "a classic example of the creative use of music and sound in relation to the visuals on the screen."