Alfred Reynolds (composer)
Encyclopedia
Alfred Reynolds was a composer of light music
for the theatre.
He was born in Liverpool
and educated at Merchant Taylors' School
and later in France
. He studied with Engelbert Humperdinck
in Berlin
.
In 1910, he conducted Oscar Straus
's The Chocolate Soldier
, which he toured in England. He was said to be the youngest operatic conductor in England. He composed for and participated in wartime charity concerts. In 1920-21, Reynolds toured the Far East with the Royal Opera
. On his return he wrote the music for Baroness Orczy
's play, Leatherface. Reynolds worked on the revival of 18th century ballad operas.
In 1923 he became Musical Director of the Lyric Theatre
, Hammersmith, where he performed revivals of Sheridan's
The Duenna
(1924), Lionel And Clarissa (1925), with music mainly by Charles Dibdin
, and Love in a Village
(1928), with music by Thomas Arne. He wrote incidental music for several plays, including those by Molière
, Farquhar
, Shakespeare and Goldsmith
, and review music for Nigel Playfair
. The Lyric staged Reynolds's comic operas The Fountain of Youth and Derby Day
.
Reynolds left the Lyric in 1932 for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
. He wrote 1066 And All That
(a musical based on the comic book by of that name) and a score for The Swiss Family Robinson
. In 1947, he wrote music for a Stratford-upon-Avon
adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
. A two-act comic opera, The Limpet in the Castle, was premiered in 1958 at Wombwell
, Yorkshire
.
Much of his theatre music has been played in the concert hall.
Reynolds died aged 84 at Bognor Regis
on 18 October 1969.
Light music
Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music, which originated in the 19th century and had its heyday during the early to mid part of the 20th century, although arguably it lasts to the present day....
for the theatre.
He was born in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and educated at Merchant Taylors' School
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
and later in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He studied with Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In 1910, he conducted Oscar Straus
Oscar Straus
Oscar Straus may refer to:*Oscar Straus , Viennese composer of operettas*Oscar Straus , United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 to 1909...
's The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man...
, which he toured in England. He was said to be the youngest operatic conductor in England. He composed for and participated in wartime charity concerts. In 1920-21, Reynolds toured the Far East with the Royal Opera
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
. On his return he wrote the music for Baroness Orczy
Baroness Orczy
Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála "Emmuska" Orczy de Orczi was a British novelist, playwright and artist of Hungarian noble origin. She was most notable for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel...
's play, Leatherface. Reynolds worked on the revival of 18th century ballad operas.
In 1923 he became Musical Director of the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, Hammersmith, where he performed revivals of Sheridan's
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
The Duenna
The Duenna
The Duenna is a three-act comic opera, mostly composed by Thomas Linley the elder and his son, Thomas Linley the younger, to an English-language libretto by Richard Brinsley Sheridan...
(1924), Lionel And Clarissa (1925), with music mainly by Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin was a British musician, dramatist, novelist, actor and songwriter. The son of a parish clerk, he was born in Southampton on or before 4 March 1745, and was the youngest of a family of 18....
, and Love in a Village
Love in a Village
Love in a Village is a ballad opera in three acts that was composed and arranged by Thomas Arne. A pastiche, the work contains 42 musical numbers of which only five were newly composed works by Arne. The other music is made up of 13 pieces borrowed from Arne's earlier stage works, a new overture...
(1928), with music by Thomas Arne. He wrote incidental music for several plays, including those by Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, Farquhar
George Farquhar
George Farquhar was an Irish dramatist. He is noted for his contributions to late Restoration comedy, particularly for his plays The Recruiting Officer and The Beaux' Stratagem .-Early life:...
, Shakespeare and Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
, and review music for Nigel Playfair
Nigel Playfair
Sir Nigel Playfair was the actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London, in the 1920s. He studied at University College, Oxford....
. The Lyric staged Reynolds's comic operas The Fountain of Youth and Derby Day
Derby Day (light opera)
Derby Day is a 1932 three-act light opera, with music composed by Alfred Reynolds to a libretto by A. P. Herbert. Herbert wrote his text between March and May 1931, whilst on a trip to Australia, during the first run of his successful Tantivy Towers....
.
Reynolds left the Lyric in 1932 for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
. He wrote 1066 And All That
1066 and All That
1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates is a tongue-in-cheek reworking of the history of England. Written by W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman and illustrated by John Reynolds, it first...
(a musical based on the comic book by of that name) and a score for The Swiss Family Robinson
The Swiss Family Robinson
-History:Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, the novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance...
. In 1947, he wrote music for a Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
. A two-act comic opera, The Limpet in the Castle, was premiered in 1958 at Wombwell
Wombwell
Wombwell is a small town near Barnsley, located in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 15,180.Its name's origin may mean "Womba's Well", or "well in a hollow"....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Much of his theatre music has been played in the concert hall.
Reynolds died aged 84 at Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the...
on 18 October 1969.