John Reading (composer, organist and copyist)
Encyclopedia
John Reading was an English
composer
, organist
and copyist
(his name, like the town, is pronounced “Redding” – a spelling variant of his name which occurs in several documents.) His greatest importance lies in his work as a transcriber
, arranger
and copyist of a wide variety of music.
(c.1645-1692) who from 1681 until his death was organist and Master of the Choristers at Winchester College
. He received the best possible musical training, being a chorister of the Chapel Royal
, where he was taught by John Blow
. He would almost certainly have sung at the funerals of Henry Purcell
and Queen Mary
. It was tradition, when the choristers’ voices broke, for the Chapel Royal to find them their first appointment. John Reading was ‘placed’ as organist at Dulwich College
, a position he held for two years (1700–1702), after which he moved to Lincoln Cathedral
, becoming Master of the Choristers there in 1703, a post that his father had previously held. By 1708 he was organist of St John’s, Hackney
in London, a position he held for some 20 years. This was a church with a strong musical tradition, and one of the first to be furnished with an organ after the Restoration
. In 1727 he became organist of the combined churches of St Mary Woolnoth and St Mary Woolchurch Haw in the City of London
. In addition he took up the post of organist at St Dunstan’s-in-the-West. He was an early member of the Royal Society of Musicians
. His portrait hangs in the Dulwich College Art Gallery.
style of Vivaldi
and Corelli
whilst the sound of the English organ was being influenced by the sound of the reeds in French organs.
These changes in style were obviously reflected in the organ playing of John Reading, because in 1719 a representation was made to him while organist of the Church of St John-at-Hackney
about “irregularities relating to the execution of his Office as Organist of this Parish, and particularly for playing the Voluntary too long, and using persistently too light, Airy and Jyggy Tunes, no ways proper to raise the Devotion Suitable for a Religious Assembly”. Reading’s playing was showing his admiration for the Italian style. In the preface to his A Book of New Songs (1710) he writes of the Italian influence in opera houses in London that “our English composers might be inspired with ye utmost delicacy of a Roman Genius ”. Although Reading promised to “amend” he was eventually dismissed from his post in Hackney.
Reading must have retained great affection for Dulwich College where he had had his first post, for he donated 12 volumes of his music which he had collected, transcribed and arranged. These volumes, now in the archives in Dulwich, are an important source of English organ music. They also contain psalm settings, harpsichord music and verse anthem
s which he had arranged for unison voices. His transcriptions are accurate, and his attributions are reliable. However, he sometimes “improved” upon pieces as he copied them, adding octaves in the bass. He saw the sections of a voluntary as interchangeable, sometimes indicating after an introduction: “follow this with any fugue
”. The manuscripts often have detailed registration marks, with first movements played on diapasons and second voluntaries marked “Full Organ”, followed by a fugue for full organ. Most of his compositions have a seriousness of purpose – far from the frivolity suggested by the reaction of the congregation in Hackney.
when he heard a loud gunshot. He dashed into the house to find his friend, who had shot himself, dying.
Reading was reported to have suffered from palsy
, but it was more likely to have been epilepsy
. It was said to have been caused by the Vox Humana
stop on the organ at St Mary Woolnoth!
Although not a composer of genius, Reading deserves a firm place in the history of music through his musical manuscripts and acute observations on musical life in a period of transition.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and copyist
Copyist
A copyist is a person who makes written copies. In ancient times, a scrivener was also called a calligraphus . The term's modern use is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript.-Music...
(his name, like the town, is pronounced “Redding” – a spelling variant of his name which occurs in several documents.) His greatest importance lies in his work as a transcriber
Transcription (music)
In music, transcription can mean notating a piece or a sound which was previously unnotated, as, for example, an improvised jazz solo. Further examples include ethnomusicological notation of oral traditions of folk music, such as Béla Bartók's and Ralph Vaughan Williams' collections of the national...
, arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
and copyist of a wide variety of music.
Life
Little is known of John Reading’s early life. He was probably the son of the composer and organist John ReadingJohn Reading (composer and organist)
John Reading was an English composer and organist, and father of John Reading who is remembered as an important music copyist....
(c.1645-1692) who from 1681 until his death was organist and Master of the Choristers at Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
. He received the best possible musical training, being a chorister of the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal
A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
, where he was taught by John Blow
John Blow
John Blow was an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. His pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, Venus and Adonis John Blow (baptised 23 February...
. He would almost certainly have sung at the funerals of Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
and Queen Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
. It was tradition, when the choristers’ voices broke, for the Chapel Royal to find them their first appointment. John Reading was ‘placed’ as organist at Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
, a position he held for two years (1700–1702), after which he moved to Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
, becoming Master of the Choristers there in 1703, a post that his father had previously held. By 1708 he was organist of St John’s, Hackney
Hackney (parish)
Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1789, replacing the nearby former 16th century parish church dedicated to St Augustine . The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be...
in London, a position he held for some 20 years. This was a church with a strong musical tradition, and one of the first to be furnished with an organ after the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
. In 1727 he became organist of the combined churches of St Mary Woolnoth and St Mary Woolchurch Haw in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. In addition he took up the post of organist at St Dunstan’s-in-the-West. He was an early member of the Royal Society of Musicians
Royal Society of Musicians
The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the "Fund for Decay'd Musicians" by a declaration of trust signed by 228 musicians, including Edward Purcell ,...
. His portrait hangs in the Dulwich College Art Gallery.
Historical importance
John Reading was a notable organist, composer and teacher, but his great contribution to music lies in his activities as a copyist. He lived at a time when musical taste was evolving quickly. The development of English organ music lagged a long way behind that of the continent, but the Fantasy and the Voluntary were popular forms, and were becoming strongly influenced by the ItalianItalian classical music
-Art Music:"Art music" is a somewhat broader term than "classical music" and may be defined for the purposes of this article as "establishment" music that is composed for public or private performance. By definition, it excludes popular musical forms that are based on folk music...
style of Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
and Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...
whilst the sound of the English organ was being influenced by the sound of the reeds in French organs.
These changes in style were obviously reflected in the organ playing of John Reading, because in 1719 a representation was made to him while organist of the Church of St John-at-Hackney
Church of St John-at-Hackney
The Church of St John at Hackney is situated in the London Borough of Hackney. It was built in 1792, in an open field, north east of Hackney's medieval parish church, of which only St Augustine's Tower remains...
about “irregularities relating to the execution of his Office as Organist of this Parish, and particularly for playing the Voluntary too long, and using persistently too light, Airy and Jyggy Tunes, no ways proper to raise the Devotion Suitable for a Religious Assembly”. Reading’s playing was showing his admiration for the Italian style. In the preface to his A Book of New Songs (1710) he writes of the Italian influence in opera houses in London that “our English composers might be inspired with ye utmost delicacy of a Roman Genius ”. Although Reading promised to “amend” he was eventually dismissed from his post in Hackney.
Reading must have retained great affection for Dulwich College where he had had his first post, for he donated 12 volumes of his music which he had collected, transcribed and arranged. These volumes, now in the archives in Dulwich, are an important source of English organ music. They also contain psalm settings, harpsichord music and verse anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
s which he had arranged for unison voices. His transcriptions are accurate, and his attributions are reliable. However, he sometimes “improved” upon pieces as he copied them, adding octaves in the bass. He saw the sections of a voluntary as interchangeable, sometimes indicating after an introduction: “follow this with any fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
”. The manuscripts often have detailed registration marks, with first movements played on diapasons and second voluntaries marked “Full Organ”, followed by a fugue for full organ. Most of his compositions have a seriousness of purpose – far from the frivolity suggested by the reaction of the congregation in Hackney.
Anecdotes
A well known story about Reading concerns an event of 1 December 1707. He was passing the house of his friend, the composer Jeremiah ClarkeJeremiah Clarke
Jeremiah Clarke was an English baroque composer and organist.Thought to have been born in London around 1674, Clarke was a pupil of John Blow at St Paul's Cathedral. He later became organist at the Chapel Royal...
when he heard a loud gunshot. He dashed into the house to find his friend, who had shot himself, dying.
Reading was reported to have suffered from palsy
Palsy
In medicine, palsy is the paralysis of a body part, often accompanied by loss of sensation and by uncontrolled body movements, such as shaking. Medical conditions involving palsy include cerebral palsy , brachial palsy , and Bell's palsy ....
, but it was more likely to have been epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
. It was said to have been caused by the Vox Humana
Vox humana
The Vox Humana is a short-resonator reed stop on the pipe organ, so named because of its supposed resemblance to the human voice. As a rule, the stop is used with a tremulant, which undulates the wind supply, causing a vibrato effect...
stop on the organ at St Mary Woolnoth!
Although not a composer of genius, Reading deserves a firm place in the history of music through his musical manuscripts and acute observations on musical life in a period of transition.