William Henry Reed (1875-1942)
String Quartet No. 4 in C major (1913)
Légende for string quartet (1922-1923)
String Quartet No. 5 in A minor (1915)
Cirrus String Quartet
rec. 2022, Pamoja Hall, The Space, Sevenoaks School, UK
MPR 114 [67]
There are already two fine reviews of this disc on MusicWeb International. I decided not to read them until I had completed mine, so any similarities, repetitions or divergences from what Messrs. Barnard and Greenbank wrote are purely coincidental. Let me also acknowledge with gratitude violinist Martin Smith’s liner notes, which significantly assisted me in the writing of this review.
Many listeners might recognise William Henry Reed as the friend and biographer of Edward Elgar. They met at the Three Choirs Festivals. Reed played violin in Elgar’s late flowering chamber works: the Violin Sonata, the Piano Quintet, and the String Quartet. Elgar consulted him about the technicalities of the solo part of his Violin Concerto.
Reed was also a conductor, teacher, author and composer. He was born in Frome, Somerset on 29 July 1875. He studied violin at the Royal Academy of Music with Émile Sauret, and theory and composition with Frederick Corder and Ebenezer Prout. He spent much of his career playing in chamber ensembles and in the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1936, he published Elgar as I knew him, essential reading for all Elgar enthusiasts. Interestingly, the book included sketches for the Third Symphony which Anthony Payne later completed. In 1939, Reed issued a study of Elgar in the Master Musicians series. He died whilst on Associated Board duties in Dumfries, on 2 July 1942.
Reed’s compositions include many character pieces for violin and piano. Several of them appeared in 2003 on Dutton Epoch (CDLX7135), played by vilionist and violist Robert Gibbs and pianist Mary Mei-Loc Wu. That disc gave a skewed impression of his achievement: it emphasised the salon music element. On a grander scale, there are tone poems (Among the Mountains of Cambria, The Lincoln Imp and Aesop’s Fables), variations for string orchestra, a Violin Concerto in A minor and the tantalising Two Somerset Idylls for small orchestra. These all remain unrecorded.
The String Quartet No. 4 has four movements. The first, Allegro moderato, presents a cheery first subject followed by a wistful second. Contemporary critics regarded the slow movement as the highlight of the quartet: Ritornello (Lento ma non troppo) is really a threnody. The whole quartet play the main theme, and there are episodes of quasi-recitative on single instruments. The third movement has two diverse moods: an intermezzo reminiscent of Brahms and a fantastical scherzo. The final movement contrasts a darkly portentous Adagio con espressione with a more light-hearted mood Allegro moderato “veering between playfulness and lyricism”.
In this “heterogenic” music, various models and influences (Brahms, Vaughan Williams?) will recommend themselves to the listener. This is not really a problem. The general balance of invention, wide-ranging moods and emotions outweighs any sense of lack of individuality.
The work was dedicated to the Wessely Quartet, popular in the first two decades of the 20th century.
The Légende was dedicated to Miss Jessie Snow, who led her own ensemble for some thirty years; the booklet says that in 1918 Reed composed a Violin Concerto for her (a desideratum, surely). The piece was originally produced as Two Legends. A contemporary review (The Era, 4 April 1923, p.7) described its effect perfectly: “Like all Mr Reed’s work, these show a refined and sensitive quality of musical thought and considerable ingenuity on quartet writing, though not, perhaps, a striking vein of inventiveness.” I do not know if there is a hidden programme; I think not. The first Legend juxtaposes a pastoral mood with a melancholy waltz, whilst the second is a romp. The liner notes suggest it is like an “Irish leprechaun [who] has come face to face with Dukas’s Sorcerers Apprentice.” A century later, the piece reveals some considerable depth and nostalgia for a pre-War age then recently passed.
The String Quartet No. 5 was submitted to the 1915 Walter Willson Cobbett chamber music competition, where it won second prize. (Joint first prize went to Frank Bridge and Albert Sammons.) There are four well balanced movements, each with highly contrasting material. The Allegro con brio, deliberately insecure, balances a searching mood with almost pastoral calm. The carefree Vivace ma no troppo presto bounces along, with dynamic rhythms and a sense of fun. Here and there Reed introduces something a little more reserved. The Adagio (quasi recitativo) opens with a melancholy cello solo before developing into a modally tinged elegy. It is unsurprising that this deeply felt music was written in the second year of the Great War. The liner notes observe that the mood of the finale, an Andante misterioso – Allegro Moderato, nods to the opening movement, with its questioning tone. Yet, all is not as it seems. Somehow, Reed managed to pull the music out of the doldrums and lead to a conclusion infused by optimism, if not triumph.
The Cirrus String Quartet play convincingly and sympathetically. The sound quality is vibrant and clear. Martin Smith devised the detailed programme notes, and gave an impressive introduction to the composer’s life and times. There is a well-designed cover montage of the Three Choirs venues, and a couple of photographs of the composer.
This is a fine introduction to the music of W. H. Reed. The three pieces are well-constructed, technically competent, always interesting, and often quite moving. There is nothing challenging here. Reed was writing in an idiom that would have been deemed old-fashioned at the time, but that is no longer an issue in the 2020s.
I understand that the Royal Academy of Music is custodian of Reed’s archive. Many interesting scores may be languishing in the stacks. Let us hope that many more will be re-discovered and performed in concert or recorded. Reed may not be a major composer, but this recording suggests that his music deserves to be better known and enjoyed.
John France
Previous reviews: Nick Barnard ~ Stephen Greenbank
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