Alfred Reynolds (1884 – 18 October 1969) was a British composer of

light music Light music is a less-serious form of Western classical music, which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries and continues today. Its heyday was in the mid‑20th century. The style is through-composed, usually shorter orchestral pieces and ...

Biography

He was born in 1884, in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and later in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He studied with Engelbert Humperdinck in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. 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 and 1921, Reynolds toured the Far East with the Royal Opera. On his return, he wrote the music for

Baroness Orczy Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: ''Emma Magdalena Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci'') (; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends ...

's play, ''Leatherface''. Reynolds worked on the revival of 18th century

ballad operas The ballad opera is a genre of English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', ...

. 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 Charles Dibdin (before 4 March 1745 – 25 July 1814) was an English composer, musician, dramatist, novelist, singer and actor. With over 600 songs to his name, for many of which he wrote both the lyrics and the music and performed them himself ...

, and '' Love in a Village'' (1928), with music by

Thomas Arne Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song " A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', w ...

. He wrote incidental music for several plays, including those by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

, Farquhar,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

, and review music for Nigel Playfair. The Lyric staged Reynolds's comic operas ''

The Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Hero ...

'' and '' Derby Day''. Reynolds left the Lyric in 1932 for the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based 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 ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'', "The Swiss Robinson") is a novel by the Swiss author Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Aus ...

. In 1947, he wrote music for a

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

adaptation of ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'' and ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...

''. A two-act comic opera, '' The Limpet in the Castle'', was premiered in 1958 at

Wombwell Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. In the 2011 census, data for the town was split between the ward of Wombwell and small sections that fell into the wards of Darfield (specifically the a ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. Much of his theatre music has been played in the concert hall. Reynolds died on 18 October 1969, aged 84, in

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), also known as Bognor, is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns include Littleham ...

References

Philip L. Scowcroft, ''Theatre Conductor and Composer: Alfred Reynolds (1884-1969)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Alfred English musical theatre composers English male composers 1969 deaths 1884 births 20th-century English male musicians 20th-century English musicians People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby