A FAMOUS TENOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19240, 2 August 1924, Page 4

A FAMOUS TENOR.

THE STORY OF SIMS REEVES. By Constant Reader. From 1818 to 1900, eighty-two years and the span of life allotted to Sims Reeves, covers virtually the whole Victorian era.. In those days Sims Reeves was a name to conjure with and the story of his career, m narrated by Mr Charles E. Pearce, is actually tho story of “ Fifty Years of Music in England.” Sims Reeves made his first public appearance in Newcastle towards tho end of 1853 or the beginning of 1853 in “ tho operatic play ” of Guy Mnnnoring ahd ho bade farewell to the concert stage in 1891. “ The largest audience he ever sang to,” says Mr Pearce, “ was at the Alexandra Palace on the opening day, tho vast concourse consisting of no fewer than 102.C0D people.” That would be in 1875; those musical festivals under the dome in that great concnot baft will ever remain a fragrant memory. It was there I heard Sints Reeves sing “Tom Bowling,” and Adelina Patti sang “ The Last Rose of Summer,” two notable events graven on my memory. Another remembrance of those days is the scepticism which existed in tho minds of the musical publie whenever Sims Reeves was announced to sing. Ho took so great caro of his magnificent voice that ho declined to endanger it by appearing in public if suffering from the slightest cold. Fivo limes out of six when Sims Reeves had been advertised os a principal attraction, tho management intimated his absence ami Edward Lloyd or Vernon Rigby —both well-known contemporary tenors — would take his place. Yet the public crowded to the concert on the ofT-chance of hearing tho groat Sims Reeves. In this connection Mr Pearce Avrite.s: The year 1866, like ita predecessor, was marked by inclement wcachor and the prevalence of influenza. Reeves suffered severely and was compelled over and over again to disappoint expectant audiences. His monetary loss in consequence was very serious, hut this point of view did not occur to those senseless persons who accused him of caprice. It might be thought that Exeter Hall would bo the last place where one would expert such stupidity, but, this was not tho case. When at a Sacred Harmonic Society’s concert in the beginning of the winter it Avaa stated that ha Avas so seriously ill that ho Avas unable to sing, the announcement avos received with “ derisive cheers,” and when it was further explained that “Mr Reeves's malady was a severe cold, peels of uproarious laughter broke out in all directions,” remarked the Paris Times, “ as if one of the finest jokes in tho world was the indisposition of a great singer whoso vocal organs happened to bo peculiarly sensitive lo weather fluctuations.” It was towards the end of 1842 AA’hcn Macready decided to produce Dryden’s dramatic opera “King Arthur,” known (o playgoers of John Kemble’s day as “ Arthur and Emmeline,” that Sima Reeve? made his firpt hit. MaJanie Vestris Avas to have been the bright particular star of the piece, but owing to a quarrel over money matters between her and Macready tho cast, was completed without her. Tho music was “the manly massive music of Purcell,” and the enthusiasm evoked was due lo the singing of Sims_ Reeves There i? a story, which however is highly improbable, that Sims Reeves was originally entraced for- the chorus and only at the last? rehearsal was he promoted lo a principal role. Mr Pearce writes: In “ King Arthur ” Reeves had his first, opportunity of showing the magnificent quality of his voice and the possession of true dramatic instinct;. He appeared as the First Warrior, and created a sensation by his impassioned and fiery delivery of tho battle songs “Como if You Dare” and “Britons Strike Home” (the latter from “Bonduca”), Some time in the Sixties I had the advantage of hearing Sims. Reeves sing “Come if You Dare” at tho Beaumont Institution, Mile End. The colour he could infuse into his voice was marvellous, and though there was neither iconic adjunct nor orchestra, one could realise perfectly the effect he wanted to produce But Sims Reeves was always gteat in martial music, as those Avho mav remember him in “Sound an Alarm.” “Call Forth Thy_ Powers, and “ Philistines, Hark!” will admit. Perhaps there was something in the melodies of war which roused his own combative spirit. Mr Pearce points out that as early as 1842 Sims Reeves identified himself with many popimir English ballads, including “My Pretty Jane ’’ and “ The Pilgrim of Love,” songs which afterwards became his own. It was nob until alter the death of Braham that he added “Tho Death of Nelson ” and “ The Bay of Biscay ” to his repertoire. Ho went to Italy in 1846, and sang at the La Seala in Milan in “ Lucia di Lamfticrmoor.” He afterwards sang at the principal Italian opera, houses, and also visited Vienna. On returning to London ho joined Jenny Lind’s touring party, and was engaged for opera at Drury Lane, when the Athemeum, organ of the cultured intellectual?, was roused out of ita habitual calm;— Tile success of , Mr Reeves amounted to a furore, and deservedly so. His voice is neither a forced up baritone nor an oily and unnatural counter-tenor; he is a legitimate tenor of rich and sweet quality, sufficient in compass and so adequate in power that wo have bub to bog its owner not to over exert it in passages of passion, hoAvovor tempted by tho ea.gerne«s of the moment, the applause of hia audience. or tho canons of tho school in which ho has studied. Mr Reeves seems to have cultivated his “piano” and “mezzopiano” sedulously, his voice appears to be carefully graduated rather than Avorked into flexibility. But Lis groat merit is (ho dramatic and musical earnestness Avith Avhich ho throws himself into his pari. . . . Our theatre now has a tenor as excellent ns any of his contemporaries on the European stage. The Morning Post, champion of Italian opera, also acclaimed Sims Reeves as " ono of the greatest, if not the greatest, tenor in Europe.” To croivn all, the Musical World cam© out with a high eulogy:— Tho new tenor. Mr Sima Reeves, achieved, and most deservedly achieved, the most unqualified success avo have Avifcnessed on tho English slag© for a quarter of a century. . . . Mr Reeves’s voice is a pure tenor of delicious quality, his tone velvety and equal throughout. His management of this exquisite organ displays considerable skill and proves the artist to have studied deeply and laboured hard in his early youth. Wo have hoard no voice out of Italy so decidedly Italian as Mr S. Reeves. . . . He is now an accomplished, nay, wo may add, a groat, singer, and it will ho his own fault if ho is not ono of the very greatest artists of tho modern stage. “ One can only regret,” writes Mr Pearce, “that necessity forced him to appear before the public when his powers were enfeebled anil little, remained but bis masteriv method. Tho new generation which hoard him in his decadence could not possibly realise what his wondrous singing Avas like in tho days of his prime.” The reason for this “ necessity ” is referred to in an rffiituaiy notice which appeared in tho Daily Telegraph, in which the writer recalls:— During the evening preceding tho dav fixed for tho first performance of Arthur Sullivan’s sacred cantata, “ Tho Prodigal Son,” at the Worcester Festival of 1869, tho principal part in which admirable work Avas to.be rendered by Sima Reeves, the illustrious tenor, received a dispatch informing him that ho had lost £II,OOO by a sudden failure of a bank in which he had invested a considerable part of his professional earnings. Tho following passage may without indiscretion bo hero textual !y reproduced from a letter adnddrosesd by Mr Reeves to the AVritcr of this memoir a few months ago. “The now of this terrible catastrophe prostrated mo completely at first. I sent for Sullivan, and explained what had happened. He was very much out up about it. and so was I, for I bad taken the music to my heart. Sullivan came in the next morning, bogring me to sing the part. He looked green, and I looked both green and grey. After drinking some vorv strong coffee, and having a chat, over tho work, I determined to put on my armour a.nd fight the fight. I did so. and sueceeded. It was a groat effort, but. it really did me good.” Skilled and trustworthy musicians who were present at, tho performance that ensued have since warrnlv testified to the snpor-cxcellenoe of his interpretation of the role assigned to him, that of the Prodigal Son, and. are unanimous in asseverating that bis singing of that principal solo. " I Will Arise and go to My Father a veritable wail of heart—broken, remorseful agony—drew tears from a largo majority of the audience. It cannot be doubted that such touching words and music,, sung by a man who had just seen the savings of a lifetime ruthlessly swept aivay bv an unmerciful • " Pirns Bhotcs: Fifty Years of Musio in Engl null,” By Charles E. Pearce. With Sixteen Illustrations in Halt-tone, London: Stanley Paul and Co. (16s net.)

blast of cruel calamity, must havo thrilled the fouls of well-nigh all present on that memorable occasion, though the vocalist’s hearers wore jieoossarily ignorant of tho dread disaster that lent exceptional pathos to hrs masterly deliverance. In 1847, Louis Antonio Jullien, then at the height of his popularity as conductor, conceived ihe idea of launching the promcnado i.oncerts at Covent Garden “With a faith in the British public’s love for good music—a laith that was justified —Jullien gave his shilling ‘promonadors’ Mozart and Beethoven, performed in a stylo widen equalled tint of the exclusive Philharmonic Society.” In 1843 tho “Wednesday Concerts” were started, with Sims Reeves as tho principal attraction on the “popular side,” a popularity duo in no small measure to tbo singing of tho favourite ballads with which his name is associated. At these concerts commenced the “encore nuisance' which pursued .Sims Reeves wherever he went, and which continued till tho end of his public career. Whenever he gave “The Bay of Biscay” or “The Pilgrim of Love” an uproar arose if he refused to acknowledge tho encore. “What- tho Musical World called a ‘regular row’ was continually taking’ place, and when after sharing in a selection from ‘Maraniello’ Reeves was called upon to sing ‘The Bay of Biscay’ twice and he simply bowed, a storm arose, upon which ho remonstrated with his tyrants, pointing out that they treated him with harshness, since he had already sung four times, adding that tho song which they wanted again was ‘dreadfully fatiguing.’ ” Mr Pearce makes several references to the “encore nuisance,” as, for instance: Sims Reeves was very good natured and gave way whenever it was possible. On a certain occasion the audience fell to quarrelling over that stormy petrel “The Bay of Biscay,” one half calling for its repetition and the other half yelling for something else. Reeves told them to settle the matter among themselves and he would sing whatever they wished. The house divided, and tho majority were for “The Bay,” which he accordingly gave. In later years he was not so disposed to endure this species of persecution. An instance- within my experience occurred at the Beaumont Institute, Mile End, where (he audiences were invariably insatiable. Reaves had been encored, and as bows of acknowledgment did not satisfy, he at last yielded to the clamour and appeared, tie walked across the platform with that peculiar walk of his (acquired probably from his stage training) and the characteristic nonchalant swing of his shoulders (tho origin of silly and unfounded accusations), and had sat down to the piano to accompany himself, when some stupid person called out “My Pretty Jane.” This was too much. Ho gave one indignant glance around, shut down the lid of the piano witn a significant bang, and strode away without a word. Ho was willing to oblige but ho was not to be dictated to. A storm of indignation descended upon the indiscreet member of tho audience, but Sims Reeves was seen no more that night. Sims Rooves went by way of opera into oratorio, and finally confined himself almost entirely to ballad singing. Ho "was undoubtedly the outstanding figure whenever ho played in ‘The Beggar’s Opera.’ Macheath’s songs, whether rollicking or amorous, emphatically demand a ringing tenor voice. Reeves could make his sonorous, sympathetic tones suit every gradation of human passion, and ho revelled in the ballad.” Air Pearce’s book is not only a complete account of the career of tins famous tenor; it also sheds sidelights on the manners and customs of the early Victorian era. Tho musical event of 1257 was the Handel Festival in tho Crystal Palace, an event in which ‘Queen Victoria, who was a great admirer of Sims Reeves’s singing, evinced a keen interest. Mr Pearce writes: A sidelight on the feminine fashions of tho period is thrown by a letter in the Athenaeum of June 5, the writer calling to mind that when “The Messiah” was produced at Dublin in tho eighteenth century the ladies were respectfully requested to attend the performance “without; their hoops,” and tho remarks that “an act of self-denial in some degree corresponding to this would add to the comfort of the vast audience that will assemble at Sydenham on tho 15th and tho following days.” Crinoline skirts were not so enormous in 1857 as in 1860, but they were still of prodigious dimensions. The Festival was favoured with the brightest of weather, and the scene presented by the transept wag brilliant in the extreme. The nine hundred ladies of the chorus with their “white shawls or visites or whatever they may_ be called” (Morning Post) formed a delightful contrast to the gay colpqrs of the audience. A special feature to bo noted was tho abundant use of parasols both by audience and chorus, which the sun rendered almost indispensable, and in some cases the selfishness exhibited formed as groat an annoyance as tho matinee hat of later days. An innovation, which, in later restrictive times, read quite sybaritic, was refreshment handed round in the interval in the shape of small bottles of wine, ices, and biscuits. More in wonderment than fn admiration, I venture to say, did the audience gaze upon the extraordinary scheme of decoration adopted in what was called the royal box. Nothing could be more topical of the taste, or rather want of taste, in 1857. The colours were of a dull crimson and yellow relieved by cab-bage-green, and the general effect was that of a gigantic Punch and Judy show. Mr Pearce draws an interesting picture of the musical controversies of the time, notably in regard to tJie lowering of “musical pitch.” a question in which Sims Reeves was deeply involved. Almost all the notable figures in the musical world of that half-century flit in and out of Mr Pearce’s pages, which are enlivened by o number of portrait reproductions. For (he general reader this book offers much lively gossip and chit-chat, whilst to the musical student the facts and history should prove invaluable. A paragraph worth quoting reads as follows: Sims • Reeves once (attended one of Moody and Sankey’s services, and after listening to tho singing of Sankey observed: “Ho takes nil sorts of liberties with the time, but ho gets a wonderful effect in spite of everything, and therefore ho ia a great soloist.”