No 42 -- Summer 1994 Edited by Michael Walters
There have been no true successors to Gilbert and Sullivan in their joint field, although one or two pairs of subsequent collaborators have been hailed as such. Arguably the most distinguished of these were A.P. Herbert and Alfred Reynolds, during the inter-war period. Herbert was a great wit and a tireless campaigner for causes; Reynolds was a conductor, mainly in the theatre, and a composer, again primarily of music for the stage - operetta (or "comic opera" as he preferred to call it [And rightly so. Ed.]), musical comedy, revue and incidental music for plays - though there wre a number of songs and orchestral pieces. Herbert's major theatre libretti in the 1930s (he was later responsible for BLESS THE BRIDE and other musical comedies): were the operas TANTIVY TOWERS (originally intended for Reynolds, who started to set it, but finally brought out in 1931 with music by Thomas Dunhill) and DERBY DAY (music by Reynolds; produced at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1932). In truth, however, despite Herbert's undoubted skill with words, he did not touch as deep a chord in the national consciousness as W.S. Gilbert, nor, despite the charm and professionalism of Reynolds' music, did this have quite the memorability of Sullivan's. DERBY DAY had a less than remarkable initial run, but I feel it could be considered for revival today. Its characters present a wide social range, rivalling in music and spectacle W.P. Frith's famous painting of the same name, from racehorse owners and society ladies to tipsters, barmaids, jockeys and costermongers - the work opens with a chorus of "pearlies" - and the scenes, at Epsom Downs and elsewhere would give imaginative producers tremendous scope.
Reynolds also composed a one-act opera THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH for the Lyric in 1931, a two-act musical THE LIMPET IN THE CASTLE, premiered in Wombwell, South Yorkshire in 1958 and a considerable number of "mini-operettas" taking half an hour or less, several of which were written for broadcasting (THE BOOKIES' OPERA for television), though the most popular of them was the once-popular THE POLICEMAN'S SERENADE in which in the space of 15 minutes a pretty housemaid is courted successively by a constable, a milkman and (successfully so) a burglar, in shapely music which is almost worthy of grand opera, let alone comic opera. (Reynolds conducted a considerable amount of both during his long career). The words were again by Herbert; it formed part of a high-class revue produced at the Lyric in 1926 and entitled RIVERSIDE NIGHTS. Reynolds expended a good deal of energy in refurbishing 18th century "ballad" (or pasticcio, correctly) operas by Arne and others (LOVE IN A VILLAGE), Linley and others (THE DUENNA) and Dibdin and others (LIONEL AND CLARISSA), all of which were done successfully at the Lyric, which had had such a hit with THE BEGGAR'S OPERA in 1920, and for all of them (and for others in the same genre) Reynolds composed as well as arranged the music. Shocking, you say? [No, I didn't Ed.] Not really; in the 18th century no opera was sacrosanct - and Reynolds had a gift for writing effective and delightful pastiche.
His most popular work for the stage was the musical comedy version of that celebrated historical spoof 1066 AND ALL THAT, for which the "book" - based loosely on W.C. Sellar and R.H.Yeatman's original - was provided by Reginald Arkell. Opening at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in December 1934, it moved to the capital the following Easter. The music was mostly composed by Reynolds, but Arkell persuaded him to include several national melodies. This is in fact - apart from THE POLICEMAN'S SERENADE, which was performed at my own school in about 1946 - the only Reynolds work I have actually seen staged, by a Doncaster school a few years ago, who cut some of the original and added material of their own. It was mightily entertaining, even if the music lacked something in individuality (though nothing in skill).
May one put in a plea for amateur societies to look again at Reynolds' considerable output for the stage? We can then perhaps judge how worthy a successor it is to the G&S tradition.
PHILIP SCOWCROFT
[John Lewis Partnership, in London, very successfully staged TANTIVY TOWERS some years ago. Ed.]
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