Thomas German Reed
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Thomas German Reed (June 27, 1817–March 21, 1888) was an English composer and theatrical manager best known for creating the German Reed Entertainments, a genre of musical plays that made theatre-going respectable at a time when the stage was considered disreputable. He was married to Priscilla Horton, a noted singer, actress and dancer.
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[edit] Life and career
German Reed was born in Bristol, although the family soon relocated to London, where his father, Thomas Reed, became conductor at the Haymarket Theatre and later the Garrick Theatre. After beginning music studies from his father, German Reed became an organist at the Catholic Chapel on Sloane Street. In 1838 he became musical director at his father's former employer, the Haymarket Theatre, where he continued to work until 1851 with the exception of a temporary closure in 1843. During this time, he met his wife, Priscilla Horton, a successful and popular contralto and actress who had been performing on the stage in London since the age of ten. They married in 1844.
On April 2, 1855, German Reed and his wife presented the first performance of "Miss P. Horton's Illustrative Gatherings," musical theatre performances usually consisting of one or two brief comic operas designed for a minimal number of characters and performed with either the piano and harmonium or a small ensemble of musicians. These eventually became "Mr. And Mrs. German Reeds Entertainments", presented at the Royal Gallery of Illustration on Regent Street (and later St. George's Hall). His establishment was called the "Gallery of Illustration," rather than a theatre, and the pieces he put on were called "entertainments," rather than plays, extravaganzas, or burlesques. Reed himself composed the music for many of these pieces, and he often appeared in them along with his wife. Their son took over the entertainments upon their retirment.
[edit] Works composed by German Reed
- The Drama at Home, or An Evening with Puff (1844)
- A Match for the King (1844)
- The Golden Fleece, or Jason in Colchis and Medea in Corinth (1845)
- Who's the Composer? (1845)
- The Wonderful Water Cure (1846)
- No Cards (1869)
- Our Island Home (1870)
- A Sensation Novel (1871)
- Mildred's Well, a Romance of the Middle Ages (1873)
- He's Coming (Via Slumborough, Snoozleton & Snoreham) (1874)
- The Three Tenants (1874)
- The Ancient Britons (1875)
- Eyes and No Eyes; or, The Art of Seeing (1875)
- A Spanish Bond (1875)
- An Indian Puzzle (1876)
- The Wicked Duke (1876)
- Matched and Mated (1876)
- A Night's Surprise (1877)
- No. 204 (1877)
[edit] References
- Williamson, David, ed. (1895). The German Reeds and Corney Grain; records and reminiscences. A.D. Innes.
- Stedman, Jane, ed. (1967). Gilbert Before Sullivan. University of Chicago Press.
