William Leonard Reed (1910-2002)

Obituary

Versatile composer of quintessentially English music

William Leonard Reed

The Guardian Thursday April 25 2002

William Reed (Will to his friends and family) was a musician of unusual range - composer, conductor, arranger, editor and lecturer. Two strands that ran through his career started while he was studying to become a teacher at Oxford: he revealed his talents as a composer, and became involved with the Oxford Group, campaigning for spiritual and ethical renewal. From 1938 onwards, it became Moral Rearmament (MRA), and provided the focus for Reed's musical theatre talents. He was also a great anthologist.
Born in south London, Reed attended Dulwich college, where his musical activities, particularly as a pianist, flourished. A classics exhibition took him to Jesus college, Oxford, in 1929. He graduated in 1933, adding an education diploma in 1934. In his last term at the university he submitted a sonata for violin and piano for the John Lowell Osgood composition prize. To his surprise, he won it, and was advised by Professor Sir Hugh Allen to enter the Royal College of Music (RCM).
Reed was accepted as a pupil of Herbert Howells for "two wonderful years", winning the first Cobbett Prize for composition. He also studied conducting with Constant Lambert.
A travelling scholarship in 1936 made possible a trip to Scandinavia, a highlight of which was a meeting with Sibelius at his home in Jarvenpaa. Reed returned to Scandinavia in 1936 and 1937, lecturing for the British Council. In 1939, he gained an Oxford music doctorate.
Homage To Delius for string-sextet (1934) reflects a lifelong-passion for that composer - other heroes were Chopin, Elgar and Rachmaninov. Reed wrote chamber works for fellow students at the RCM, and his orchestral Recitative And Dance (1934) received a performance under Sir Malcolm Sargent.
Reed's own considerable pianism inspired many works for solo piano (Concert Suite, 1947; Concert Waltz, 1977), piano duo (Three Surrey Impressions, 1935), and chamber works such as his Piano Trio (1941-44). Orchestral works include short pieces such as his Scherzo (1937), Festive March (1978) and Mountain House Suite (1949), which was performed by the Suisse Romande Orchestra.
His musical style was quintessentially English, owing some allegiance to John Ireland and Howells, but also capable of spiky dissonance which offset the lush romanticism. During the second world war, he both served in the London Fire Auxiliary Service and wrote patriotic reviews for MRA,

Reed ... helped the young

whose founder, Frank Buchman, invited him to the US after the war as a choir trainer.
He travelled with MRA from 1940 to 1960, producing innumerable songs and choral works, his Carol For East And West (1952) being a fine example. Theatrical productions during this period included the Good Road (1947) and The Crowning Experience (1957), made into a film two years later, which starred the African-American mezzo-soprano Muriel Smith.
Arguably his finest work in this field was for Peter Howard's satire The Vanishing Island (1955) featuring the Gilbert and Sullivan star Ivan Menzies. Reed's music and orchestrations show a sophistication and lyricism which set the work apart.
In 1966, Reed was appointed director of music at the Westminster Theatre Arts Centre, MRA's London platform, and instituted a popular Sunday concert series, with performers including the pianists - Nelson Freire, John Lill and Peter Katin. More musicals followed there - Annie (1967), High Diplomacy (1969) and Love All (1978).
Many of Reed's works have been broadcast on the BBC, most recently the Piano Trio to celebrate his 90th birthday. His collections of vocal music ranged from The Golden Book of Carols (1948) to The Treasury of Vocal Music (1969), and, with
M J Bristow, he produced editions of National Anthems of the World from 1978 till 1997.
From 1973 to 1997, Will Reed lectured for the Workers' Educational Association, and he was active as a private teacher. His generous encouragement of younger colleagues and seemingly endless flow of creative ideas were combined with quiet faith and a great sense of humour. In my case, his gift for friendship resulted in my ears being opened to the delights of Percy Grainger, whose adventurous musical curiosity was not unlike his own.
Though unmarried, he will be greatly missed by many.
Penelope Thwaites

William "Will" Leonard Reed, musician, born October 16 1910; died April 15 2002

The complete works of William Leonard Reed are to be found in the
Royal College of Music Library in London - e-mail: phorton@rcm.ac.uk

Recordings of the works of William Leonard Reed can be obtained from
Stephen Lloyd in Luton - e-mail: s.f.s.lloyd@btinternet.com