Birth--His precocity--His musicianly attributes--His protest against the "high pitch"--Sims Reeves in opera--Association with Macready--Reeves in Italy--Triumphs in that country--First appearance in oratorio--Doubts expressed as to his probable success--Scene of enthusiasm after "Sound an alarm"--The greatest interpreter of Handel--His idiosyncrasies--His high standard of art.
John Sims Reeves, one of the greatest tenor singers of whom the world has any record, was born in Kent on October 21st, 1822. His genius as a child was early evident. At an age when the average boy is found playing cricket on the village green, as should be, this one was playing the organ at a village church near by.
It is an interesting reflection that, whereas the majority of singers confine their energies to the development of the voice alone, Sims Reeves, from his earliest years, was bent on mastering the mysteries of music--such as harmony and counterpoint.
He succeeded to this extent, that he became a thoroughly sound musician.
In the consideration of his career, this point must ever be borne in mind.
Sims Reeves was not only a singer, but he was a fine and well-instructed musician, and any opinion that he might put forward was entitled to respect, not only from the singer's point of view, but that of a musician whose erudition was unquestionable.
So, when he raised his voice against the abominable pitch that had been introduced into the country through the instrumentality of a foreign, cosmopolitan musician, he had the weight behind him, not only of a distinguished singer, but of a musician perfectly able to maintain the position he had taken up, on grounds both reasonable and logical.
The fact that his opinion, however strongly put forward, had no influence, is not a matter for surprise. In that Victorian period, the English musician was practically an alien in his own country.
Although Sims Reeves was destined to become, perhaps, the greatest of oratorio singers, his earliest successes were made in opera. His "first appearance on any stage"[31] was at Newcastle, when he appeared as the "Gipsy Boy" in "Guy Mannering."
He was soon found, as would naturally arise, in London; Macready, the theatrical monarch of those days, and whose scene of operations was Drury Lane Theatre, attracting him.