NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

although I can find no evidence that he performed in Newcastle. However, his
influence together with that of his French equivalent, Philippe Musard (1793-
1859) who introduced Promenade concerts into Paris in 1833 and Louis Antoine
Jullien, must have been instrumental in the introduction of Promenade Concerts
in general. Jullien and his orchestra did perform in Newcastle in January 1857 at
the Theatre Royal, Grey Street, billed as ‘Mon. Jullien and his Unrivalled Band’.
Jullien was a sort of 19 th century pop idol. He had about two dozen Christian
names having been named after all the members of the local philharmonic
orchestra in his hometown of Sisteron. He introduced the Polka to England and
Queen Victoria was not amused, but she should have been flattered in 1845
when Jullien and an orchestra of five hundred played ‘her tune’ at Covent Garden
with a cannon shot in each bar. Jullien made a fortune from music but died in
poverty and lunacy. Notwithstanding all this, Mr Rea had some original ideas and
they did not go unnoticed outside the town, as the following contemporary
newspaper report testifies:
‘It may be perhaps gratifying to the subscribers to learn that the Annual Series of
Orchestral Concerts in Newcastle are now exciting considerable attention in
musical circles in London, and that Glasgow, Edinbro’ and Greenock are
beginning to avail themselves of the services of the Orchestra organised by Mr
Rea, and are following in the wake of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Mr Rea has no
hesitation in affirming that better concerts than those which have been given
during the last month have seldom been heard either out of or in the Metropolis.
In confirmation of this he begs to refer his patrons to the list of works performed,
and to remind them of the highly finished performances of such excessively
complicated works as the Power of Sound (Spohr), the Scotch Symphony, the
Pastoral Symphony, &c., &c.’
The article concludes with a list of the orchestral works performed in the third
series of these concerts which includes Beethoven symphonies 1,2,4,5 and 6,
Haydn’s ‘Surprise’, Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’, ‘Reformation’ and ‘Scotch’ and many
overtures, marches, waltzes and operatic selections by other leading composers.
William Rea had literally overnight, and single handedly, changed the concert
scene in Newcastle.
William Rea died shortly after 11 o’clock on 8 th March 1903 at his home at No
7 Summerhill Grove at the top of Westgate Hill and was laid to rest in Jesmond
Old Cemetery. On his death the following appeared in the Newcastle Daily
Journal: -
‘When William Rea came to Newcastle if could hardly be said that it was a
musical town, and indeed it would be scarcely the truth to say that the arduous
labours on which he entered with enthusiasm and with persistent effort met with
such appreciative response they deserved. In those days it was a common
matter of reproach that Newcastle cared so little for music that no high-class
concert paid and consequently that accomplished artistes fought shy of the
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