Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

EEHEAESAL EEICHA 51
praises from the correspondents of the A. M. action and business begin. The orchestra is
Zeitung in Prague and Vienna for his extraordinary
execution on both instruments, the very and these are termed Full Band Rehearsals
never used until the last two or three rehearsals,
artistic and individual character of his performance,
and the sweetness of his cantabile. The public production of the work, comes the Full
(Germ. GenercU-probe). Last of all, before the
concertina was patented by Sir Charles Wheatstone
in 1829[see Concertina], butdidnotoome performance. G.
Dress Rehearsal, exactly as it will appear in
into use till Eegondi took it up. He wrote two REICHA, Anton Joseph, born at Prague,
concertos for it, and a very large number of Feb. 27, 17.70, lost his father before he was a'
arrangements and original compositions. He also year old ; his mother not providing properly
taught it largely, and at one time his name was for his education, he left home, and took refuge
to be seen in almost all concert programmes. He with his grandfather at Glattow, in Bohemia.
was a great friend of Molique's, who wrote for The means of instruction in this small town
him a Concerto for the Concertina (in G) which being too limited, he went on to his uncle
he played with great success at the concert of Joseph Eeioha (born in Prague, 1746, died at
the Musical Society of London, April 20, 1864. Bonn, 1795), a violoncellist, conductor, and
When he went abroad for his second tour, his composer, who lived at Wallerstein in Bavaria.
performance and the effect which he got out of His wife, a native of Lorraine, speaking nothing
so unpromising and inartistic an instrument but French, had no children, so they adopted
astonished the German critics. (See the A. M. the nephew, who thus learned to speak French
Zetong' for 1846, p. 853.) Regondi appears to and German besides his native Bohemian. He
have been badly treated by his father, and to now began to study the violin, pianoforte, and
have had wretched health, which carried him flute in earnest. On his uncle's appointment,
off on May 6, 1872. G.
REHEARSAL (Fr. M^aUion, Ger. Probe).
In the case of concerts, a trial performance preliminary
to the public one, at which each piece
included in the programme is played through
rehearsals ; and in the case of large, intricate,
and vocal works, many more are requisite.
We
have it on record that Beethoven's Eb Quartet,
op. 127, was rehearsed seventeen times before
its first performance ; the players therefore must
have arrived at that state of familiarity and
certainty which a solo player attains with a
concerto or sonata.
In the case of Operas, every practice of either
chorus, principals, or orchestra, separately or
together, is termed a rehearsal. These will sometimes
continue every day for six weeks or two
months, as the whole of the voice-music, dialogue,
and action has to be learnt by heart. Whilst
the chorus is learning the music in one part of
the theatre, the principals are probably at work
with the composer at a piano in the green-room,
and the ballet is being rehearsed on the stage.
It is only when the musicand dialogue are known
by heart that the rehearsals on the stage with
in 1788, as musical director to the Elector of
Cologne, he followed him to Bonn, and entered
the band of Maximilian of Austria as second
flute. The daily intercourse with good music
roused the desire to compose, and to become
something more than an ordinary musician,
but his uncle refused to teach him harmony.
at least once, if in MS. to detect the errors inevitable
in the parts, and in any case to study
the work and discover how best to bring out He managed, however, to study the works of
the intentions of the composer, and to ensure Kirnbergcr and Marpurg in secret, gained much
a perfect ensemble on the part of,the performers. practical knowledge by hearing the works of
In England, owing to many reasons, but principally
to the over-occupation of the players, suffi-
learned much from his constant intercourse with
Handel, Mozart, and Haydn, and must have
cient rehearsals are seldom given to orchestral Beethoven, who played the viola in the same
works. The old rule of the Philharmonic Society band with himself and was much attached to
(now happily altered) was to have one rehearsal him. At length his perseverance and his success
on Saturday morning for the performance on in composition conquered hisuncle's dislike. He
Monday evening, and the Saturday Popular Concerts
were originally, in like manner, rehearsals and other works were played by his uncle's
composed without restraint, and his symphonies
for the Monday evening concerts. No new works orchestra.'
can be efficiently performed with less than two On the dispersion of the Elector's Court in
1 794, Reieha went to Hamburg, where lie remained
till 1799. There the subject of instmotion
in composition began to occupy him, and
there he composed his first operas, 'Godefroid
de Montfort, ' and Oubaldi, ou ' les Franjais en
Egypte' (two acts). Though not performed,
some numbers of the latter were well received,
and on the advice of a French ^migr^, he started
for Paris towards the close of 1799, in the hope
of producing it at the Theatre Feydeau. In this
he failed, but two of his symphonies, an overture,
and some ' Scenes Italiennes,' were played
at concerts. After the successive closing of the
Theatre Feydeau and the Salle Favart, he went
to Vienna, and passed six years (1802-8), in
renewed intimacy with Beethoven, and making
friends with Haydn, Albreohtsberger, Salieri,
and others. The patronage of the Empress Maria
1 See an intereBtlDg notice by Kaatner, quoted by Thayer,
JJeethoverit i.
IBS.