The Reid Concert Hall is a small music venue in the city of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. It is located in the south-western corner of

Bristo Square Bristo Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a public space on the estate of the University of Edinburgh. It lies in the south of the city, between George IV Bridge and George Square. The most prominent landmark on the square is the category A list ...

about south of the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

, and is part of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Originally opened in 1859 as the Reid School of Music by the university's professor of music, John Donaldson (1789-1865), it was designed by the Scottish Architect

David Cousin David Cousin (19 May 1809 – 14 August 1878) was a Scottish architect, landscape architect and planner, closely associated with early cemetery design and many prominent buildings in Edinburgh. From 1841 to 1872 he operated as Edinburgh’s C ...

and is a

Category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being *Categories (Aristotle), ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) ...

. The hall is named after

General John Reid A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

, an army officer and musician who founded the Chair of Music (

Reid Professor of Music The Reid Professorship in Music was a position founded within the University of Edinburgh in 1839 using funds provided in a bequest from General John Reid. History On his death in 1807 General John Reid left a fortune of more than £50,000. Subje ...

) at the university. The Reid Concerts take place every 13 February.

Performances

The Reid Hall is hosts a number of classical

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

concerts throughout the year, mostly performed by students and academics. The Reid Concerts are performed every year under the organisation of the Reid Professor. They are held on 13 February in remembrance of General John Reid and in line with the terms of his bequest that established the professorship. In its history a number of works by

Kenneth Leighton Kenneth Leighton (2 October 1929 – 24 August 1988) was a British composer and pianist. His compositions include church and choral music, pieces for piano, organ, cello, oboe and other instruments, chamber music, concertos, ...

were premiered at the Reid Hall. After the composer's death, the hall hosted a memorial concert performed by

Wakefield Cathedral Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, is a co-equal Anglican cathedral with Bradford and Ripon Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Leeds and a seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Originally the pa ...

Choir. During the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, the Reid Hall is used as a performance venue called " The Cowbarn" by

Underbelly Underbelly is the side of something that is not normally seen. Figuratively, it means a vulnerable or weak part, similar to the term Achilles' heel, or alternatively, a hidden, illicit side of society. This term could refer to: Business * ...

Architecture

The Reid School of Music is a tall, rectangular

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

building, designed by David Cousin in an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

Neoclassical style. The exterior large

sash windows A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History T ...

are flanked by decorative shell-headed

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

s. The roof is surrounded with an ornate, dentilled

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

and heavy, bracketed

eave The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

s, below which is an inscription carved into the

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

, "". Steps lead up to the entrances, which are flanked by pairs of classical

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s and topped with

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

s. The interior consists mostly of a spacious concert hall, which is noted for its highly decorated neoclassical

coffered A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...

tunnel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

ed ceiling. Against the east wall of the concert hall is a reproduction classical organ, which was built by

Jürgen Ahrend Jürgen Ahrend (born 28 April 1930) is a German organ builder famous for restoring instruments such as the Rysum organ and the Arp Schnitger organ in St. Jacobi, Hamburg (St James's Church) as well as building original instruments. He is intervi ...

in 1978. The wooden casing was designed by James Haig Marshall of Ian G Lindsay and Partners. The concert hall was designed to offer "dry"

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

with low reverberation. By contrast, the neighbouring

McEwan Hall The McEwan Hall ( gd, Talla MhicEòghainn) is the graduation hall of the University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was presented to the university in 1897 by William McEwan, brewer and politician, at a cost of £115,00 ...

opened in 1897 is a grand, colossal space with high reverberation.

Music museum

When the Reid Hall was built, Professor John Donaldson also added a museum gallery to display his private collection of old and unusual musical instruments. The Reid Hall is considered to be the oldest purpose-built musical museum in Europe. Today, the North Room houses the John Donaldson Collection of Musical Instruments, which, along with the

Russell Collection The Russell Collection is a substantial collection of early keyboard instruments assembled by the British harpsichordist and organologist Raymond Russell. It forms part of the Musical Instrument Museums collection of the University of Edinburg ...

, forms part of the Musical Instruments collection of the University of Edinburgh.

References

External links

* {{authority control Music venues in Edinburgh Former churches in Scotland Neoclassical architecture in Scotland Buildings and structures of the University of Edinburgh Italianate architecture in Scotland Museums in Edinburgh Music museums in Scotland University museums in Scotland 1859 establishments in Scotland Musical instrument museums in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1859

Performances

Architecture

Music museum

See also

References

External links