St. James's Hall was a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist

Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and ''Tribune.'' He has two w ...

, who had decorated the interior of

the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...

. It was situated between the Quadrant in

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

and

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

, and

Vine Street Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue and Melrose Avenue. The intersection with Hollywood Boulevard was once a symbol of Hollywood itself. The famed intersection fell into ...

and George Court. There was a frontage on Regent Street, and another in Piccadilly. Taking the orchestra into account, the main hall had seating for slightly over 2,000 persons. It had a grand hall long and broad, the seating was distributed between ground floor, balcony, gallery and platform and it had excellent acoustics. On the ground floor were two smaller halls, one square; the other by . The Hall was decorated in the 'Florentine' style, with features imitating the great Moorish Palace of the Alhambra. The Piccadilly facade was given a Gothic design, and the complex of two restaurants and three halls was hidden behind Nash's Quadrant.Hobhouse, Hermione. ''History of Regent Street'' (Macdonald and Jane's, London, 1975), p. 84 Sir

George Henschel Sir Isidor George Henschel (18 February 185010 September 1934) was a German-born British baritone, pianist, conductor, and composer. His first wife Lillian was also a singer. He was the first conductor of both the Boston Symphony Orchestra ...

recalled its 'dear old, uncomfortable, long, narrow, green-upholstered benches (pale-green horse-hair) with the numbers of the seats tied over the straight backs with bright pink tape, like office files.' The Hall was built jointly by two music publishing firms, Chappell & Co. and Cramer & Co., in the hope of attracting the growing audiences for fine musical performances that attended the Crystal Palace and the halls being built in the provinces. It stood empty for nearly a year after its opening. For almost half a century thereafter, the Hall was London's principal concert hall,Survey of London: volumes 31 and 32, Chapter IV
/ref> to be succeeded by

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it ...

in the 1900s and later by

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

, the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

. It became famous for its 'Monday Pops' concerts and Ballad Concerts, as the home of the

Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a membe ...

and the

Christy Minstrels Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel sh ...

and for the many famous conductors and performers who gave important performances there.

Opening

The first performance at the hall was '' The Hymn of Praise'', sung by the Vocal Association, under

Julius Benedict Sir Julius Benedict (27 November 1804 – 5 June 1885) was a German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career. Life and music Benedict was born in Stuttgart, the son of a Jewish banker, and in 1820 learnt compo ...

.C. Pearce, ''Sims Reeves - Fifty Years of Music in England'' (Stanley Paul, London 1924), pp. 205-07.

Sims Reeves John Sims Reeves (21 October 1821 – 25 October 1900) was an English operatic, oratorio and ballad tenor vocalist during the mid-Victorian era. Reeves began his singing career in 1838 but continued his vocal studies until 1847. He soon establ ...

sang

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's 'Adelaide' there (the first of many successes), accompanied by

Arabella Goddard Arabella Goddard (12 January 18366 April 1922) was an English pianist. She was born and died in France. Her parents, Thomas Goddard, an heir to a Salisbury cutlery firm, and Arabella née Ingles, were part of an English community of expatriat ...

, in a concert at the end of May 1858. According to Reeves' biographer, 'The hall itself met with general approval, but the arrangements for chorus and orchestra were severely condemned.' In the same year, one of the first complete performances of

J.S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...

's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' to be heard in England was given there under

William Sterndale Bennett Sir William Sterndale Bennett (13 April 18161 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where he remained for ten years. B ...

, with

Helen Lemmens-Sherrington Helen Lemmens-Sherrington (4 October 1834 – 9 May 1906) was an English concert and operatic soprano prominent from the 1850s to the 1880s. Born in northern England, she spent much of her childhood and later life in Belgium, where she studied at ...

Charlotte Sainton-Dolby Charlotte Helen Sainton-Dolby (17 May 182118 February 1885), was an English contralto, singing teacher and composer. Life Charlotte Helen Dolby was born in London to Samuel Dolby and Charlotte Niven. Her father died when she was 10 years old. S ...

and

Willoughby Weiss Willoughby Hunter Weiss (2 April 1820, Liverpool - 24 October 1867, London) was an English oratorio and opera singer and composer. He became one of the most celebrated bass singers of the 19th century, and sang in the premieres of many English work ...

The Christy Minstrels

The hall became known for its continuous production of

blackface minstrelsy Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

from 1862 until 1904. Known as the

and later the Moore and Burgess Minstrels, the Hall's resident minstrel troupe performed in one of the smaller halls located on the ground floor near the restaurant, below the main hall.

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's 1893

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, ''

Utopia, Limited ''Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress'', is a Savoy opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a ...

'', contains a joke in which the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

is purposely confused with St. James's Hall and its minstrel shows, and a parody of a minstrel number is included in the same scene. In residence for the whole active life of the hall, the Minstrels had their permanent home there, but their interests often conflicted with those of the main hall. In January 1890, for instance,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

wrote:

At the Hallé orchestral concert... I was inhumanly tormented by a quadrille band which the proprietors of St James's Hall (who really ought to be examined by two doctors) had stationed within earshot of the concert-hall. The heavy tum-tum of the basses throbbed obscurely against the rhythms of Spohr and Berlioz all the evening, like a toothache through a troubled dream; and occasionally, during a ''pianissimo'', or in one of Lady Hallé's eloquent pauses, the cornet would burst into vulgar melody in a remote key, and set us all flinching, squirming, shuddering, and grimacing hideously.'

Only a fortnight later, the band, at first subdued, broke out in a 'wild strain of brazen minstrelsy' during the final bars of the funeral march in the Eroica Symphony. After the movement was applauded a member of the audience began calling out that a complaint should be lodged, and won general approval, ''hear, hear'', and people standing up to look at him. On one occasion George Henschel, Lady Henschel and her daughter went to hear Joseph Joachim play at a Saturday 'Pop', but were so aware of the 'rhythmic gay sounds, thumping and shimmering away in a most enlivening manner', that they decided to go and hear Moore and Burgess instead.

Monday and Saturday 'Pops' and Ballad Concerts

Chappell & Co., Samuel Arthur Chappell, one of the brothers in the Chappell & Co. firm of Bond Street music publishers, who concentrated on selling brass and woodwind instruments, together with his brother Thomas, devised the idea of the Monday Popular Concerts, which established the fame and popularity of the hall.

reported that the concerts at the hall contributed greatly to the spread and enlightenment of musical taste in England. Monday 'Pops' were held in the evening, and Saturday 'Pops' on Saturday afternoons. These were chamber-concerts. Their programmes were almost exclusively 'classical', and consisted of piano and organ recital, singers, violinists, string quartets and other chamber ensemble. They were managed by John Boosey, and later by William Boosey, together with Chappell. In 1861 the ''Musical World'' observed: 'classical chamber music of the highest order is brought week after week within the reach of the shilling paying masses as it has now been no less than fifty-two times at St James's Hall.... swelling the total of the Monday Popular Concerts to no less than sixty-three within two years of their foundation.... Such a result is unparalleled in the history of musical entertainments.' George Bernard Shaw gives an interesting narrative of the 'Pops' between 1888 and 1894. Shaw admired the Joachim Quartet, led either by Joachim himself or often by Mme Wilma Norman-Neruda (Lady Hallé) (and later still by Eugène Ysaÿe), with ('modest') L. Ries (2nd violin), ('solemn') Herr Strauss (viola) and the ('gentle') cellist Alfredo Piatti. This was certainly the 'star turn' in that period. They frequently played full works, or even groups of works, at the 'Pops': their larger ensemble was often heard in the Beethoven ''septet''. Among soloists heard in 1888-90 (the 31st and 32nd seasons) were Charles Hallé, Alma Haas (Beethoven op. 110), Agnes Zimmerman (Waldstein), Edvard Grieg, Bernhard Stavenhagen (Robert Schumann, Schumann ''Papillons''), Arthur De Greef (composer), Arthur de Greef (Chopin), pianists; Joseph Joachim (Brahms), Mme Norman Neruda, (Bach concerto for 2 violins), violin; Bertha Moore, Charles Santley (''Erlkönig (Schubert), Erlkönig'', ''To Anthea''), Marguerite Hall (Schubert, Brahms, Henschel), singers. The concerts were mixed, often consisting of a chamber-work, some songs, and instrumental solos. The Hall became known for the "London Ballad Concerts", which began in the 1860s and moved in January 1894 to Queen's Hall. They "were started... by Messrs Boosey 'for the performance of the CHOICEST ENGLISH VOCAL MUSIC by the MOST EMINENT ARTISTS'."

The Philharmonic Society

The Royal Philharmonic Society, Philharmonic Society of London, founded 1813, until 1869 gave its concerts in its rooms at Hanover Square, which had seating for only about 800. The Society decided to move permanently to St James's Hall, and a complimentary additional concert, held at St James's Hall, was given to its subscribers at the end of the 1868-69 season. Charles Santley, Charles Hallé, Thérèse Tietjens and Christina Nilsson were the soloists. When the move was made, the Society remodelled its charges to obtain a wider audience and compete with

and other large venues, and introduced annotated programmes. The Society remained at the hall until 28 February 1894, when it moved to the Queen's Hall. There were major events in 1870–71, when a Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven centenary season was held, with all nine symphonies performed. The bust of Beethoven by Johann Nepomuk Schaller was presented to the Society and collected (in Pest, Hungary) by Sir William Cusins. It was exhibited at the Society's first concert in 1871, and a replica was placed at the front of the platform at every Philharmonic concert thereafter. The Society's Gold Medal incorporated an image of the bust. Another major event of 1871 was the original presentation of medals to ten distinguished musicians.

Notable Philharmonic performers at St James's Hall

In 1871, Charles Gounod conducted a concert of his music. In 1873 Johannes Brahms, Brahms's ''A German Requiem (Brahms), A German Requiem'' had its English premiere; Edward Lloyd (tenor), Edward Lloyd first sang before the Society; and Hans von Bülow made his London debut, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven), "Emperor" concerto and Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach's ''List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue''. In 1874, Pablo de Sarasate and Camille Saint-Saëns played there, and in 1875, August Wilhelmj. Other Philharmonic Society highlights of the next few years included performances by

, Xaver Scharwenka, Émile Sauret, Joseph Joachim and Edward Dannreuther. Changes of management were introduced in 1881 following the Society's recovery from a financial crisis. Concerts were moved from Monday to Thursday evenings, to make way for the Monday Night Popular Chamber-Concerts, known as the 'Pops'. The 1881 season included two performances of Hector Berlioz, Berlioz's ''Roméo et Juliette (symphony), Roméo et Juliette''; Scharwenka gave the British premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 2, and Eugen d'Albert and Emma Albani appeared before the Society. Over the next two years many choral works were given with the Philharmonic Choir, including works by Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Carl Maria von Weber, Weber, Beethoven and Brahms. In 1883, Cusins retired as conductor, and for one season there was a team of honorary conductors. Antonín Dvořák conducted his Symphony No. 6 (Dvořák), Sixth Symphony (although it was referred to as "Symphony No. 1") in March 1884. Sir Arthur Sullivan conducted the concerts of 1885–87, and as guest conductors, Dvořák, Moritz Moszkowski and Saint-Saëns were heard in works written for the Society. Among the soloists were Tivadar Nachéz, Fanny Davies, Lillian Nordica, Ella Russell, Emma Nevada, Józef Hofmann and František Ondříček. Most notably Saint-Saëns's Symphony No. 3 (Saint-Saëns) written at the behest of the Society, and premiered there on 19 May 1886. Frederic Hymen Cowen, F. H. Cowen succeeded Sullivan as conductor from 1888–92. In his first season Edvard Grieg played his Piano Concerto (Grieg), Piano Concerto in A minor and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky made his first appearance before an English audience, introducing two works. Johan Svendsen and Charles-Marie Widor also conducted in that season, and Clara Schumann made her farewell performance to the Society. Tchaikovsky returned in 1889 to conduct his Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky), Piano Concerto No. 1 with Wassily Sapellnikoff making his English debut (who three years later created a furor with the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 (Liszt), E flat concerto); and Agathe Backer-Grøndahl and Eugène Ysaÿe also made their English debuts. In 1890, Dvořák conducted his Symphony No. 4 (Dvořák), Fourth Symphony. Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Paderewski, who gave four recitals at St. James's Hall for his début in 1890, returned there for the Society in 1891 to perform the Saint-Saëns' C minor, and the Rubinstein D minor, concerti. Leonard Borwick and Frederic Lamond (pianist), Frederic Lamond also performed there for the Society. Cowen gave many concerts of contemporary English composers such as Sullivan, Hubert Parry, Alexander Mackenzie (composer), Alexander Mackenzie, Charles Villiers Stanford, and of his own works. In 1892 Alexander Mackenzie succeeded Cowen. In the 1893 season, Tchaikovsky gave the English premiere of his Symphony No. 4 (Tchaikovsky), Fourth Symphony, Saint-Saëns conducted his ''Le Rouet d'Omphale'' and played his Piano Concerto No. 2 (Saint-Saëns), G minor concerto, and Max Bruch conducted his own Violin Concerto No. 2 (Bruch), Second Violin Concerto with Ladislas Gorski as soloist. In November 1893, a presentation was made to the Society's Secretary Francesco Berger in appreciation of ten years service. Soon afterwards, Queen's Hall opened its doors, and the Society moved there in the following February.

Subscription Concerts

Hans Richter (conductor), Hans Richter often conducted Richard Wagner concerts at St. James's Hall, beginning in 1877. These 'Orchestral Festival Concerts' (established regularly in 1879 by the violinist Hermann Franke), which commenced after Easter, were among the chief rivals to the Philharmonic Society programmes. At the time of Arthur Sullivan's resignation of the Philharmonic conductorship, the Society suggested to Richter that he might become its conductor, and the two series of concerts might be amalgamated under the Society's supervision. Richter did not accept the plan. In addition to Richter's series, there was also a nine-year winter series of subscription concerts established and conducted by

, including a full cycle of Beethoven symphonies in one year, and a rare performance of Richard Wagner's Symphony. The content was planned against a 'permanent background' of Beethoven and Brahms. Helen Henschel refers to 'the famous Wagner cat' which inhabited the Hall. It was said to walk onto the stage during rehearsals whenever any work by Wagner was being played, but never otherwise. Shaw refers to both, noting that Richter's concerts were too expensive, and that Henschel's orchestra was too small.

Readings by Charles Dickens

In 1868, famed Victorian era, Victorian author Charles Dickens presented a final series of "Farewell Readings," at the hall, which commenced on the evening of October 6, with a program devoted to "Doctor Marigold" (from the ''Christmas Story'') and "The Trial" from ''Pickwick''. He had settled with his tour managers, Chappell & Co., on 100 readings for the princely sum of £8,000 pounds. Attendees would receive printed programs and Chappell's advertisements included the following statement:

''It is scarcely necessary for Messrs. CHAPPELL and Co. to add that any announcement made in connexion with these FAREWELL READINGS will be strictly adhered to and considered final; and that on no consideration whatever will Mr. DICKENS be induced to appoint an extra night in any place in which he shall have been once announced to read for the last time.

The stalls were priced at five shillings, balcony seats at three, and general admission at one shilling. A new amenity, sofa stalls ("of which there will be a limited number only"), went for seven shillings. The following year Dickens would have to cut a provincial tour short after collapsing showing symptoms of a mild stroke in Preston, Lancashire, Preston on 22 April 1869. When he had regained sufficient strength, he arranged, with medical approval, for a series of readings to partially make up to Chappell & Co. what they had lost due of his illness. There were to be twelve final performances, running starting on 11 January 1870 back at the hall. Dickens would give his last public reading here at 8:00 pm on the 15 March 1870. He died shortly thereafter on 9 June, having suffered another stroke.

Other uses

The Bach Choir, established in 1875 under a founding committee including Sir George Grove and Sir John Stainer, had as a primary aim the introduction to England of Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach's Mass in B Minor. With a choir of between 200 and 250 voices, including the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, and under the baton of her husband, conductor Otto Goldschmidt, the Mass came to performance in April 1876 at St James's Hall, and a second performance was given a month later. Henry Joseph Wood, Henry J. Wood performed the E minor organ concerto of Ebenezer Prout at the Hall with an orchestra under Joseph Barnby, in the late 1880s. Although the performance earned him much praise, he referred to the instrument as 'that terrible box of whistles at St. James's Hall'. This had not seemed to bother Camille Saint-Saëns when he premiered his Symphony No. 3 (Saint-Saëns), third Symphony there (in which two sections make extensive use of the organ) in 1886. Saint-Saëns was a fine organist, and was titulaire of Église de la Madeleine in Paris. If he had any objections to the organ of St. James Hall for the premier of his symphony, they do not appear in his writings. The Stock Exchange Orchestral Society, founded 1883, originally played in the Prince's Hall Piccadilly, but transferred to St. James's Hall until 1894, when they moved to Queen's Hall. In December 1893 Harry Plunket Greene and Leonard Borwick began their celebrated partnership in lieder recitals at the hall, which continued well into the new century. In 1895, the 16-year-old pianist Mark Hambourg gave a concert there under Henry J. Wood, in which he played three piano concerti.

The end of the Hall

Philharmonic Hall, Great Portland Street, London

The Chappell ballad concerts were being managed by Boosey & Hawkes, William Boosey in 1902, when the hall was owned by a private company. The controlling share was held by T. P. Chappell, chairman of Chappell & Co., Chappell's: he turned down a good offer to buy the hall because Boosey felt strongly about its old connection with the Saturday and Monday 'Pops' and the Chappell ballad concerts. But Chappell died in June 1902, and the other shareholders accepted a new offer without consulting Boosey, who was badly put out. Then

came into the market, and a friend of Boosey's acting in that interest pointed out that Queen's Hall would be worth much more if St James's Hall ceased to operate. Boosey realised that Messrs Chappell could benefit most by becoming lessors of Queen's Hall, and it was immediately arranged with the result that Chappell's controlled Queen's Hall from 1902 down to 1944. The 11-year-old violinist Franz von Vecsey made his English debut at St James's Hall in April or early May 1904. It continued in use until February 1905 when it was demolished. Le Méridien Piccadilly Hotel, The Piccadilly Hotel was afterwards built on the site.Elkin 1944, 16, n.

1907 building

A new Philharmonic Hall, London, St. James's Hall at Great Portland Street, (on a site previously occupied by St Paul's Church) had its foundation stone laid by the Lord Mayor and Sherriffs on 20 April 1907. It opened on 25 April 1908 with a series of promenade concerts performed by the newly formed St. James's Hall Orchestra under the musical directorship of Mr. Lyell Taylor."Concerts", ''The Times'', 6 April 1908, p. 8

References

External links

Victorian London - St James's Hall
(Victorian London)
Images of the first hall
(British History On-line)
"The St. James's Hall Christy Minstrels' Illustrated 'Christmas Annual'" - 1868
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James's Hall Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Former concert halls in London Music venues completed in 1858 1858 establishments in England 1905 disestablishments