Neale's Musick Hall, Dublin
Neale's Musick Hall | |
---|---|
Location | Fishamble Street Dublin 8 |
Coordinates | 53°20′39″N 6°16′11″W / 53.34426°N 6.26971°W |
Built | 1741 Opened 2 October 1741 Closed as a Music Hall (1777) Closed as a theatre (1 January 1867) Incorporated into a factory (1868)[1] |
Demolished | 19th/20th century |
Architect | Richard Cassels[2] |
Owner | The Charitable and Musical Society c/o William Neale |
Neale's Musick Hall,[3] also known as Mr. Neal's New Musick Hall,[4] the New Musick-Hall,[5] Mr. Neale's Great Room,[6] Neal's Musick Room,[7] the Great Musick Hall,[8] Mr. Neale's Great Musick Hall[9] or the Fishamble Street Music Hall was a purpose-built music hall that existed on Fishamble Street in Dublin city centre. It was built using subscriptions from a charitable organisation named 'The Charitable and Musical Society', and operated from 1741 until the mid-19th century. William Neale, a local musical instrument-maker and music publisher, was the secretary/treasurer[6] of the society during the conception and construction phase of the project.[10] The building is most notable for the premiere of Handel's Messiah which took place within it on the afternoon of 13 April 1742.[4]
History
Foundation
At the end of the 17th century, convivial impromtu musical meetings were often held in two taverns on Fishamble Street named The George and The Bull's Head
The Charitable and Musical Society met every Friday evening, and when a concert was over would typically finish the night with '
On 2 October 1741, Neale's Musick Hall was formally opened on Fishamble Street.[1] Accommodating seven hundred people, it was Ireland's largest concert venue.[17] Laurence Whyte, a poet with connections to the Charitable Musical Society,[19] provided the only known description of the internal design of the Music Hall[20] in his 1742 poem entitled "A Poetical Description of Mr. Neal's New Musick-Hall in Fishamble-street, Dublin". The poem has been noted by Dr. Michael Griffin of University of Limerick as being "of interest not just to literary historians but also architectural historians".[21] To help defray expenses, the hall was hired out to other organisations and individuals, including two women named Mrs Hamilton and Mrs Walker who organised an 'Assembly' there every Saturday evening.[17] Advertisements purchased by the women to promote their assemblies in the press described the venue as "The Charitable Musick Hall in Fishamble-street, which is finished in the genteelest manner".[22] The existence of the two concert halls; Neale's and the Philharmonick Room, solidified Fishamble Street's reputation as the hub of Dublin's serious musical appreciation for the coming decades until 1767 when the Rotunda Room in association with Dr. Mosse's Lying-in Hospital began to compete with it.[6]
Handel's Messiah
Handel's decision to give a season of concerts in Dublin in the winter of 1741–42 arose as a result of an invitation on behalf of the Duke of Devonshire, then serving as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.[23][20][24] According to historian Jonathan Bardon, Handel and the Duke were probably not acquainted, as Devonshire, unlike his viceregal predecessors, did not subscribe to opera in London.[25] Jonathan Keates, however, contends that they may have known each other from the Aachen or Tunbridge spas.[26] It is known, however, that the invitation was ultimately sent at the behest of the Charitable and Musical Society for the Release of Imprisoned Debtors, along with two other recognised charities in the city of Dublin at the time, namely the Charitable Infirmary on Cook Street (founded in 1718) and Mercer's Hospital (founded in 1734).[27] The charities requested only one benefit performance to be made by Handel, while any additional time he chose to spend in Dublin could be filled by organising and directing other concert series for his own benefit.[28] A violinist friend of Handel's, Matthew Dubourg, was serving as the Lord Lieutenant's bandmaster in Dublin; and assured Handel he could look after the tour's orchestral requirements.[29]
After arriving in Dublin on 18 November 1741, Handel arranged a subscription series of six concerts, to be held between December 1741 and February 1742 at Neale's Great Music Hall, Fishamble Street. These concerts were so popular that a second series was quickly arranged; although Messiah figured in neither series.[23] On 29 December 1741, Handel, in written correspondence with Charles Jennens in England, noted that the hall possessed splendid acoustic properties,[2] noting:
- "...the Musick sounds delightfully in this charming Room, which puts me in such spirits (and my Health being so good) that I exert my self on my Organ with more than usual Success..."[30]
Handel gave multiple performances at the hall throughout the early months of 1741-2, but the venue is mostly widely remembered for the premiere of Messiah which took place at noon on 13 April 1742. A repetition performance of Messiah was also held on 3 June 1742. Preparations were made to keep the Musick Hall cooler for patrons on this occasion, with an advertisement announcing that "in order to keep the Room as cool as possible, a Pane of Glass will be removed from the Top of each of the Windows".[31] Reflecting the charitable nature of the society, a newspaper advert for the performance in the Dublin Journal of 27 March read:
- "For Relief of the Prisoners in the several Gaols, and for the Support of Mercer's Hospital in Stephen's Street, and of the Charitable Infirmary on the Inns Quay... will be performed at the Musick Hall in Fishamble Street, Mr. Handel's new Grand Oratorio call'd the MESSIAH, in which the Gentlemen of the Choirs of both Cathedrals will assist..."[32][33]
There was such demand for tickets for the initial performances that, in order to maximise space, the organiser's reportedly requested male patrons to leave their swords at home and female patrons not to wear
Handel departed Ireland on 13 August 1742. Before departing Ireland, Handel purchased a new organ for the Musick Hall, which was used for the first time at the opening concert of the second season of the Charitable and Musical Society on 8 October 1742. As of 1912, the organ was in the possession of Lt. Col. G. H. Johnston of Kilmore House, near Richhill, County Armagh.[2]
By 1750, the Charitable and Musical Society had released 1,200 people from debtors' prison, whose debts and fees were noted to have been in excess of £9,000.
Late 18th and 19th centuries
On 19 April 1777, the Musick Hall was repurposed as a theatre by Messrs. Vandermere and Waddy, and renamed as the 'Fishamble Street Theatre'.[2]
On 6 February 1782, an accident occurred in the grove rooms of the Music Hall at a meeting organised by the 'Corporation of Cutlers, Painters, Paper-Stainers and Stationers' to nominate a candidate to represent the city of Dublin in parliament.
The venue went through a number of different names over the following decades, including the Sans pareil Theatre and Prince of Wales Theatre until it was closed forever in the public capacity in which it was built on 1 January 1867.[2]
Remaining structures
Shortly after the theatre's closure, the site was bought (in 1868) by Kennan & Sons and some of the structures incorporated into a factory for agricultural implements.[2]
Writing in 1912, Irish musicologist and historian
While the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) does not record when the majority of the music hall building was demolished, by the time of a 2015 NIAH survey, the only material fabric of the structure that remained was the single-bay two-storey entrance arch – then in use as the gateway to an apartment development forecourt.[1]
Anniversary events
On the bicentenary of the premiere of Messiah in 1942, two celebratory performances of the work were held, the first in St Patrick's Cathedral on Monday 13 April 1942, and the second in Christ Church Cathedral on Tuesday 14 April 1942.[7]
Since at least 1992 (the 250th anniversary of the premiere), choirs have marked the occasion of the oratorio's anniversary by singing outside the site of the original Musick Hall in the open air. As of 2007, it was reported by
References
Notes
- ^ a b c NIAH 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Flood 1912.
- ^ Glover 2018, p. 297.
- ^ a b Fraser 1953.
- ^ Keates 1985, p. 278.
- ^ a b c d e Boydell 1975.
- ^ a b Hood 2013.
- ^ DublinHandelFest 2022.
- ^ Steen 2003, p. 61.
- ^ Gunn 2003.
- ^ Curtis 2016.
- ^ a b Bardon 2015, p. 14.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 76.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 193.
- ^ a b c Bardon 2015, p. 16.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 17.
- ^ a b c d Bardon 2015, p. 18.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 71.
- ^ Fagan 2009.
- ^ a b Hunter 2005.
- ^ Dublin City Libraries & Archives 2018.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 19.
- ^ a b Shaw 1963, pp. 24–26.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 21.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 22.
- ^ Keates 1985, p. 276.
- ^ Bardon 2015, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Bardon 2015, p. 23.
- ^ Cole 1984.
- ^ a b Keates 1985, p. 279.
- ^ Keates 1985, p. 281.
- ^ Hopkins 2009.
- ^ Hogwood 1984, p. 175.
- ^ Vernon 2015.
- ^ Bolger 2021.
- ^ Craig 1952, p. 164.
- ^ Beaumont 2009.
- ^ a b c d Kennedy 1997.
- ^ RTÉ 1990.
- ^ RTÉ 2000.
- ^ a b RTÉ 2007.
- ^ Hyland 2013.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0717163540.
- Beaumont, Daniel (2009). "Neal (Neale), John". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy. .
- Bolger, Dermot (7 May 2021). "From the Abbey to Zozimus – an A to Z tour of the real Dublin". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- Boydell, Brian (1 December 1975). "Venues for Music in 18th Century Dublin". Dublin Historical Record. 29 (1). Dublin: JSTOR 30103959.
- ISBN 978-1905483112.
- Curtis, Maurice (2016). Temple Bar: A History. Dublin: The History Press. ISBN 978-1845888961.
- Cole, Hugo (1984). "Handel in Dublin". Irish Arts Review (1984–87). 1 (2): 28–30.
- Fagan, Patrick (2009). "Whyte, Laurence". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy. .
- Flood, W. H. Grattan (1 December 1912). "Fishamble St. Music Hall, Dublin, from 1741 to 1777". Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft (Anthologies of the International Music Society). 14 (1). Leipzig: JSTOR 929446.
- Fraser, A. M. (1 January 1953). "Handel in Dublin". Dublin Historical Record. 13 (3/4). Dublin: JSTOR 30103810.
- ISBN 978-1-5098-8208-3.
- Gunn, Douglas (1 March 2003). "Music in 17th and 18th Century Dublin: Part 2". The Journal of Music. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-500-28681-4.
- Hood, Susan (1 April 2013). "Messiah and the choirs of St Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedrals, in Dublin". ireland.anglican.org. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- Hopkins, Frank (16 April 2009). "Get A Handel On Our Musical Heritage". The Herald. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- Hunter, David (1 January 2005). "Inviting Handel to Ireland: Laurence Whyte and the Challenge of Poetic Evidence". JSTOR 30071057.
- Hyland, Paul (13 April 2013). "271st anniversary of Handel's Messiah marked in Dublin". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ISBN 978-1845951153.
- Kennedy, Máire (1 September 1997). "Disaster at the Music Hall, Fishamble Street, 6 February 1782". Dublin Historical Record. 50 (2). Dublin: JSTOR 30101174.
- OCLC 1357436.
- Steen, Michael (2003). The Lives & Times of The Great Composers. London: ISBN 1-84046-679-0.
- Vernon, Sheena (2015). "Rejection and rehabilitation: Why Handel's Messiah was premièred in Dublin". History Ireland. Vol. 23, no. 2.
- "Fishamble Street Music Hall, Fishamble Street, Dublin 8, Dublin". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH). 5 April 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- "Reconstruction works begin on historic Dublin arch". rte.ie. RTÉ. 13 March 2000. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- "Messiah Commemoration". RTÉ Archives. RTÉ. 23 August 1990. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- "Hallelujah The Messiah Back In Dublin". RTÉ Archives. RTÉ. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- "Handel's Dublin". dublinhandelfest.com. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- "Live from the Conniving House: Poetry and music in eighteenth century Dublin". Dublin City Libraries & Archives. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2022.