Aberdeen Music Hall: 150 years of music and laughter
December 2009
Assembly Rooms: Archibald Simpson’s design for the County Assembly Rooms completed in 1822.
by Edi Swan
The iconic building on Union Street, Aberdeen, known as the Music Hall, began life as the County Assembly Rooms. Designed by Archibald Simpson, it opened in 1822 at a cost of £11,500, and provided – within its accommodation of parlour and billiard rooms, a card room, a supper room, a ballroom and a banqueting hall – a meeting place for the landed gentry and the polite society and intelligentsia of the city.
Within its walls they could enjoy the higher levels of culture befitting their status. Charles Dickens gave readings of his works. General Tom Thumb and the world renowned magician, John Anderson, entertained.
It was soon realised, however, that the Assembly Rooms had limitations. To bring a famous orchestra and full chorus at an affordable ticket price, a concert hall with 2,500 seats was required.
In 1858, the Aberdeen Music Hall Company purchased the Assembly Rooms, demolished the banqueting room and built a new concert hall to a design by the eminent local architect, James Matthews. At the rear of its stage was a magnificent organ built by Henry Willis – the largest of its kind in Scotland and only one of two in the United Kingdom.
The Music Hall, as it was now named, opened on 14 September 1859 when Prince Albert, Prince Consort, journeyed from Balmoral to chair the annual conference of the British Association for Science. One hundred and fifty years later, this anniversary was celebrated with a dinner addressed by the distinguished past chairman of the association, Professor Lord Winston.
Nellie Lind and Clara Butt
Musical recitals and entertainments became a regular feature. Orchestras of national standing visited the concert hall – The London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra. Messrs Harrison’s Subscription Concerts brought international classical singers. The Aberdeen Choral Union was formed in 1859 giving four concerts per year and featuring instrumental pieces and organ solos. Nellie Lind, ‘The Swedish Nightingale’ and Madame Clara Butt were sellouts.
In the late 1890s Aberdeen was a growing city. Churches, curling rinks and sporting arenas were being built. Fund raising events used the extensive facilities of the Music Hall, as the whole building came to be known. With its many rooms, kitchens and toilets it was ideal for sales of work – then called bazaars – huge affairs involving the decoration of the whole building. For the Dyce Bazaar of 1900, Mr George M. Bridges, Bazaar Artist of Kings Lynn, transformed the concert hall into the ice palaces of Montreal and depicted on stage the mighty St Lawrence River with rapids, cataracts, islands and ice-capped mountains.
Although some wall paintings were created for the opening of the Music Hall, these were replaced between 1899-1909 by the magnificent murals of artist Robert Douglas Strachan. Painted in the mainstream of European Art Nouveau, they are based on episodes from the Orpheus and Eurydice classical legend. Sadly, in recent history, some of these panels were painted over with industrial paints. One panel was removed in 1995 and restored to its original glory; others panels will be considered in the future.
After the 1914-1918 War and the advent of the jazz age, public tastes changed and takings at the box office tapered off. In 1928, faced with liquidation, the Aberdeen Music Hall Company sold out to Aberdeen Town Council for £34,000 ‘for the behoof of the Common Good’.
For the next few years, The Music Hall continued to act as a focal point for freedom ceremonies, trade exhibitions, school prize-givings, wrestling matches, sales of work, cat shows, dog shows, exhibitions of budgies and horticultural events.
In the 1930s roller skating was a popular pastime and the Music Hall was converted to a roller skating rink. In January 1931 an attempt was made on the world marathon non-stop roller skating title. The holder gave up after only a few hours because of blistered feet. Rather than disappoint the audience, Hadyn Marshall, the professional manager of the rink, accompanied by an amateur skater, Robert Bruce, took up the challenge. Just before midnight on Saturday 17 January, Robert Bruce became the new World Amateur Marathon Roller Skating Champion with a time of 61 hours 36 minutes – a record still standing.
In the 1960s Aberdeen was expanding rapidly and many felt the Music Hall had outlived its use. A real estate company offered to demolish the building and replace it with a more modern concept. They had already made radical changes to the building next door. The Royal Northern Club was replaced by a supermarket. There was some support for the proposal as the building was run down and lacked modern facilities.
Simpson’s Round Room preserved
The public outcry that followed, however, bolstered by support from concert lovers, conductors from across the country and national personalities, led to the Secretary of State listing the Music Hall in 1962 as a Category A building. A public enquiry in 1973 agreed that Simpson’s Round Room and Square Room and Matthew’s Concert Hall must be preserved.
It was another 10 years before Aberdeen District Council’s policy committee recommended complete refurbishment at a cost of £3million. Work began on 1 October 1984 and the building re-opened on 12 May 1986, celebrated by a parade up Union Street followed by a concert by the The Band of the Royal Marines.
This reflected the events of a day of torrential rain on 26 April 1820 when 1500 Freemasons in full regalia attended the laying of the foundation stone of the Assembly Rooms. The position of this stone remains a mystery, confounded by contemporary newspaper reports which said it was laid on the corner of Union Street and South Silver Street – a south-east corner instead of the normal masonic tradition of north-east.
The refurbished building displayed a stunning new colour scheme designed by Peter Rice who, two years earlier, had redecorated His Majesty’s Theatre. The ballroom, scene of many triumphs by the Aberdeen Repertory Company, the Carden Arts Group, the William Gavin Players and the Aberdeen Revue group, was demolished and replaced with modern toilet facilities and offices. State-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment enhanced its role as a modern entertainment venue.
A flagship future
In April 2004, the Music Hall along with its sister venue His Majesty’s Theatre and the Aberdeen Box Office were transferred from Aberdeen City Council into the hands of Aberdeen Performing Arts Trust, a charitable trust set up specifically to run these venues. In 2008, The Lemon Tree joined the consortium, creating what must be one of the most successful entertainment agencies in the country.
The Music Hall is not resting on its laurels. It continues to extend the vision of its founding fathers that the building should be at the heart of cultural growth in the city. The ceiling has recently been repaired and there is new seating in the stalls. A feasibility study has been considering the hall’s future and from it has emerged a plan to establish a flagship centre for music.
Duncan Hendry, chief executive of the trust, explains the plan to create in the city centre a place where children will make music alongside music students, professional composers and national orchestras.
Fulfilling its original concept, the Music Hall will be a vibrant venue alive with music all day long, in the forefront of high quality concert entertainment for the North-East of Scotland.
With pencil and paper, Edi Swan has enjoyed interesting careers as a teacher, a scenic artist and a technical director. He continues his long association with His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen as its Honorary Archivist.
This is an article from the December 2009 edition of Leopard Magazine. To read much more like this every month, see our subscription details.