Huddersfield Town Hall was designed by John H Abbey from Lockwood near Huddersfield, who had been appointed borough surveyor in October 1868. The town hall was built in two stages: the administrative building was completed in 1876 and the larger concert hall extension in 1881.
It is a magnificent classical Corinthian style building, of which we in Huddersfield are rightly very proud. Concert halls like this were originally built to house the local choirs and brass bands that had been developing in the north during the industrial revolution, when workers would be concentrated in large industrial towns such as Huddersfield. While there were very few orchestras performing outside London at that time, every sizable village had a brass band – many still do – and every church, chapel and school had a choir. Special concerts and competitions would be carried out in buildings like these all over the north of England.
Performing on the town hall stage
I have performed on this stage many times with various choirs over the years, and they have all been memorable occasions, if only I could remember them. The first time was when I was 11 in 1958. Our Golcar CofE junior school competed in the local Mrs Sunderland Festival competition, and we came a creditable sixth out of 12.
The magnificent ‘Father’ Willis organ was originally fitted into the Newport Albert Hall in 1860 and the Huddersfield council bought it second hand in 1910. The two buildings were not the same shape and as a consequence, if one looks very carefully from the centre of the balcony, a slight discrepancy in the height can be seen from one side to the other.
Another feature of my early visits to the concert hall was their two hideous art deco chandeliers. Although I think a chandelier should be glass, these were wooden, shaped like two monstrous upside-down wedding cakes. They were horrible. Luckily one fell down onto the balcony soon after an audience had left, so both were removed. Fortunately, no-one was hurt. Some claim that they can tell that the acoustics were different following their removal.
In the audience for two memorable concerts
My two most recent memorable concerts were as a member of the audience. The first of the two was a ‘Thanks for the Memories’ concert in July 2023, to celebrate the work Thom Meredith had done as principal of Kirklees Musica prior to his retirement. There were over a hundred musicians from past and present keen to join in with the celebrations. Thom conducted the concert and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Thom continues as principal of Colne Valley Male Voice choir (see ramble ‘Choir’). The photo was taken in about 2000, with the choir on the town hall stage. The guests this time were the Brighouse and Rastrick brass band. As I was looking at this photo, I was saddened to realise that at least 20 of the choir members are no longer with us and are now singing in their own choir in the sky.
The other memorable concert was on 30 November 2023, performed by the orchestra of Opera North. And what a fantastic occasion it was. They were very proud to announce that this concert was a sell-out, which is another indication that Huddersfield can still boast of being one of the hubs of northern music (see ramble ‘Music in and around Huddersfield’).
The first of an evening of ‘firsts’: dinner in town
The evening was full of firsts. Our good friends from Ripon had arranged to visit Huddersfield to support the orchestra and asked if we would like to join them. It transpired that they were also meeting with two of the musicians and thought it would be lovely if we all met each other. Arrangements were made for all six of us to have a meal at the Med One restaurant before the concert. This was the first of the firsts; Moi and I rarely visit the town centre, but we can definitely recommend this restaurant.
Our friends had previously told me that the musicians were the harpist and the trombonist. Both turned out to be delightful people. However, my burning question during the meal was “Why the harp?” It is a beautiful instrument, but the concert harp is very expensive, a nightmare to tune and only marginally more portable than a church organ.
Why the harp? My imagination provides the perfect answer
I was hoping to be told a story about the time when as a young girl she had been taken by her mother to Paris. They were aimlessly meandering through one of the older quarters, when they noticed a street they had never seen before. They decided to investigate and came across an old dusty antique shop, which they felt compelled to enter. In their fascination, they soon became separated. In the very back of the shop the young girl noticed a blanket covering a shape that she couldn’t fathom. Lifting the corner, she discovered a golden harp, and a voice whispered “Buy me, buy me”.
She rushed to her mother and arrangements were made with the wizened old proprietor who said that they could take the harp away – if the girl returned every week to clean each item in the shop. Only then could she regard the harp as hers. This took 18 years of dedicated practice and meticulous cleaning. On the day that the young lady had been accepted as first harp in the Opera North orchestra, she and her mother returned to the shop to give the wizened old proprietor the good news. But not only did the shop seem to have vanished into thin air, but so had the street.
The facts – more ordinary, but a testament to talent and practice
This of course is not what happened. The young girl and her mother had witnessed a performance by a harp and flute (apparently there is quite a repertoire for this duo), and she fell instantly in love with the harp. Luckily her family was able to support her to fulfil her ambition. A better outcome than for the many parents who spend a fortune on their kids only for some expensive object to be gathering dust at the back of the garage. Not that there are many harps languishing in the back of garages up and down the country, but I think you will get the idea.
The journey into the trombone turned out to be equally ordinary. Our new friend joined his brother in the brass section after having been fascinated by the strange movements of the trombone. As a child, I was also fascinated by this part musical instrument, part weapon, part sword-swallowing act. I also found it difficult to understand why the player had to change the instrument’s shape to play. Not only that, but the note that they were playing didn’t always follow what they did with the slide thingy. The modern trombone can trace its lineage back the 15th century and shares its ancestry with the trumpet.
To get to the proficiency that these two musicians had achieved, not only did they have the talent, but also they will have dedicated the whole of their spare time to practice. There are no half measures, no corner cutting, no magic harp; just the relentless grind of practice. They deserve all our respect and admiration, for they do it for our entertainment.
A regal perspective on a magical moment of music
The second first of the evening was being sat in the Lord Mayor’s box. At every opportunity I would look down on the plebs in the audience to see if I could wave regally from on high at someone I recognised; but disappointingly, there was no-one. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same.
The third first was hearing Holst’s Planet Suite live. What a fantastic job the orchestra of Opera North did. There were performances in the first half of the concert that included a chorus (choir), but for the Planet Suite in the second half the chorus had left the stage. During the Neptune finale the orchestra produces a magical sound in the final few bars suggesting a quiet, cold, desolate, barren place. But I couldn’t work out how it was produced; perhaps the flute and/or oboe I thought.
It was our friends who informed me that it was the unseen sopranos from the chorus singing with the orchestra, first from the crush room behind the stage, then while walking along the council chamber main corridor until we could hear them no more.
It was a magical moment, in an evening full of wonderful firsts and equally wonderful moments with old and new friends.
