DOGS AND TUMULTS

Tim Healey traces the fascinating history of Oxford’s Holywell Music Room.
Article reproduced with permission of Oxfordshire Limited Edition / The Oxford Times.

These days, the audience for classical music is, by and large, both civilised and attentive. But it has not always been so. Referring to concerts held at the Holywell Music Room in 1775-6, Oxford's Musical Society declared: 'In Compliance with the earnest Request of a very considerable number of Subscribers, it is hoped, that for the future, Gentlemen will not suffer Dogs to follow them to the Room, which are a great Annoyance to the Company'.

There were other disorders. Artist-musician Jean Baptist Malchair gave up leading the Holywell band around 1792 when, during 'a tumult of ye young men', his Cremona violin was broken by an orange thrown at the orchestra.

The scenes conjured up are made all the more remarkable by the uniqueness of the venue. Opened in 1748 the Holywell Music Room was the first purpose-built concert hall in the world. This might seem an extravagant claim given the wealth of music made in western civilisation from mediaeval times onwards. But early musicians played in buildings with other primary functions: the ale-house, the church, or the lord's great hall. Operas, very fashionable in the early part of the 18th century, were staged in theatres.

The Holywell, a high-roofed building created specifically for concerts of vocal and instrumental music, was a considerable innovation. It was not until 1781, in Leipzig, that a comparable building was erected across the Channel. And since research has revealed nothing of its kind in any other continent, the Holywell's claim to be the oldest in the world remains unchallenged. Revolutionary in concept, the building was paid for by music lovers in Oxford. A public subscription for its construction was set up in 1742, and fund-raising concerts were given in Christ Church Hall and the King's Head Tavern, two favoured venues of the already flourishing Musical Society.

The main instigator of the building project seems to have been the university's newly elected professor of music, William Hayes, while the design was by Thomas Camplin, vice-principal of St Edmund Hall. He must be credited not only with the austere elegance of the building, but also its wonderful acoustics. One observer remarked that “there is not one pillar to deaden the sound”.

Completion came slowly because of scanty funds, but after the opening the Musical Society's regular series of choral and instrumental concerts at the Holywell became a key feature of the city's cultural life. It united town and gown in an excitingly democratic enterprise that challenged aristocratic tradition. Previously, musicians had played before exclusive audiences on the command of haughty patrons. In contrast, the Holywell concerts were run by enthusiasts and open to the world at large.

In the early years at the Holywell, Handel was in vogue and his music was preponderant in the programmes. For special concerts professionals were brought in from London and elsewhere, and notwithstanding dogs and tumults, high musical standards were set. Guest performers included Madame Mara, the great German prima donna; the violon-cello player Cervetto; and Salomon the violinist, a celebrated interpreter of Haydn.

Local musicians of quality also played their part in establishing the Holywell's name. The Musical Society created a permanent orchestra for the Room, comprising in 1789 six violins, two violas, one cello, one double bass, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and two singers.

The band in this period was led by one of the most engaging figures in 18th-century Oxford life. Born in Cologne in 1730, John Baptist Malchair came to Britain at the age of 24, and settled in London where he 'taught music on cheap terms to mechanics &tc' also getting into little concerts at public houses.

A violinist and composer, he was also an artist who, when he moved to Oxford, became known as the city's leading draughtsman and a pioneer of watercolour painting.

'Poor Malchair tho' a fine figure was ugly' wrote his friend William Crotch. But if his appearance was unprepossessing, he had an instinct for beauty wherever he found it. Leader of the prestigious Holywell band, Malchair was also one of the first people to collect folk melodies.

In rambling round Oxford he noted down a wealth of tunes sung or played by street musicians. Early One Morning, for example, he transcribed 'from the singing of a Poor Woman and two femal children Oxford May 18. 1784.' Other gems included La Rochelle 'played by a Piedmontese Girl on a Cymbal in Oxford Streets December 22. 1784,' and the lively tune known today as Magpie Lane (from which today's popular local folk band takes its name). Malchair wrote: 'I heard a Man whistle this Tune in Magpey Lane Oxon Dbr. 22 1789. came home and noted it down directly,'

The orange which broke Malchair's Cremona violin also ended his career as bandleader at the Holywell. His eyesight was already failing and in his last years, Crotch wrote, he would amuse himself by reciting poetry and playing the folk melodies he had memorised, on his violin, as he paced round his room. He was entirely happy with his own company. 'The call of a friend rather discomposed than obliged him.'

The Musical Society's concerts continued until 1838, after which the room was re-arranged internally. The original benches for the audience were reportedly 'calculated for 400 persons commodiously'. Today, safety regulations limit the number to a maximum of 200 people on ramped seating. Among other changes, the iron portico, which once graced the facade, has disappeared.

The Holywell Music Room is now administered by the Faculty of Music during the university term, and during holidays by Wadham College on whose land it stands.

Susan Sharp, conference manager at Wadham, handles bookings. “It is a beautiful room, with a tremendous atmosphere,” she said. “The acoustics are wonderful. You can stand at on the stage and people at the back can hear you speak with only the minimum projection of your voice. It is also tremendously versatile. Conferences are held here, and speaking events as well as every type of music.”

A year-round fixture at the Holywell are the Oxford Coffee Concerts, run since 1986 by Chris Windass of the Adderbury Ensemble. Now one of the most successful chamber music series in the country, the concerts are held nearly every Sunday morning throughout the year. Coffee is served at the King's Arms, Turf Tavern or Blackwell's Bookshop from 10.30am and after the concert. Andy Blakeman, who helps co-ordinate events, said: “It is a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning, and we've built up a wonderful body of loyal supporters. Most weeks we're sold out". The continuity and quality of these events recalls the original series staged in the 18th century.