BHS: Herrmann Photo Tour: London: The Recording Herrmann

Herrmann Photo Tour
London

The Recording Herrmann

Barking Assembly Hall, Barking Broadway

Barking Town Hall

Nowadays the Assembly Hall is better known as "Broadway Theatre" and hosts the Barking Operatic Society and local events. It was build in 1957 just shortly after the Town Hall was completed. The Assembly Hall is actually the back side of the Town Hall.

The acoustics of the Assembly Hall are legendary and it was reportedly one of Herrmann's favourite recording venues. The director of Night Digger, Alastair Reid stated about Barking: "way out in the middle of nowhere, in a creepy, seedy area where you don't walk alone at night". Actually Barking is a pleasant and clean suburb.

Recordings made at Barking Assembly Hall:: Wuthering Heights (1966); String Quartet: "Echoes" (1966); Moby Dick (1967); Welles Raises Kane (1967); The Devil and Daniel Webster (1967); Joachim Raff: Symphony 5 "Lenore" (1970); Night Digger (1970); Battle of Neretva (1971); Psycho (1975)

[streetmap] [Barking Operatic Society] [Barking Council] [Broadway Theatre]

Decca Studios, 165 Broadhurst Gardens

Just around the corner of the West Hampstead underground station are the former Decca studios. During the 60ies and 70ies countless pop music and occasional classical recordings were made there. They were only second in importance to EMI's Abbey Road studios just a mile away. And it was there were the Beatles made the infamous demo for Decca that they rejected. So the Beatles turned to EMI and the rest is history. The studios now belong to the English National Opera who use them for rehearsals.

Recordings made at Decca Studio No. 3:: Music from the Great Movie Thrillers (1968); The Four Faces of Jazz (1971); Eric Satie and His Friend Darius Milhaud (1972)

[streetmap] [Decca] [English National Opera]

The former Kingsway Hall, Great Queen St. / Kingsway

Kingsway Hall used to be the leading classical recording venue in London, countless great recordings were made there until the early 80ies. Despite the fact that a line of the London underground passed directly under it and that the rumble is audible on some recordings it was very popular. In later years the Aldwych station, no longer in operation, was used only on peak hours, so the recordings were made late in the evening or on weekends. In the early 80ies the Methodist Church, who owned the building, wanted to sell the place to Decca or EMI for recordings. Neither were in a position to buy it so it was sold to the Greater London Council. The GLC used it as a meeting place and altered the interiors, which ruined the unique acoustics. After the GLC was disbanded the hall was sold for development. The new owners shut it down and it was left to deteriorate. Recently it was demolished and currently (August 1999) it is a construction site for the soon to be opened Kingsway Hall Hotel. Just what the world needed -- another expensive 4 star London Hotel.

Recordings made at Kingsway Hall:: Great Tone Poems (1969); The Impressionists (1970); Gustav Holst: The Planets (1970); The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann (1973); Citizen Kane - The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann (1974, conducted by Gerhardt); Music from the Great Shakespearean Films (1974); The Mysterious Film World of Bernard Herrmann (1975); Great British Film Music (1975)

We presume the following Decca recordings were also made at Kingsway Hall, but we could not verify it:: Music from the Great Film Classics (1971); Charles Ives: Symphony 2 (1972)

[streetmap] [Kingsway Hall Hotel]

Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate - Barbican Centre

The church at the old London wall sits in the middle of the Barbican Arts and Conference Centre, adjacent to Museum of London. The centre is the primary home of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the London Symphony Orchestra and recent performances include concerts by film composers like Goldsmith and Williams. The area consisted of small streets and warehouses before the war. In December 1940 it was bombed and completely devastated with only the St. Giles Church surviving intact. The construction works started in 1971 and the Queen opened the Barbican Centre in 1982. The church was a very popular place for Herrmann in his later years. It has a wonderful organ and if he had finished his Organ Symphony, we can speculate he would have made the recording there.

Recordings made at St. Giles:: It's Alive (1973); Symphony (1974); Clarinet Quintet (1974); Obsession (1975); A Musical Garland of the Seasons (1975)

[streetmap] [Barbican Centre]

Temple Church, Inner Temple

The temple was founded by the Knights Templar, since the fourteenth century the Temple has been a centre for lawyers. It now houses the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, two of the Inns of Court. The Temple Church is one of London's oldest buildings. It was consecrated in 1185 by the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

John Barbirolli, one of the greatest conductors of the century and a personal friend of Bernard Herrmann, wanted to conduct a recording of Vaughan Williams' Tallis Fantasia. Herrmann insisted that "it must be done in a stone building not a studio". So Herrmann suggested the Temple Church. The recording session was started at midnight to avoid traffic noise. According to Ursula Vaughan Williams (the composers widow): "Coats and bags and thermos flasks were piled round the effigies of Crusader Knights. Benny was there, listening to the balance, listening to the music, and the resulting record is by far the best ever made of the work."

Recordings made at Temple Church:: Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1962, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli)

[streetmap] [The Barbirolli Society] [Ralph Vaughan Williams] [Inner Temple Library] [Temple Church]