Music Hall
Music hall developed as a result of the rapid industrialisation and urbanisation of previously rural populations in the nineteenth century. The new urban communities, cut off from their cultural roots, required new and accessible means of entertainment. Music halls were originally bars, which provided entertainment in the form of music and speciality acts for their patrons. By the middle years of the 19th century, the first purpose-built music halls were being built in London. The halls created a demand for new and catchy popular songs that could no longer be met from the traditional folk repertoire. Professional songwriters were enlisted to fill the gap. By the turn of the century, music hall was dominated by song writing companies and theatre chains, such as that of Sir Oswald Stoll. Music hall songs are characterized by a simple beat and a strong melody or tune, which can be easily acquired by the audience. Typically, a music hall song consists of a series of verses sung by the performer alone and a repeated chorus, which carries the principal melody and in which the audience is encouraged to join. Leading music hall stars included: Marie Lloyd, Harry Champion, George Formby, Vesta Tilley, Gus Elen, Little Tich, Gracie Fields, Flanagan and Allen. Musical hall composers included Lionel Monckton, Felix Powell, and Noel Gay.
Read more about this topic: Early British Popular Music
Famous quotes containing the words music and/or hall:
“How little it takes to make us happy! The sound of a bagpipe.—Without music life would be a mistake. The German even imagines God as singing songs.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Having children can smooth the relationship, too. Mother and daughter are now equals. That is hard to imagine, even harder to accept, for among other things, it means realizing that your own mother felt this way, too—unsure of herself, weak in the knees, terrified about what in the world to do with you. It means accepting that she was tired, inept, sometimes stupid; that she, too, sat in the dark at 2:00 A.M. with a child shrieking across the hall and no clue to the child’s trouble.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)