Charles Frederick Hall

Charles Frederick Hall was born 18 December 1815 in Norwich, Norfolk, England, the son of actor William Frederick Hall and Jane Greenfield.]Baptism record, Surrey, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912, He was baptized at St Michael at Thorn, Norwich, Christmas Day, 1815.Norfolk, England, Transcripts of Church of England Baptism, Marriage and Burial Registers, 1600-1935 He was baptized again in the Swedenborgian church in Norwich as a teenager.England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970.
As a boy, Charles joined the juvenile opera company of London impresario Robert William Elliston at the Surrey Theatre, London.The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Violin, by George Dubourg, 4th edition published in 1852, Robert Cocks & Co, London, page 304 He returned home to Norwich after Elliston's death in 1831.Christopher Murray, ‘Elliston, Robert William (1774–1831)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 He then studied the violin with Friedrich Mueller, musical director of the Theatre Royal Norwich.Dubourg, The Violin, pg. 305 In 1835, at the age of 15, Charles played a violin solo, an air by Joseph Mayseder, in a benefit concert.Norwich Mercury, 30 May 1835, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.the britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk That same year, the Norwich business directory listed Charles as a Professor of the Violin, Piano, Guitar, and Singing.Advertisement, Norfolk Chronicle, 18 Jul. 1835, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk He also performed at local dances and parties with a quadrille band.Norwich Mercury, 20 Oct. 1838, Norwich, England. The British Newspaper Archives, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
At the age of 25, Charles moved to London. There he studied at the Royal Academy of Music, joined the Drury Lane Theatre orchestra, gave the occasional lecture at the Holborn Literary Institution, and toured with the Drury Lane Theatre's production of Michael Balfe's new operaThe Bohemian Girl.Dubourg, The Violin, pg. 305 Charles began composing vocal pieces while in London. His ballad "The Soft Evening Hour," was sung by Miss Forde, Drury Lane Theatre in 1841.Hull Packet, 21 Aug. 1840, Yorkshire, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk In 1842, The Musical World reviewed Charles' ballad "There is a Hope."Volume 17, pg. 132. J. Alfredo Novello, London. books.google.com
On 6 November 1844, Charles married Eleanor Eliza Jane "Ellen" Vining at St James Church, Clerkenwell. They lived for a time at 33 North Street, near Kings Cross station, where their only child, Charles King Hall, was born in August of 1845. Birth Certificate for Charles King Hall, born at 33 North Street, Islington, to Charles Frederick Hall, professor of music, and Eleanor Eliza Jane Hall, formerly Vining, certified as a true copy by General Register Office in the Registration District of Clerkenwell, County of Middlesex, 5 March 2004
In 1847, Charles Hall, along with George Smith, former manager of the Theatre Royal Norwich, invited celebrated Swedish soprano Jenny Lind to give two concerts in Norwich.Norwich News, 2 Oct 1847, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Charles' stepfather, George Gedge, put up 1,000 pounds for the concerts.Norfolk Chronicle, 28 Aug. 1847, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Jenny Lind performed in St Andrew's Hall, Norwich, on the 22nd and 23rd of September 1847.The Essex Standard, 1 October 1847, Essex, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk She gave an impromptu concert the morning of the 24th before leaving the city.The Essex Standard, 1 Oct. 1847, Essex, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk The professional musicians who accompanied Lind had been specially selected by Charles from the Covent Garden Opera House, Drury Lane Theatre, and the Royal Philharmonic Society.Bury and Norwich Post, 18 Aug. 1847, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Michael Balfe conducted this orchestra while Charles acted as leader.Advertisement, Norfolk Women in History, www.norfolkwomeninhistory.com/1800-1850/jenny-lind Additionally, Charles performed a solo himself each evening.Essex Standard 1 Oct. 1847, Essex, England. The British Newspaper Archives, www.britishnewspaperarchives.co.uk
Two years later Charles and his business partner, William Howlett, a Norwich merchant, staged six consecutive nights of "grand concerts and balls" during the city of Norwich's annual agricultural week. Hall and Howlett booked two international singers for the concerts: mezzo-soprano Jetty Treffz and baritone Johann Baptiste Pischek.Norwich Mercury, 19 May 1849, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Charles' wife made her stage debut at the first concert, in which she sang soprano in a trio and accompanied Jetty Treffz on the piano.Norfolk Chronicle, 21 Jul. 1849, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk The six concerts were a financial failure. As the Norfolk Chronicle put it, "the spirited entrepreneurs [Hall and Howlett] have sustained a heavy loss."28 Jul. 1849, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Later that same year, the Choral Society of Norwich staged a benefit concert of Handel's Messiah expressly in aid of Charles and his partner.Norwich Mercury, 22 Dec 1849, Norfolk, England. The British Newspaper Archive, www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
From 1859 through 1860, Charles held the position of musical director at the newly rebuilt Adelphi Theatre, London.Nelson, Alfred L, Gilbert B Cross, and Joseph Donohue. "Calendar for 1859-1860," The Adelphi Theatre Calendar, U. of Massachusetts In 1866 Charles, now a widower, married actress Caroline Eliza Latham Haselton, with whom he lived at 179 Hampstead Road, near Euston Station.1871 English census,Ancestry.com
Charles Frederick Hall died 9 February 1874 at 8 Deane Street, Liverpool, England, at the age of 58.Death notice. England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915 He was buried two days later in Anfield Cemetery, Liverpool. The burial register records his profession as Professor of Music.England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800-2016 A flat tombstone says, "In Affectionate Remembrance of Charles Frederick Hall, who died Feb 9th 1874, aged 58.Charles Frederick Hall, Memorial ID 174921602,Find a Grave.com
== References ==
Category:1815 birth
Category:1874 death
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
Category:British composer
Category:British musician
Category:English musician