BARRATT
O'FARRELL (b. Dublin – d. London 1902)
- The Queen's Tenor!
Only
recently, as information and documents are unearthed, do we
become enlightened in detail about 19th Century British history.
In particular, personal papers about the relationships and
social behaviour of Royalty, such as Queen Victoria and Edward
VII, enable us to re-evaluate their influence.
There
is another close acquaintance of Victoria worth recalling,
despite much less documentation: the Dublin-born singer Barratt
O'Farrell. Victoria 's links with Ireland were not as close
as with Scotland . However, she was evidently fond of the
country. In fact some Irish believed that Victoria 's mother
was a closet Catholic; some that the sycophantic, ultra-loyal
“Liberator” Daniel O'Donnell claimed to be Victoria
's father. Articles describe a strong feeling of LOYALTY to
Queen and Throne. In her retinue was O'Farrell, who desperately
wanted to return to Dublin but became frustrated by the Queen's
demands to remain at Court.
He
had come across to London probably in 1890s, having had some
small success as a singer in his homeland. Music halls were
the dominant venues to develop a career and people to notice.
O'Farrell took advantage by singing as much as possible, becoming
very popular in so-called “Victorian Ballads”.
A large group of supporters formed, apparently headed by two
to three titled gentry, who sponsored O'Farrell for further
vocal training and bookings at better-class halls.
It
seems he came to the attention of Victoria as part of an entertaining
group invited to perform at one of the “Garden Parties”
at the Palace; the sponsors probably manipulated this. In
whatever way he caught her attention, O'Farrell quickly became
a close advisor and performer – there is no written
evidence that a sexual relationship developed. Unfortunately,
Victoria demanded he be ‘on tap' so he moved into rooms
in the Palace c. 1897. Thus, he lost many contacts and friends,
not a situation the sponsors liked, and so O'Farrell's developing
career halted. Letters addressed but unsent to his sister
in Dublin describe his frustration at being hemmed in to the
farcical etiquette of the Court routine.
His
only friend at Court was the Royal Family's singing teacher
Francesco Paolo Tosti. In 1880, Tosti had finally decided
to settle in London . He had already composed Goodbye and
Forever, but the latter summed up his affection for England
. His simple yet memorably tuneful ballads delighted Victoria
who consequently supported his resettlement from Rome . He
and O'Farrell evidently became close, and the evidence of
Court Notes show Tosti requesting the presence of O'Farrell
at many of the soirees in the Palace, to perform Tosti's songs
often for the first time. This further establishes O'Farrell
as an important and influential artist in musical History
Influence of recording the voice by cylinders and flat records
was increasing leaps and bounds during this period and most
of the Famous contributed, for good or ill. When Thomas Edison's
interested party demonstrated the phonograph, Victoria had
no use for it. When she learnt that a border dispute with
Ethiopia might appease the backward King Menelik by sending
him a queenly phonographic message, she spoke briefly but
imperiously into a large horn device to express her hope for
“friendship between our two Empires.”
The
Queen commanded that: “The cylinder recording will be
sealed up and destroyed after he has received the message.”
It was duly played by her representative in Abyssinia, accepted
with ceremony – the king stood when he heard Victoria's
voice – and replayed several times, accomplishing its
task. Then, Colonel Harrington reported: “The cylinder
was returned to me and immediately broken into pieces as promised.
The precious relic - or at least a copy of it - survives secretly,
the Queen's voice raspy preserved for history. It was her
only proven contact with recorded sound.”
One document suggests that O'Farrell also was involved with
the phonograph and he did make at least one disc. This disc
– two of the three verses from Dibdin's setting of
“Tom Bowling” – lies in private store and,
though primitive in sound, it conveys a picture of O'Farrell's
voice: sweet-toned, of a good size and high-pitched.
Queen
Victoria on her Coronation day wearing the State Diadem
Queen Victoria died in January 1901. Without his social friends
and ill suited to changes at Court, O'Farrell quickly succumbed
to alcohol. People often saw him late at night, documented
by the Palace Guard Officers, staggering back from the pubs
and music halls of London . He died the following year…forgotten
by the music hall audiences (fickle at the best of times).
Documentation reveals that a small private ceremony, financed
one presumes by the Court, took place on the outskirts of
Dublin ; part of the stone's inscription read, “Home,
at peace”. Barratt O'Farrell was finally at home where
he wished.
The
audio file
Tom
Bowling sung by Barratt O'Farrell c. 1900, restored by
me after a great deal of time. Kindly made available by courtesy
of Evelyn House Court Archivists Office to myself and other
researchers including Geoff Mallinson to whom gratitude is
in order.
Tom
Bowling sung by Walter Widdop c. 1930, was well-respected
as a (Richard) Strauss-ian and Wagner-ian tenor, with a reliable
voice, containing hardly any baritonal colouring, that
trumpeted over the orchestra (perhaps a phenomenon shared
with e.g. Bjorling and Traxel). Like them, Widdop had
a beautiful mezza voce, which he uses to nice effect in “Tom
Bowling”.
(k.s.)
Comment
It
is amazing! O'Farrell is completely unknown to me but after
listening to the recording, which in itself is amazing that
has survived and that it is hardly audible, it is clear that
it is his voice, which received training. Reliable documentation
shows that Tosti's resided in England. He certainly moved
in Royal Circles and I have read that Queen Victoria herself
could sing a bit. The late photographs of her always looking
as miserable as sin are a bit misleading it seems, although
information on the lives of the Royals at that time is scarce.
She was surely interested in music and singers; and we know
that renowned singers (Caruso, Melba etc.,) did indeed perform
for her. I suppose that O'Farrell could be a singer that she
kept to herself. Who knows? He certainly was an interesting
character.
(g.m.)
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