The Hallé, Archive is made up of distinct collections. The major part of the collection is the administrative records of the Hallé Concerts Society. These are also the programme collections, both bound and loose, which are the major source for the history of the orchestra's repertoire.
The archive is open to anyone wishing to consult the collections for research purposes. Since the archivist is part-time an appointment is essential. Visitors are most easily accommodated Monday to Wednesday, but other times may be possible. Please contact the archivist directly to arrange a time or find out more.
The Hallé Archive is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund
The catalogue
Browsing the catalogue is straightforward; there are sections as follows: Halle Concerts Society: the administrative records of the Society, most are twentieth century. You can find records of the Board, including minutes from 1922, a complete series of annual reports and financial statements; correspondence and some financial records.
Programmes: not all the loose programmes have been catalogued, and many are not catalogued in detail. The collection is sub-divided into bound volumes and loose programmes, with further divisions for concerts in Manchester (the main series) and outside. Sir Charles’ own concerts in Manchester were listed and published in detail by Thomas Batley, his librarian, following his death. Since this volume is widely available in local libraries only very brief information has been included in our catalogue. A repertoire database, which will also be accessible on-line, is in development.
Photographs: there is a large collection of photographs, many of which can be viewed on-line. The collection is organised into broad subjects: conductors, the orchestra and choir etc. If you are interested in specific photographs please contact the archivist. Photographs are protected by the 1988 Copyright Act and permission for obtaining copies must be sought. Where owners of copyright are known this has been included in the catalogue, we would welcome any information on copyright of other photographs.
Private Collections: these items have been deposited with the Halle by individuals and they range in size and content. Many are personal collections of programmes, reflecting a strong interest in the Halle. Some relate to former players, such as the Speelman Papers and the Norah Winstanley Collection. There are other collections being catalogued.
Manuscripts: this section contains many miscellaneous items, most of which were given to the Halle many years ago, but whose original provenance has been lost. In some ways one of the most varied sections, you will find here autograph letters from Sir Charles, the Seymour scrapbook, and Sir John Barbirolli’s family recipe for zabaglione!
Sound Recordings: as well as commercial sound recordings, there are the oral history recordings from the Beyond the Written Word Project listed here.
Searching using the keywords: as will be seen, there are limited keywords for the catalogue at the moment. Using them will take you to those records that have been specifically subject-linked. For example ‘criticism’ will bring up all the collections of reviews. They should not be regarded as a definitive guide, but may help give you an idea of where else to browse in the catalogue.
