Sir Harrison Birtwistle

[Doug]

Darby, the link to my Birtwistles is a complex one so I need to spend some time with this....

[pendy]

Didn't he live in Ossy? I do agree the "music" is dire.

However, we do have a very famous opera singer, John -the name escapes me- wonderful baritone/bass, saw him in Meistersinger and was proud to come from Accy!

[Atarah]

However, we do have a very famous opera singer, John -the name escapes me- wonderful baritone/bass, saw him in Meistersinger and was proud to come from Accy!

HIS NAME IS JOHN TOMLINSON, AND HE HAILS FROM OSWALDTWISTLE!

[pendy]

How could I forget. Must be my age! - or overwork, or both!

He is absolutely brilliant - I had never rated bass voices before, but he changed my mind.

[Lampman]

Another Accy claim to fame was that the Outlaw Butch Cassidy's father came from Accrington........we still see lots of cowboys around

[Accy-mad]

Just joined having only discovered the Accrington Web yesterday -unfortunately, thinking I was being terribly original, I have chosen a name that is already used, albeit written in a slightly different case, so forgive me, the other "accymad". Now about Harry Birtwistle - and yes, that is his real name, my grandfather always referred to him as Harry and it seems that was always his name until he went posh. Also some reference books list him as "Harrison Paul Birtwistle" but I can assure you that he was registered at birth as just plain old Harry.(But his mother's maiden name was Harrison so I suppose we should allow him the right to use it!). My mother thinks his mother came from Cheshire.
Sadly, Harry seems rather to resist too much probing about our beloved "Accy" ; in interviews his remarks may be judged as, at best, scathing about the town that in fact gave him the musical background that enabled him to go to music college. His references to his time in local amateur orchestras is remembered by him as his not having realised at the time how bad they were, which is a bit rich when one of those orchestras,The Robert Cunliffe Orchestra,( a long-standing institution run by the New Jerusalem Church, Abbey Street with financial support from philanthropic business men in the town) produced many young people who went on to be respected professional musicians (mentioning two only -John Ayre, who was 1st horn with the Halle and Marion Ayre, oboist with the BBC Scottish Symphony ).
By the way, to the contributor who thought that having the name Birtwistle meant they were probably related may be disappointed - in the 1881 Census there were 1816 Birtwistles in Lancashire, most of whom were in the Hyndburn, Blackburn, Colne area with a few towards Manchester - multiply that by the degree of increase in the population and anybody doing family history in the Accy area will probably come across a Birtwistle ! (Making us all related I suppose!!)

[Paul B]

Hi from Paul Birtwistle known as Paul B.
There is a Birtwistle family book going back to 1120 and my own family line goes back to Huncote Hall.
I am still researching various other family members ,the latest being Bill who now lives in New Zealand and played for the All Blacks in 1966.
Sue Birtwistle is a casting director at the beeb.
Hope to catch up with some of you soon.

[Atarah]

See todays Accrington Observer, he has got a mention in it.

[Accy-mad]

Interesting to see several comments about John Tomlinson. The great man always gives full credit to his Oswaldtwistle upbringing and the debt he owes to the many years he attended the Methodist Chapel there and the experience he gained singing with the Accrington Male Voice Choir. Incidentally, John gained a fantastic review from the Daily Telegraph following his brilliant performance at the Proms earlier this week in a concert performance of Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" - Ivan Hewitt wrote that "John Tomlinson as Bluebeard rose magisterially above it, however" ( "it" in this case, referring to the critic's opinion that Bartok had given the orchestra too much to do !) "More importantly", continued Hewitt, "Tomlinson gave Bluebeard a world-weary and heart-sick tone that went straight to the heart of this strange and riveting drama"

[tobester]

Hello there
Just thought id confirm that Harrison is his mothers maiden name and he is called Harry as a shortened version of this (always has been) there are no pretentions with Harrison.
His music however may be more controversial than his name but is nevertheless as gritty and awesome as where he was brought up. it is meant to be heard live and LOUD!! and like it or not reflects his upbringing and surroundings of accrington - Its really weird suddenly webbing and finding a chat room about my dad - its reaaaaaallllllllly weird - but fun!!

[WillowTheWhisp]

Hello tobester. Nice to see you Do come back and join in the fun.

[tobester]

I will as and when, but dont tend to hang around computers too much, does childers lane still exist, I heard they put a motorway through it or am I going off the beaten track?

[garinda]

Does any one know which Methodist chapel John Tomlinson, was associated with in Ossy?

[Accy-mad]

Sorry- no, I don't know which Methodist Chapel in Oswaldtwistle John Tomlinson attended, it's just that that is how he referred to it when he mentioned it in a newspaper interview; I didn't realise myself that there was more than one!
Incidentally, John received rave reviews for his performance at Covent Garden in Siegfried this month (October 2005) and an interview with him was prominent in the 1st October 2005 edition of "The Spectator". It refers to the "popular Lancastrian with the worldwide reputation" and lists a packed diary including future appearances at Munich and Bayreuth. Amusingly John says that in Europe the name "John Tomlinson sounds quite exotic over there........!"

[garinda]

There were at least four Methodist Chapels in Oswaldtwistle then when he was growing up. Stanhill, York Street, Foxhill Grove, and Mount Pleasant.