There were 13 at today's session including another Jo, also from Lewes, a new member attending for a taster session. Tina had prepared a mix of seasonal songs and other more general songs and said we would be spending time going through harmonies for several of these. After some trial and error, the background music from the other bar was obligingly turned off by the barman and we got started.
We warmed up with the lively and raucous “Ale Glorious Ale” and the contrasting gentle “Turtle Dove” (paying attention to both the tune and the one harmony and explaining for the newer singers that it was collected locally by Lucy Broadwood). Next, a pair of seasonal songs - “It is the First of May” (which we first sang on May Day at Oldland Mill a couple of years ago, we’re back there on the 5th May this year so very close) and “May Day Carol” with some discussion about these songs being similar in wording to some of the Christmas carols in our repertoire, and about travelling round the “big houses” singing for money. We then tried out existing harmonies, and some people added their own, for “Pleasant and Delightful”, “Sussex by the Sea” (the new non-military version of the words by Amaryllis from our Worthing group), and “The Nightingale”. Some time was devoted to “Oldland Mill” , including Ray relating how his friend Stuart wrote the song, gave it to us and came along in the audience when we performed it at an open day at the mill; and explaining that the words ‘don't bite too hard on your morning toast, be careful what you chew’ arise from the grit which came off the new grind stones into the first flour after the restoration of the mill. We went through the chorus several times in three-part harmony and then ended the first part of the evening with the more familiar “Sussex Wedding Song”.
During the break, as well as a welcome refilling of glasses for thirsty throats, there was wide ranging chat about the group Lankum and their latest Mercury prize nominated album (sparked by the band T-shirt that Celia was wearing); Lisa Knapp’s album about May (as recommended by Nick last month); the Seahaven poets’ sessions in Seaford; Grace Petrie (Billy Bragg style singer I recently saw in concert); and Adrian’s weekly Wednesday evening DJ slot on Eastbourne Radio DGH (he rotates genres and it’s folk again in a few weeks’ time) https://www.radiodgheastbourne.com/.
Back to South Downs songs again, we revisited several old favourites, again putting in harmonies for most of them: “Country Life”, “The Bee-Boy’s Song” (Tina mused on the unusual word “dwine” which she thought came from Dutch, one of her ancestral languages, and Wikipedia later confirmed its Germanic roots), “On Sussex Hills” (with some information about Hilaire Belloc), “A Smuggler’s Song” (with some discussion about Rudyard Kipling and Rottingdean) and ending with our own “East Sussex Drinking Song” (written by Adrian to go with Belloc’s West Sussex one).
Another enjoyable and interesting session. There was a consensus that it was the best this year and Tina said it sounded so good she wished we had recorded it!
Do come and join us anytime, to sing or to listen, if this sounds like your kind of evening.
We warmed up with the lively and raucous “Ale Glorious Ale” and the contrasting gentle “Turtle Dove” (paying attention to both the tune and the one harmony and explaining for the newer singers that it was collected locally by Lucy Broadwood). Next, a pair of seasonal songs - “It is the First of May” (which we first sang on May Day at Oldland Mill a couple of years ago, we’re back there on the 5th May this year so very close) and “May Day Carol” with some discussion about these songs being similar in wording to some of the Christmas carols in our repertoire, and about travelling round the “big houses” singing for money. We then tried out existing harmonies, and some people added their own, for “Pleasant and Delightful”, “Sussex by the Sea” (the new non-military version of the words by Amaryllis from our Worthing group), and “The Nightingale”. Some time was devoted to “Oldland Mill” , including Ray relating how his friend Stuart wrote the song, gave it to us and came along in the audience when we performed it at an open day at the mill; and explaining that the words ‘don't bite too hard on your morning toast, be careful what you chew’ arise from the grit which came off the new grind stones into the first flour after the restoration of the mill. We went through the chorus several times in three-part harmony and then ended the first part of the evening with the more familiar “Sussex Wedding Song”.
During the break, as well as a welcome refilling of glasses for thirsty throats, there was wide ranging chat about the group Lankum and their latest Mercury prize nominated album (sparked by the band T-shirt that Celia was wearing); Lisa Knapp’s album about May (as recommended by Nick last month); the Seahaven poets’ sessions in Seaford; Grace Petrie (Billy Bragg style singer I recently saw in concert); and Adrian’s weekly Wednesday evening DJ slot on Eastbourne Radio DGH (he rotates genres and it’s folk again in a few weeks’ time) https://www.radiodgheastbourne.com/.
Back to South Downs songs again, we revisited several old favourites, again putting in harmonies for most of them: “Country Life”, “The Bee-Boy’s Song” (Tina mused on the unusual word “dwine” which she thought came from Dutch, one of her ancestral languages, and Wikipedia later confirmed its Germanic roots), “On Sussex Hills” (with some information about Hilaire Belloc), “A Smuggler’s Song” (with some discussion about Rudyard Kipling and Rottingdean) and ending with our own “East Sussex Drinking Song” (written by Adrian to go with Belloc’s West Sussex one).
Another enjoyable and interesting session. There was a consensus that it was the best this year and Tina said it sounded so good she wished we had recorded it!
Do come and join us anytime, to sing or to listen, if this sounds like your kind of evening.
Ken
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