Whilst General Election voters were busy in the Barn on July 4th we met in the church next door for this month's session. After a slight delay to getting in and then to finding the lights for the church (with thanks to two church parishioners there at the time for their help in resolving this) we started the session. From then on, with a short break midway for breath, chat and a sup or two, we sang our way through 16 songs, with a mix of options for our forthcoming event at East Clayton Farm (on July 27th) and requests from the floor (or on this occasion, pews).
Alan, and later Amaryllis, took the lead (Emily being needed elsewhere so unable to join us). Alan started off with Ale Glorious Ale", "Jim the Carter Lad" and "One for the Rook" before introducing a novelty song intended for use at the East Clayton Farm event (where they care for donkeys and do organised walks with them) - "Riding on a Donkey". This was familiar to many, and with the help of having the words available from the SDFS Blog, we sang it though at a jaunty pace. Alan smoothed out some of the pace and phrasing - and all agreed the structure for performance purposes would benefit from limiting the chorus to follow a pair of verses, and then to sing it twice at the end to conclude. (This revised layout will be updated on the Blog's 'Other Songs to Try' page.)
Amaryllis then stepped in to lead us in "Old Adam" and "Rolling in the Dew", two of our 'classics', and although not often sung recently both were readily sung and enjoyed in their conversational parts by the men and women present. Some fine tuning on the phrasing in the second of these helped to unify us in the first line of the second verse, with 2 beats each to "may" and "go" - and Amaryllis suggested that "kind sir" in the women's response lines be sung with more mock reverence. "Run of the Downs" came next and needed a little more guidance and focus to revive the tune accurately, including slowing the pace in the final verse to finish (without a chorus at the end).
After the break, Alan resumed with "Lammas Carol", proposing and leading us in a bolder brighter rhythm which worked well. Continuing the more upbeat pace we gave the jolly "Three Drunken Maidens" another enjoyable airing, and the "Turnip Hoer" also went down well with the men's voices leading and the women supporting the choruses. A little prematurely we sang the "Parting Song" before some more requests: the "Smugglers Song" and then the "Song of the South Downs" which was a bit of a challenge for those less familiar or a little rusty with it - but we managed all the verses nonetheless! That left us with "Summer is A'Coming In Again" using all the original verses (including the latter ones inspired by the mummers plays traditionally performed in winter months by Morris dance sides) - before the evening closed with "Rolling Home".
We'll be back in the Barn for our next Worthing session on August 1st - hope to see you there.
H.
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