12 singers attended the February 26 Chichester Inn SDFS singing session, led by Alan.
At this session, the group would be considering some of the new material that was being proposed by Steve A for the 2027 bid to take part in the Chichester Fringe. All being based on lesser-known material collected in the Chithurst area by Dorothy Marshall and Clive Carey.
To start, Alan led the rousing England for Me (Dave Toye) which, with slight adjustments to the chorus, went pretty well. Steve W agreed to adjust the words on the website to ensure that it matched what had been agreed. This was followed by "Rambling Comber" with Alan reminding the group of the various harmonies available. Stephen A then introduced the first of the potential Fringe material "The Young Recruit", following line by line practice, the whole song was worked out and sung. Alan suggested it be introduced to the Worthing sessions as well.
There was discussion at this point about the necessity of attempting to keep all three groups of the SDFS (Worthing, Chichester and Lewes) singing the same versions of the SDFS songs and where possible working along similar practice lines for each session. Tina from Lewes had sent Alan her proposed practice list and Alan undertook to do the same for Chichester. Henny also agreed to let the Worthing group know in advance of the sessions, which songs, decided by Emily, Alan and Amaryllis, were to be practised or learned, so they could, if necessary, listen to the recordings on the SDFS blog before the practice
With this in mind, Alan then led the group in "Love and the Ball" which had been practised at Lewes but not much at other sessions.
The second half of the evening started with another of the potential Fringe songs, "Stedham Oyster Man’s Donkey". Stephen A again demonstrated this (which is apparently a true tale from Stedham!) There was some discussion about the length of the song and the importance of hearing the words. The group felt that it would be good to perhaps have different individuals or pairs of singers for each verse, the whole group to join in the choruses and the last verse. Following a quick try, this idea was confirmed and also the thought that an instrument to accompany it would ensure the key was maintained!
The last part of the evening was devoted to requests. Dave G suggested "Loyal Lover" which the group tried and then again with just the ladies who were encouraged by Alan to keep the rhythm going. "Our Captain Cried All Hands" followed – as a song not often sung and in view of the season "When Spring Comes In" was the penultimate song of the evening before a rousing "Rolling Home" to finish.
As a footnote to the Chichester Fringe material, Steve W is creating a new page on the blog called “The Chithurst Songs”, where lyrics and recordings will gradually be assembled.
Anne Sartain
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