Jim Besser Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Having tracked down the rehearsal recording that I was looking for herewith "The Moon Shines Bright" - Maccann duet accompaniment by Ralph Jordan, vocals by me. The song was collected by Lucy Broadwood from "the Goby men" (sadly, no names noted down) near Lyne House in Surrey in the late 1800s. The Gobys were travellers who were well known in the Dorking and Horsham areas of Surrey and Sussex. The carol itself has been collected in various different versions around England, mostly in the format of a May Day carol, but this version is definitely a "New Year" carol. It is often known as the Bellman's Carol. I wanted to post this as an example of Ralph's accompaniment, always very rewarding to sing against. https://soundcloud.com/surreysinger/the-moon-shines-bright Really nice recording, thanks. That Maccann sounds great (so does the voice!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 The comic at this link is far from the only seasonal one right now, but it does seem oddly (emphasis on "odd"?) appropriate here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene S. Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 (edited) Thanks for your comments about that recording Jim. I should have added that the recording was also made by Ralph, who is much missed. His day job was that of sound engineer and studio manager with BBC radio for over 30 years. He played Maccann for over 35 years and was a very talented and sensitive accompanist and player. He was also very good at promoting the Maccann (I wonder how I ended up borrowing his second string box and buying one of my own, although it has been somewhat neglected of late). Edited December 3, 2014 by Irene S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 (edited) It may have garnered the fewest votes in this month's poll, but I thought I'd give it a try. Let it Snow. Hoping the weather gods don't take this to heart! A silly little song that's fun to play. Played on a 30 button Jeffries G/D Anglo. Edited December 3, 2014 by Jim Besser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 (edited) Let it Snow. Hoping the weather gods don't take this to heart! Well, I wouldn't mind them at all... (will listen later on) (edit: had to switch to plural, blame it on my new glasses...) Edited December 3, 2014 by blue eyed sailor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene S. Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Nice one Jim - made me grin. But I sincerely hope the snow gods are not listening!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Michel Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I had no trouble picking a tune for this Theme. Danielle Martineau's "Valse d'hiver" is as wintry and haunting a waltz as I've ever heard, and a great favorite. I like to play it on button accordion/melodeon, but decided to try it out on concertina (key of Bm, 40-button Anglo in C/G). http://youtu.be/LNdmIWcttHM Bob Michel Near Philly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 I had no trouble picking a tune for this Theme. Danielle Martineau's "Valse d'hiver" is as wintry and haunting a waltz as I've ever heard, and a great favorite. I like to play it on button accordion/melodeon, but decided to try it out on concertina (key of Bm, 40-button Anglo in C/G). http://youtu.be/LNdmIWcttHM Bob Michel Near Philly SImply gorgeous! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Swett Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I had no trouble picking a tune for this Theme. Danielle Martineau's "Valse d'hiver" is as wintry and haunting a waltz as I've ever heard, and a great favorite. I like to play it on button accordion/melodeon, but decided to try it out on concertina (key of Bm, 40-button Anglo in C/G). Bob Michel Near Philly SImply gorgeous! Thanks. Yes indeed! Lovely. Perfect timing too-- I saw the dots for Valse d'hiver the other day (in The Waltz Book 2), started to play it, and now can,t stop. What a treat to hear it 'for real.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Since Alan Day posted the Sussex Carol, I thought I'd do the Sussex Mummer's Carol. It's the tune that traditionally closes out the annual Christmas Revels shows in many U.S. cities, and is a wonderful choral piece. I'm not sure how to adapt it to solo concertina; this is a first try. Still fiddling around with chords. And here's the way it sounds at Revels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tootler Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 As announced, a first instrumental approach to "The Holst": In The Bleak Midwinter (Holst) (not in the key of my singing voice, but with some fiddle-ish moments insttead) Very nice, nice fiddle-ish moments. I agree, nice arrangement with fiddle-ish moments. My wife calls them "twiddles" and tends to criticise me for them. She doesn't really get the use of decoration in playing tunes. I'm thinking of singing with concertina. I have a copy of the Oxford book of carols which has it F which is fine for my voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tootler Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 It may have garnered the fewest votes in this month's poll, but I thought I'd give it a try. Let it Snow. Hoping the weather gods don't take this to heart! A silly little song that's fun to play. Played on a 30 button Jeffries G/D Anglo. Very nice. The chordal style of Anglo playing is very effective here. I hope the weather gods don't take it to heart, either. I'm off across the other side of the country tomorrow for the weekend and the weather forecast is a little iffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Michel Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Since Alan Day posted the Sussex Carol, I thought I'd do the Sussex Mummer's Carol. It's the tune that traditionally closes out the annual Christmas Revels shows in many U.S. cities, and is a wonderful choral piece. I'm not sure how to adapt it to solo concertina; this is a first try. Still fiddling around with chords. And the way it sounds at Revels. The chords are lovely, and I like the way you bring them in after playing the simple melody line. Nice arrangement. Bob Michel Near Philly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maki Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Somebody's got to follow Bob's gorgeous piece. So here is mine. https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=qBMgtJ_-6yA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene S. Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Since Alan Day posted the Sussex Carol, I thought I'd do the Sussex Mummer's Carol. It's the tune that traditionally closes out the annual Christmas Revels shows in many U.S. cities, and is a wonderful choral piece. I'm not sure how to adapt it to solo concertina; this is a first try. Still fiddling around with chords. And the way it sounds at Revels. Oh dear...the way they were singing it at the Revels sounds quite funereal. When sung by the Rusper mummers each year it's usually quite a bit faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) It may have garnered the fewest votes in this month's poll, but I thought I'd give it a try. Let it Snow. Hoping the weather gods don't take this to heart! A silly little song that's fun to play. Played on a 30 button Jeffries G/D Anglo. Very nice. The chordal style of Anglo playing is very effective here. Yes indeed. But same is true of the carol, has a real nice touch with it! Edited December 6, 2014 by blue eyed sailor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Stein Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) by Mel Torme and Robert Wells https://soundcloud.com/randy-stein-1/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) by Mel Torme and Robert Wells https://soundcloud.com/randy-stein-1/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire Beautiful playing! And you have a great recording engineer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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