Chris Timson Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 From a different thread:- 2. Houston, English sessions on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, Black Labrador Pub. I'm usually there, and there are one or two other angloers around. Apart from this I know of just one other English session not in England, at the Bishops Arms in Stockholm once a month. Does anyone know of any more out there? It would be useful knowledge for future trips abroad. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hersh Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Would an English country dance with an open band count? There's one of those in Berkeley, California, not too far from where I live. Daniel From a different thread:- 2. Houston, English sessions on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, Black Labrador Pub. I'm usually there, and there are one or two other angloers around. Apart from this I know of just one other English session not in England, at the Bishops Arms in Stockholm once a month. Does anyone know of any more out there? It would be useful knowledge for future trips abroad. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 My definition of an English session is very loose, Dick. The late Mick Brooks had a great definition, "music from anywhere on the map that isn't green". Of course you find Irish tunes in my favourite sessions, just as you find French and Swedish tunes too, but the bulk of the tunes can be roughly characterised as English in origin. I don't see the need to be any more precise than that as IMHO pedantry doesn't serve the ends of good music making. (Irish sessions outside of Ireland tend to have a very blinkered approach in my experience; in Ireland they are also much more loose). Thanks for the open band reference, Daniel. If ever I'm in Berkeley I'd head for that like a shot. Meeting musicians where you share some repertoire is a great way of making friends. (Meeting musicians where you don't can also be pretty good; we had a great time 2 weeks ago exchanging tunes with some Dutch musicians in Bergen, North Holland. It was a revelation for both sides, I think, how much the music of the two countries has in common). Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 DEAR CHRIS WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF AN ENGLISH SESSION Apropos of that little question. I was fortunate to vist Estonia in 2003 on a teachers exchange. I made a point of finding musicians who played traditional Estonian music. One of the gigs I went to was two young Estonians doing a concert of traditional Estonian music. I've never been to Estonia before, but something like half of the tunes were familiar. I spoke to the performeers afterwards and they were quite clear that the tunes were Estonian, and all had Estonian names. I think this reinforces and widens your point Dick about no "iron curtain" betwen the nations withing these islands. And there must also have been for many years a healthy exchange of tunes an the back of the Baltic and Scandinavian shipping trades. The trip was a great confiramtion of the power of music to enable people to make friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 ...I would prefer to use the criteria that if a,tune is one I like I will play it rather than being concerned about its origin. My feeling exactly. Life is too short to worry about playing tunes which you don't like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnC Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 (edited) For anyone in England:D There are some cracking sessions at The First Inn Last Out in Whitby on a Tuesday evening and on one Saturday night a month. A good mix of everything, including songs, lots of different styles traditional, english, scotish, contempary even old comic and music hall. Each session is different as there is a different mix of musicians, instruments and singers each time. Edited June 16, 2006 by annl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Should Yorkshire wish to re-join England, I, for one, would be happy to welcome you back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazbo Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 (edited) In my limited experience of sessions and in talking to others, both face to face and on message boards, that generally speaking an 'English Session' refers to the style(s) the tune is played in rather than the origin of the piece. Although I try to concentrate on tunes originating from England it is impossible to say with certainty where a tune was actually written unless the composer is known and many tunes now in the English Canon are certainly not English in origin. Edited June 16, 2006 by Dazbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazbo Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 (edited) ... with two things, irish people who cant understand that other people have musical traditions ,and english musicians who wont play anything unless its english... Dick, I think that the first part is a general explanation of the second part. The second part is also a reaction against the many English musicians who actively seek out music from other traditions whilst ignoring their own: it's as if they consider music of English origin to be, at best, second rate. It's not just musicians, many English people don't know there is such a thing as English traditional music and when they hear it they assume it is Irish! I'm not suggesting this is your opinion but I've heard many comments along the lines that you have said but from people who also can see no wrong with, for example, Estonians only playing Estonian music. One rule for the English, one rule for everyone else! Darren Edited June 16, 2006 by Dazbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 I DONT SEE HOW I AM ENGAGING IN PEDANTRY, IM MERELY AGAINST UNNECESSARY PIGEON HOLINGI BELIEVE MUSIC SHOULD BE ABOUT BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS I get rather fed up AND I DONT INCLUDE YOU HEAR CHRIS Glad to hear it. I don't believe I was accusing you of pedantry either, Dick. Sorry if you took it so. Now with that out of the way let's return to a very interesting discussion. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 I'm always game for a discussion about what constitutes a good session and what is right/wrong with "English" music, but I wonder if I could drag this thread back to the subject, namely: English Music Sessions Not In England Chris Ps I came across a rather fine Swedish tune the other day with the surprising name of "Sexling". Well, of course it was Soldiers Joy ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Would an English country dance with an open band count? There's one of those in Berkeley, California, not too far from where I live. Daniel The ECD group here (Philadelphia area) also has an open band, but not every week. It's generally once a month or every 6 weeks, I think. Other weeks have smaller, prearranged bands. On open band night, there are often as many as 4 or 5 English concertinas (I've never seen an anglo there), which generally outnumber the fiddles, the recorders, or any other single type of instrument. Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 From a different thread:- 2. Houston, English sessions on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, Black Labrador Pub. I'm usually there, and there are one or two other angloers around. Apart from this I know of just one other English session not in England, at the Bishops Arms in Stockholm once a month. Does anyone know of any more out there? It would be useful knowledge for future trips abroad. Chris Chris, Robin Harrison has spoken of an English session he plays at in the Toronto area. Perhaps I shouldn't get off topic, but I thought you might be interested in our session here in Houston. It has been a fun experiment the past year, and looks to continue indefinitely. It is certainly not set up as anti-anything; I agree with Dazbo in that, in our case at least, it is as much as anything about a difference in style. The thing that really sets it apart from our local Irish session (and that of many others I've attended elsewhere) is the tempo; that slower but solid tempo has a lot of nice qualities, not just for dancing. For us it has attracted more musicians, as it is easier to pick up the tunes by ear, and once the tunes are learned it means that even folks of moderate skills can more easily explore the tune a bit while playing, adding a few harmony notes, changing the phrasing, that sort of thing. That makes for more fun. Another nice thing is the more general and inclusive repertoire. We started our session using tunes from the Lewes Favorites tunebook (many of which we already knew), and then it just sort of happened naturally that we could drop in a moderate amount of other stuff (Irish, American, French, whatever); all seem to enjoy that mix. It must be the tempo that makes that acceptable; things seem more easy going. As of this summer we have dancing going along with the music, on the First Wednesday. Again, it just sort of happened; a local group of 'Scottish' dancers started to attend. Since they already knew both some Scottish and English dances as well as the Virginia Reel, they just stand up and start dancing when we play a tune that appeals..no fuss and bother at all. That really makes the music. We also have a few musicians that like the occasional a capella pub song...you know the type-- anything with a nice chorus that lends itself to harmonizing. These have been enjoyable evenings, indeed. I guess we pattern ourselves after some English sessions that we've seen (Roger Digby has kindly taken me to several in East Anglia, and a few of the others have seen some as well), but with the dancing we may be morphing into something a bit different; we're not sticklers for purity! It would be nice to know of the location of more English sessions, not only outside of England (this thread) but within it....they are difficult to find. I have a feeling that the popularity of them would grow if they were more easily found. Right now, we're just enjoying the moment, and hoping the session continues to be fun. Kind regards, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 It's not unusual for general sessions around here (northeast USA) to veer into Playford territory for a few tunes at a stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Ps I came across a rather fine Swedish tune the other day with the surprising name of "Sexling". Well, of course it was Soldiers Joy ... Besides, "sex" is the Swedish word for the number 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fidjit Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 (edited) Chris. Think I told you at the SSI, there are sessions at the Dubliner Pub in Oslo, Norway. In fact two. Every week, Saturday and Tuesday. The Tuesday one (the best) is the remnants of the Jeppe's Folk Club I started in '72. After visiting many of Oslo's watering holes the session settled at the Dubliner. The owner had just sold the "Queens" Pub and bought the Dubliner. We followed him there because he'd always treated us right. Although it has it's share of celtic music. The main core of singers are all English. Nearer to home for you, allthough also abroad(?) there are always good sessions at, "Miskin at Easter" in Wales. But then I know you knew that. Regards to Anne Chas Edited June 22, 2006 by fidjit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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