Xmas/holiday Songs

[stevejay]

Hi

 

I was asked to bring my concertina to a holiday party, but I don't play any Xmas or Holiday songs right now. Which ones do you play?

 

Steve

Edited November 17, 2006 by stevejay

[David Barnert]

One of my favorite tunes to play (Xmas or no) on my duet concertina (but it should be just as applicable to an Anglo played "English style") is "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." I do it in G. And don't forget the C minor (or A diminished) chord on the word "why."

[David Barnert]

Another great one: Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant

 

OK, now let's have some suggestions from someone who isn't Jewish.

[Michael Reid]

The Irish reel "Christmas Eve." And a Shetland tune, "Christmas Day Ida Mornin'."

 

I also accompany carols. Continuing a family tradition that makes my wife cringe, my kids and I like to confuse guests by singing the words of one carol to the tune of another. For example: Sing the words of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" to the tune of "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen." Or the words of "Rudoph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to the tune of "The Holly and the Ivy."

[bellowbelle]

Well, congratulations on being ASKED to play Christmas/Holiday music on your concertina!

 

I recently made a (homey/amateurish) Christmas CD with a friend of mine, both of us singing, and me playing my English concertina. My friend's mother did some reading on the CD, too.

 

I realized after a while that these two women won't even actually say the word, 'concertina.' It's like it must be....the 'C' word or something! Heheh. If they had to refer to it, it was, 'that thing' or along those lines!

 

But, I don't think they HATED it. And, it did fit in nicely and certainly helped us stay at least vaguely on key most of the time. I mean, if they really hated the concertina, they would have said so, I would hope.

 

I kept my playing pretty simple, which I shall most likely always do.

 

We weren't trying to make the world's best recordings -- don't even practice together very often. I just felt like doing something a bit more energizing for the holidays this year than some of the typical stuff one must do at the holidays, so I suggested we make a CD.

 

I don't have her 'okay' as of now to publicize our CD, but if she says she doesn't mind, I'll make those mp3 files public, at my Yahoo! Briefcase.

 

I do have several 'cheat sheets' (lyrics & chords) for Christmas songs that are public, and maybe I"ll add the two solos I did on our CD, 'Away In A Manger' and one verse of 'The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy,' a West Indies song that's supposed to be like Calypso-style or something....can't say that I achieve that, but, then again, I'm not Harry Belafonte (he recorded it, way back in....the 1950s? I dunno, I was born in 1960....)

[stuart estell]

Well, my group is currently preparing for a Christmas concert in December, so we've got a few seasonal things on the boil at the moment. The only one I'm playing on anglo is Tim Laycock's beautiful setting of Thomas Hardy's poem The Oxen, which works really well on C/G despite being in B minor. It's on the Boxing Clever compilation. The other song we're doing that's got concertina in it is a slightly swingy version of The Holly And The Ivy, but I'm playing that on Maccann.

 

We've also got a version of "What Child is This?" involving Indian harmonium, saxophone and distorted electric guitar... that's the oddball in the set

 

I'm secretly (shhh) currently working on John Kirkpatrick's "Jogging along with my reindeer" on G/D anglo, which I will probably terrify the family with on Christmas day...

[mthatcher61]

Carol of the Bells was coming along nicely till I got sidetracked by Salamanca.

Is/was there ever an official Sally Army Concertina Christmas Book?

[Dan Worrall]

A small group of us here (session musicians, mostly) have been working on some traditional English carols for some small charity events. Most are the lesser heard carols of the sort favored by John Roberts and Tony Barrand. I highly recommend their "Best of Nowell Sing We Clear" CD for some nice simple singing arrangements with anglo, EC, and melodeon backups...and nice clean chords on the anglo. All their lyrics can be downloaded at the "Golden Hind" record company website.

We don't do 'Santa tunes'...we figure that most people are sick to death of them by the time Christmas rolls around, what with all the shopping mall Muzak.

[Leo]

Only two songs come to mind that I like "Jesu Joy" (Bach), and "O Holy Night" Both in G and both need a lot of work for me to sound respectable. I enjoy playing the melody lines without too much complications.

 

 

Is/was there ever an official Sally Army Concertina Christmas Book?

Mark

This is their Australian list of availability. I don't know if there is a US listing, but I'm sure there is:

http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/supplies/c...ries.asp?cID=39

 

Thanks

Leo

[stevejay]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm thinking of working up "We wish you a Merry Xmas because it seems right.. I'll know when I try it this evening

 

Steve

 

PS Here's a link for some chords of Xmas Carols. Uke can be a good source uke players liking the key of c and g

 

http://www.tufts.edu/~gdallal/ChristmasCarols.pdf

Edited November 18, 2006 by stevejay

[mthatcher61]

Mark

This is their Australian list of availability. I don't know if there is a US listing, but I'm sure there is:

http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/supplies/c...ries.asp?cID=39

 

Thanks

Leo

 

Leo, Thank you for the reference. I had no idea the books would be so many and in so many keys. i would think the part 1 C Clef would be appropriate for the CG Anglo. (?)

[Stephen Mills]

Some time ago I bought a book of transcriptions from hammered dulcimer player Maggie Sansone that included a few hard-to-find tunes I like - Galician Waltz for one. I got interested in the tune Jezebel Carol and have been playing it for a while. The book mentions only that it comes from the Isle of Man. I've been interested in the history, but repeated searches have turned up almost nothing, although it seems well-recorded in the Celtic Harp world. The Jezebel Carol also appears under the name Carval ny Drogh Vraane (or ne or Drough). Today I found a set of lyrics under the name Carol on Bad Women Mentioned in Scripture. It seems to be a misogynistic rant on all the women in biblical history who have dragged us men down from our otherwise-natural perfection. The first 2 verses, for example:

 

I

COME all ye sons of mortals,

And to my words give oar,

Would ye avoid transgressing,

Of women’s rule beware ;

Their rule is fraught with danger,

As plainly may appear,

E’on in fair Eden’s garden t

She was the first to err.

 

II

Thus from the days of Adam

Her mischief you may trace,

And how she brought destruction

On all the human race.

There our deluded Mother,

As you may call to mind,

By hearkening to the Serpent

Did ruin all mankind.

 

 

Leaving all that aside (though perhaps not soon enough), my questions are:

Is this a commonly played carol in the U.K.? Are any of you familiar with it? Does anyone know any more about it?

[PeterT]

Some time ago I bought a book of transcriptions from hammered dulcimer player Maggie Sansone that included a few hard-to-find tunes I like - Galician Waltz for one. I got interested in the tune Jezebel Carol and have been playing it for a while. The book mentions only that it comes from the Isle of Man. I've been interested in the history, but repeated searches have turned up almost nothing, although it seems well-recorded in the Celtic Harp world. The Jezebel Carol also appears under the name Carval ny Drogh Vraane (or ne or Drough). Today I found a set of lyrics under the name Carol on Bad Women Mentioned in Scripture. It seems to be a misogynistic rant on all the women in biblical history who have dragged us men down from our otherwise-natural perfection.

 

Is this a commonly played carol in the U.K.? Are any of you familiar with it? Does anyone know any more about it?

Hi Stephen,

 

I'm not familiar with this carol, although it might have made it as far as the UK, since the Isle of Man is very close! I'm not aware that we have any Manx members on the Forum.

 

I've added a link, in case my comments have puzzled other members:

 

http://www.gov.im/MNH/

 

Regards,

Peter.

[chainyanker]

here a couple i worked pretty easy on my anglo, silent nigh, holy night in c. what child is this [green sleeves] in g. heres a couple more im not a good on are hark the herald angles sing in g. o little town of bethlrhem, g. i found all these in hynm book. there lot others their just havent chage keys on them to try to play yet.

[PeterT]

Hi

 

I was asked to bring my concertina to a holiday party, but I don't play any Xmas or Holiday songs right now. Which ones do you play?

 

Steve

Hi Steve,

 

Here's a nice source of carols, some of which have excellent tunes if you want to play rather than sing:

 

http://christmassongbook.net/

 

Regards,

Peter.

[Robin Madge]

Two that I'm doing at the moment at opposite ends of the Christmas music spectrum are "The bells of paradise" (very old and cryptic) and "I believe in Father Christmas" by Emerson Lake and Palmer (very modern and with a Humanist point of view).

 

Robin Madge