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Discussions => News and Events => Topic started by: Ken Watson on July 31, 2019, 07:41:41 PM

Title: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Ken Watson on July 31, 2019, 07:41:41 PM
The English Music Sessions I will be hosting at Whitby Folk Week 2019 are...

28   Sat 17th Aug     5.00 - 7.00pm  First In Last Out
329  Tues 20th Aug   5.00 - 7.00pm  First In Last Out
607  Fri 23rd Aug      5.00 - 7.00pm  First In Last Out

See you there?   :||:
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: IanD on August 01, 2019, 10:06:37 AM
Does "English" mean "only English" or "not Irish"? ;-)
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Helena Handcart on August 01, 2019, 10:15:55 AM
Does "English" mean "only English" or "not Irish"? ;-)

Always a good question....

 (:)  :|||:   
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Winston Smith on August 01, 2019, 12:14:58 PM
Ken, in case I don't get my latest D/G conversion finished in time, would a 1 row in G suffice for some of the session choices of music? (I'm not used to playing in sessions, and don't really know what to expect.)
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Choonz on August 01, 2019, 12:22:57 PM
I have the odd spare D/G lying around that you can borrow and if you really like it, you can probably buy it! >:E
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Winston Smith on August 01, 2019, 01:27:25 PM
Thanks for the offer, Choonz,  but I expect that I'll be OK with the 1 row (for the number of tunes I'll be able to pick up, anyway, haha!)
Also, spending the week at Whitby precludes any melodeon purchases for the foreseeable future, I fear!
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Ken Watson on August 24, 2019, 07:22:22 PM
Back from Whitby Folk Week 2019...
Thanks to all the people who came to my English Music Sessions @ First In Last Out. I hope you all enjoyed them as much as I did.  :||:  :|glug
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: IanD on August 25, 2019, 12:00:21 AM
Thanks Ken -- they were excellent :-)
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Roger Hare on August 25, 2019, 06:56:58 AM
Does "English" mean "only English" or "not Irish"? ;-)
Always a good question....

 (:)  :|||:

For a slightly different 'insight', you could re-cast the question in the context of a <mumble> session?

For example, does "Scandinavian" mean "only Scandinavian and nothing else"?...
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Steve_freereeder on August 25, 2019, 07:53:55 AM
Yes indeed Ken, the FILO English sessions were great, thank you!
Ian - nice to meet you and Hilda again. Great imaginative playing from you both (:). Sorry I never got to see the Smiffs dancing this time.
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: IanD on August 25, 2019, 02:50:58 PM
Does "English" mean "only English" or "not Irish"? ;-)
Always a good question....

 (:)  :|||:

For a slightly different 'insight', you could re-cast the question in the context of a <mumble> session?

For example, does "Scandinavian" mean "only Scandinavian and nothing else"?...

Ken refused to take the bait after I dangled the question in front of him online, but he answered it in the pub... ;-)
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Hugh Taylor on August 26, 2019, 05:27:03 PM
Does "English" mean "only English" or "not Irish"

I think most of us know what an English session means. At our monthly English session in Kendal we play the odd Irish tune, mainly O'Carolan, and some Euro, mainly French and Swedish, but focus on English. What we don't want or have is wall to wall Irish or Scottish reels.
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Chris Ryall on August 27, 2019, 01:59:42 PM
As I see the main watershed, like it or not, as being "Irish" v "the rest".

I've been to a few purist English sessions, but even they seem to be accepting of other racines.  Whereas …  I've been in many others where one end to the room played Jig's and Reels, generally at very "non Irish" velocities  ::) alternating with more generic music at the other end.  N'er the twain to meet, it seemed. 

Bit of a downer, but there it is.  Basically one session tradition … is cadence based, and still generally dance connected. The other is melody based (and that's fine) but with little connection to its roots in its British pub manifestation (which seems a shame to me).  :|glug
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Tufty on August 27, 2019, 04:41:02 PM
I play mostly English material, plus quite a bit of French but I also dabble with Irish, particularly polkas on a D 1 row. I find that the big difference  between Irish sessions and others is in session etiquette: in the Irish sessions it is usual to play very long sets (reels in particular) with different players carrying on the set as tunes finish. There seem few or no gaps or pauses. I would feel uncomfortable about trying to play anything apart from ITM in these sessions. In the "English"/mixed sessions playing very long sets seems to be considered bad form, as is continuing a set started by another. These sessions seem open to a wider range of material and I would be quite happy starting a set of Irish polkas. These are just my observations, made over many years. I wonder if the friction that sometimes seems to arise between the two styles comes from  misunderstandings of what the "rules" are?
 It certainly seems difficult for the two styles to join together, even when obliged to share a space. At Sheffield Sessions Festival this year we had the odd situation of two sessions in the same long, narrow bar. They seemed unable/unwilling to come together and continued a "who can play loudest for longest" competition for most of the evening!
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Lester on August 27, 2019, 05:06:23 PM
Seems Session Etiquette is a much bigger thing in ITM sessions you only need to look HERE (https://thesession.org/discussions/search?q=etiquette&page=1) to look at the amount of discussion/argument it seems to generate.

Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Anahata on August 27, 2019, 07:28:11 PM
As I see the main watershed, like it or not, as being "Irish" v "the rest".

Not always. Les Panards Dansant at Hebden Bridge have a session (after the official all French music/dance workshop) which is mostly French but tolerates a few English and Scandi tunes. But definitely mostly French.

I guess the "Euro" sessions like those at Whitby also try to stick to the continent and don't expect many English tunes, though I've never been to one.
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Steve_freereeder on August 27, 2019, 07:40:49 PM
...I guess the "Euro" sessions like those at Whitby also try to stick to the continent and don't expect many English tunes, though I've never been to one.
The Whitby Eurosessions are lovely and just about anything goes, though it's understood that most tunes will be continental European. There are indeed many French tunes, but also Belgian, Dutch, Scandinavian, Italian and Spanish tunes were in evidence last week. Jack Campin (sadly absent this time) often had a few Balkans tunes to throw into the mix. But no-one seems to mind if the occasional 'tune sometimes played in English sessions' creeps in, perhaps a Playford tune or something of mixed heritage like Horses' Bransle.

The best bits are when people get up and start dancing to the music; there are some excellent dancers among the Whitby Eurosession musicians.  8)

Once again, many thanks to Bob Ellis for organising it all.  :|glug
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: Bob Ellis on August 27, 2019, 07:42:51 PM
Almost all the tunes played at the Whitby Euro-sessions are European (mainly French and Scandinavian). Apart from the odd Playford tune that creeps in, almost the only 'English' tunes tend to be those composed by English musicians who are closely associated with European music, such as Andy Cutting, Cliff Stapleton and Andy Letcher.
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: AnnC on August 27, 2019, 07:45:06 PM
 the Whitby Euro sessions are wonderful, each tune is played for lot longer than in a standard session and can get quite hypnotic, David, my OH was falling asleep/hypnotised while still playing during one French dance tune despite the volume of sound from nearly 40 musicians including pipes and Gurdys  ;D
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: smiley on August 27, 2019, 11:48:20 PM

The best bits are when people get up and start dancing to the music


Exactly what Steve said.
Regardless of the musical genre/s being played in a session, if its dance music and accomplished dancers spontaneously get up then that's good enough for me!
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: IanD on August 28, 2019, 04:53:23 PM
Does "English" mean "only English" or "not Irish"

I think most of us know what an English session means. At our monthly English session in Kendal we play the odd Irish tune, mainly O'Carolan, and some Euro, mainly French and Swedish, but focus on English. What we don't want or have is wall to wall Irish or Scottish reels.
I think "wall-to-wall Irish reels and jigs played at 90mph" was the phrase Ken used... ;-)
Title: Re: Whitby Folk Week 2019 - English Music Sessions
Post by: AnnC on August 28, 2019, 08:17:13 PM

The best bits are when people get up and start dancing to the music


Exactly what Steve said.
Regardless of the musical genre/s being played in a session, if its dance music and accomplished dancers spontaneously get up then that's good enough for me!

 ditto, you know you've got the music right when people can't help but dance to it and the dancers help keep the music going because the musicians can follow the rhythm of the dancers and fine tune the music to fit, a symbiotic relationship  ;D :|||:
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