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Author Topic: Hardcore English  (Read 6561 times)

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GuyWyatt

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Hardcore English
« on: December 10, 2007, 11:01:07 AM »

I today received my copy of this wonderful book and CD. Compiled by Barry Callaghan, a superb melodeon player and all around good egg, now sadly deceased, having died very shortly before the release of the book.
As it says on the cover, 300 cracking tunes from manuscript, recorded and aural sources. There is an accompanying CD with 50 tracks from a wide variety of bandsand musicians.
Undoubtedly the oddest thing on the CD is a short snippet from a barrel organ. This is the same organ and playing the same rolls of music as was taken to sea by Admiral Parry the arctic explorer in the 1820s for the entertainment of his sailors. Two things in particular strike me about this. The first is that this is recorded music from the 1820s. The second is that this was the MIDI of its day. Since the recording medium was either cylinders ("barrels") with pins sticking out of it or rolls of paper with holes punched in it it was digital rather than analogue (there is either a hole or there is not, therefor technically binary). Incidentally, if, as is the case with so many who have posted elsewhere on this site about MIDI, you hate that MIDI sound, barrel organ sounds worse.

The aim of the book is to focus on native English repertoire of traditional dance music. The book is pleasingly presented. The notation is clear and crisp. Easy to read. The tunes are arranged in what to me is a logical way. Amongst other resources in the book are an extensive list of weblinks which will keep me busy for a while.

Damn fine book and CD. Available from English Folk Dance and Song Society  www.efdss.org
« Last Edit: December 10, 2007, 11:09:49 AM by GuyWyatt »
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Alison Scott

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2007, 04:04:55 PM »

I too was fascinated by the barrel organ track and immediately bought the CD. The organ was heavily restored and I don't know to what extent the restoration will have affected the sound. I also don't know how accurately barrel organs reflected the music as normally played when they were new; this organ is quite unusual in terms of the number of secular tunes that were included. So it's possible that the 'state of the art' in barrel organ design was directed at playing church music. I was fascinated to discover, also from the web, that many churches dispensed with the services of an organist in favour of a barrel organ.

The CD also has lots of other delights on it, and the book is full of wonders. As far as I can tell, most of the tunes are presented in the book in different versions to those on the CD; but unlike many tunebook and CD sets the CD here is not primarily a teaching aid; it's designed more as a historical summary.

Mike Gott

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2007, 04:43:39 PM »

This sounds interesting, I'd like to see a track listing of the CD - there doesn't seem to be one that I could find on the EFDSS site - but I'm sure as hell not going to Google "Hardcore English"......

Mike
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"Traditional music was for entertainment, it wasn't for a further education class" (Bob Davenport)

Rivington Morris, Bolton, Lancashire.

GuyWyatt

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2007, 07:29:07 PM »

 I'd like to see a track listing of the CD .....

BEatrice Hill's 3 Hand Reel
THe Honeymoon / Oldham rant
Duke of Cornwall's reel
THe Triumph
Sir Phililip McHugh / Long Room of Scarborough
Silverton Polka
La Conservatoire / Ramah Droog / Speed the Plough
Albert Farmer's Bonfire Tune / Foul Weather Call
East Bolden Jig / Ann Frazer McKenzie
Tom Tolley's Hornpipe
The Weymouth Quickstep
Happy Hours
The Tin Gee Gee / Walter Bulwer's Number 1
Trip to Highgate / Elsie Marley
London Hornpipe / Stoney Steps
Fourpence Halfpenny Farthing / The Flight
Sweeps / Redesdale Hornpipes
Sportsman's Hornpipe
Old Lancaster Hornpipe
Nickley Hood / THe Cream Pot
Trip to Brighton
Mountain Belle
The Sloe / Seamo's Polka / Lichfield Tattoo
Queen of the May / Watson's Hornpipe
Westmorland Waltz
Go Back to Berwick, Johnny / Our Cat has Kitted /If You WIll Not Have Me You May Let me Go
Enrico
Church St / St Marys
Scan Tester's No. 1 and 2 Polkas
Miss Baker's / Miss Menager's Hornpipes
New and Old Morpeth Rants
Waiting for the Waggon / Dennington Bell
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Mike Gott

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2007, 07:53:38 PM »

Thanks for that, Guy.

Mike
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"Traditional music was for entertainment, it wasn't for a further education class" (Bob Davenport)

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Pete Dunk

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2013, 01:04:09 PM »

I'm just listening to the CD for the umpteenth time, this and the Hardcore English book are amongst my most prized resources. I have the CD in a playlist with The Darwin Song Project, Out of Reach, Banquet of Boxes, The Cecil Sharp Project, Fieldvole Music and Plain Capers which helps to pass the time when I'm decorating for the day.
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Sage Herb

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2013, 01:30:15 PM »

As far as I can tell, most of the tunes are presented in the book in different versions to those on the CD; but unlike many tunebook and CD sets the CD here is not primarily a teaching aid; it's designed more as a historical summary.
That's right. The book versions were largely finalised before choices of recorded versions were made. With a very small number of exceptions (including a track by Anahata) the CD recordings predate the book by a long time.

Barry was a wonderful man and I miss him greatly even now. I was privileged to sail with him on Thames barges and to play at his wedding and at his funeral.
Steve
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Ebor_fiddler

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2013, 06:23:37 PM »

Mine lives in the car.  ;D ;D
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I'm a Yorkie!
My other melodeon's a fiddle, but one of my Hohners has six strings! I also play a very red Hawkins Bazaar in C and a generic Klingenthaler spoon bass in F.!! My other pets (played) are gobirons - Hohner Marine Band in C, Hohner Tremolo in D and a Chinese Thingy Tremolo in G.

Steve_freereeder

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2013, 07:34:19 AM »

Barry was a wonderful man and I miss him greatly even now.
Hear hear. Me too.
Barry taught me a lot of tunes and also the finer points of playing for dancing. We were co-musicians for Sheffield-based dance team 'Lizzie Dripping' for a few years. His enthusiasm, kindness and encouragement to newcomers like myself in the 1980s remain with me.

I've attached a rather poor quality photo which shows Barry playing for Lizzie Dripping at the traditional Boxing Day dance-out at Grenoside, north Sheffield, in 2001. Barry's the tall chap wearing the red hat; I'm next to him in the green jacket.   
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Steve
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www.lizziedripping.org.uk

pikey

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2013, 01:30:47 PM »

Now I've seen the photo I remember him. Great bloke. I didn't know we'd lost him . Sad news.
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oggiesnr

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Re: Hardcore English
« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2013, 11:07:40 PM »

Now I've seen the photo I remember him. Great bloke. I didn't know we'd lost him . Sad news.

Ditto,

Steve
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