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Author Topic: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme  (Read 12720 times)

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Clive Williams

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Yes, it's *that* time of year again! This month we're doing festive tunes again - Christmas carols, Christmas music, or any music vaguely related to winter.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Clive

Rob2Hook

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I'm rather hoping to get someone to record our mugging dancing in Winchester (on my birthday!).  We are a NW tart side who collect for the local childrens' hospice every year.  The dance in question here is the Yateley St Peter's Polka (#1) which is danced to a medley of Christmas carols, viz. Jingle Bells, Southport Polka, O Little Town of Bethlehem and Deck the Halls.  Many simple carols are well suited to the box, but get tricky as the inclement weather numbs the fingers - or was that the last whisky mac?

The basic ploy is to form a wide set in the narrowest part of the pedestrianised street, so passers by have to run the gauntlet of bucket wielding collectors with no room to side-step  ;D.  Actually its always good natured on the street and we typically take over a thousand pounds on the day.  I'm guessing the pub takes about the same as we eat, drink and warm ourselves and they provide us with space for money counting -much of which they are kind enough to exchange.

If you're Christmas shopping in Winchester on the 11th, you have been warned!

Rob.
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GbH

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Up until yesterday, we'd missed out on the snow here.  However, this morning I woke to find the garden full of the stuff.  So, I took my camera out to see what I could find...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSamoCOnLAo


(In all respects, this was a 'do stuff and see how it turns out' job....  :o )
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SteveC

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Brilliant!

I can see we have two interests in common tho' I'm forced to admit you are better at both.

Nice juggling and playing.
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Ebor_fiddler

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Southport Polka Carol? Is this another "Shepherds" setting? I like your collecting method by the way, we may see if we're allowed to use it on York Station on Christmas Eve. (Have I mentioned at all that we areplaying carols at York Station on Christmas Eve in aid of Christian Aid? Do come and put money in our bucket!  ;D)

Yours in anticipation of a full bucket.

Chris-the-greedy-for filthy-(though we will accept clean)-lucre
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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.

Clive Williams

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... and here's my Winter tune.

Recorded yesterday, when there was lots of snow about, and uploaded today... when there isn't. Oh well, never mind, here's a tune by Chris Wood:

When the Land is White with Snow

A mesmerising tune this, written by Chris for his project with Jean Francois Vrod, Crossing, an album of English and French music and songs played on 2 fiddles. Wonderful music, and still available from the English Acoustic Collective site if you haven't heard it before. Rather different to Chris's current stuff of course, but wonderful. It's also on Karen Tweed's May Monday album, and I have to say that that version is just sublime. In fact, it's so sublime that when it came for choosing stuff on his 'best of' album, Albion, Chris chose to put Karen's version of it on, rather than his on with Jean Francois, even though he doesn't even play on it! I spent a lot of effort tracking down these albums on ebay (May Monday and Midnight May Monday)... but you can now get them direct from Karen's site again - so go pick them up if you haven't already.

Anyway, enough of the advertorial. About the mechanics of how it works. It took me a while to figure out that it's a 3 part tune, and, more or less, if you ignore chords, the first 2 parts play on the inner row, and the third part plays on the outer row. Chords mess that up, of course, but it's a good starting point for getting your head around it. I started out playing it on my Mory (unisonoric basses, makes life really easy) before I figured out that it can be played on a standard 8 bass. It just requires a bit of thinking about the chord work, but it's not that difficult to work it in.

The jump back to the low note at the start of the A music *is* difficult, and it happens a lot, but the biggest trouble is getting enough air in the bellows to play the A music virtually all on the push. In fact, I gave up trying to play it on the preciosa. I just ran out of air all the time... so it's being played on my A/D Castagnari Lilly... which is better, but air is still an issue.

The odd chord sequence at the start of the A music by the way is C (on the lead in notes) -> G -> (B bass/D chord) -> (D bass/B chord) (if you were playing a D/G that is - I can only think in D/G speak). I think this probably only works if you have either a B minor chord or thirds off.

So, the melodeon face here is really something. I'm struggling with fingering, chord rewiring, a jump to a low note from hell, a chord I've never even heard of before, and running out of air all at the same time. It doesn't make pretty viewing. But perhaps if you close your eyes, or turn off your PC monitor, you can enjoy the music anyway?

Cheers,

Clive
(PS: Hot eyebrow action at the end for those of you into that sort of thing).

Ray

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... and here's my Winter tune.

Recorded yesterday, when there was lots of snow about, and uploaded today... when there isn't. Oh well, never mind, here's a tune by Chris Wood:

When the Land is White with Snow


Absolutely gorgeous playing
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Sandy

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... and here's my Winter tune.

Recorded yesterday, when there was lots of snow about, and uploaded today... when there isn't. Oh well, never mind, here's a tune by Chris Wood:

When the Land is White with Snow


Trance like !   Thank you Clive, you have introduced me to such interesting tunes with beautiful arrangements.

cheers
Sandy
 (:)

Chris Brimley

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Beautiful, Clive.
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Anahata

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Wot they all said. That's raised the bar for the rest of us...

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Andy Next Tune

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #10 on: December 05, 2010, 11:40:34 AM »

Wow!! Awesome,Clive.

And thanks for the backstory on the tune. One of the downsides of buying albums as downloads is you lose a lot of that background information.

Andy
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Caring for a European community of melodeons from France, Italy, Germany, Wales and Suffolk!

Ziachmusi/Louise

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2010, 05:46:39 PM »

Advent in Germany was traditionally a period of quiet reflection. The last chance to dance before Christmas was St. Katherine's day and during advent the only music played was peaceful almost classical pieces. Here's a modern traditional "Staade Weis"- Sebastian Menuett written by Markus Krammer, Ebersberg 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiXMUBRAa-I
enjoy and have a peaceful advent (:)

Louise
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Fidjit

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #12 on: December 07, 2010, 06:27:19 AM »

Bit lazy. Got lots to do this month. :Ph Off to England on Thursday for a week. Have to visit the "Pound Shop" for my Christmas presents.  :|bl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaLFaFAnpYo

Merry Christmas every one. :|glug

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Anahata

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2010, 08:55:30 AM »

Here's a bit of the Maypoles to Mistletoe performance put on last Sunday in Stowmarket:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Se8NJkqVJw

  • Thanks to Bill Johnston for the video and alerting me to its existence
  • I'm at work - so I haven't even heard this! Hope it's OK
  • Yes I know, it's not a melodeon. Treat this as a stopgap until we get organised/more time/Mary's sore throat recovers
  • We are considering a melodeon based version of that and/or the Cherry Tree Carol. (sounds nice on Club C/F)
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folkbluesnbeyond

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2010, 04:48:55 PM »


Anahata was quick on the draw with the clip of Sweet Chiming Bells, so here is a further clip from Suffolk Maypoles to Mistletoe, with melodeons, (where they can be heard!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRdc2MeEPZQ

Happy Christmas

Bill

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Anahata

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #15 on: December 09, 2010, 08:47:31 PM »

Here's a better one, from the same Maypoles to Mistletoe performance, and this time it's got a melodeon in it  :||:
The Truro Wassail

This is a rare  use of my Oakwood for a song accompaniment. It's a "belt it out!" sort of song so it works for this one.


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Susanne

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2010, 10:49:34 AM »

Very nice, Anahata, that looks like a small handy melodeon, what is it?
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Rob2Hook

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2010, 12:16:37 PM »

Try to keep up, Susi  ;D !  It's an Oakwood - sadly no longer manufactured, not enough profit compared with making stringed instruments.

Rob.
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Susanne

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2010, 12:25:57 PM »

Try to keep up, Susi  ;D !  It's an Oakwood - sadly no longer manufactured, not enough profit compared with making stringed instruments.

Rob.

Too stressed to read properly today:) That's too bad, there are already too few small melodeons in the market.
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Anahata

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Re: Theme of the Month for December 2010 - Return of the Christmas/Winter Theme
« Reply #19 on: December 10, 2010, 12:32:37 PM »

Too stressed to read properly today:) That's too bad, there are already too few small melodeons in the market.

I had a go on a Salterelle Epsilon the other day. Very nice, single voice like your new Lilly. The tiny bass buttons took a bit of getting used to. Nothing like the bass of the Oakwood though  (:)
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Music recording and web hosting: www.treewind.co.uk
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