On a purely seasonal note, I find that some tunes have a very "Christmas-past" sensibility to my ears - ie: Maids of Mitchelstown and St. Patrick's Day - both of which are not-at-all Yuletide-oriented... yet they seem to go pretty darn well with the holly, eggnog and a wee festive dram... the corollary of which being that subjectivity plays a big role in association. Does anybody else have some non-Christmas tunes that they play at this time of year because, to their ears, they sound seasonally-appropriate?
That's the beauty of the music -- it is for the most part "aholiday" and can be interpreted as joyful, sorrowful, or whatever suits your mood. Mood isn't forced on you.
Even surly pipers can enjoy it, even at this time of year.
:|
This is one I like, which is by Thomas (I think, Welsh c1700). I like the suggestion of bells in the music so have done it as a sort of canon - and it's always sounded quite Christmassy to me:
The sound of bells around the ankles generally reminds me of a bunch of drunken Morris men stumbling over guy ropes trying to find their way to their tents at 4.30 in the morning after a long night of singing in the stairwell....
Would you like some Fauxcelt? with the value of the $ these days we could do you a discount for a full set with a fool thrown in free. Say $3000 plus transprt
What could be more Christmas-y sounding than a full-on Morris dancing slagfest? I hereby bow to the spirit of all previous postings, and respectfully withdraw the original discussion.
14) excessive ribbon tax.
I support Mix's proposed road-pricing levy having diced with death several times when processing along narrow country roads. Neither the fierce brandishing of sturdy sticks nor the jingling of Morris bells will deter crazy drivers.
Speaking of crazy drivers.....my sister-in-law (who has never heard of Morris dancing) always drives too fast. Getting several speeding tickets hasn't improved her driving, either.
Just to add a note from my link above, I sent this link to a harp playing friend who sent me back "his" version of this tune. I suggested it might be fun to email "his" version to someone and see what they came back with, and then email that one to someone, and so on.
He's now coordinating this so we'll see how this tune slowly becomes something else...!
No, Mix, my sister-in-law lives across the river in the Big Pebble (Little Rock) which is too close for comfort so far as I am concerned.
Earlier this year, we were nice enough to go with her to Memphis for some stupid and useless reason and she volunteered to drive. She isn't driving my car again because almost the whole way to Memphis, this crazy woman drove ten to twenty miles above the official speed limit and enjoyed it far too much. She likes too much to boast about how she can make trips faster than anyone else.
She disapproves of my participation in the local sessions because it isn't religious music (she thinks I should play only in church and no where else).
in olden days, the Delta Blues was referred to as "singin' a reel".
as for the original question, to my mind, for "Seasonal" music, nothing tops the Watersons. Gives me the chills every time!
Mix, I would try to tell my sister-in-law about the devil having all of the best tunes but she wouldn't listen because it is difficult for her to accept that someone else could be right (yes, she thinks she is a Know-It-All).
There are some people who think the music which they play at the independent Pentecostal church my sister-in-law attends is the music of the devil because they use electric bass and drums and electric guitar as well as an electronic piano. This music sounds like popular music such as rock'n'roll.
Subjective hearing
Subjective hearing
On a purely seasonal note, I find that some tunes have a very "Christmas-past" sensibility to my ears - ie: Maids of Mitchelstown and St. Patrick's Day - both of which are not-at-all Yuletide-oriented... yet they seem to go pretty darn well with the holly, eggnog and a wee festive dram... the corollary of which being that subjectivity plays a big role in association. Does anybody else have some non-Christmas tunes that they play at this time of year because, to their ears, they sound seasonally-appropriate?
# Posted on December 19th 2008 by drone
Re: Subjective hearing
No.
That's the beauty of the music -- it is for the most part "aholiday" and can be interpreted as joyful, sorrowful, or whatever suits your mood. Mood isn't forced on you.
Even surly pipers can enjoy it, even at this time of year.
:|
# Posted on December 19th 2008 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Subjective hearing
This is one I like, which is by Thomas (I think, Welsh c1700). I like the suggestion of bells in the music so have done it as a sort of canon - and it's always sounded quite Christmassy to me:
http://www.danceofdelight.com/Gallery/welsh_tune_thomas.mp3
# Posted on December 19th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Subjective hearing
Tie a string of bells around your ankle and presto; they all sound jingle-belly, holly-jolly, mistle-toey, christy-massy.
Or it really depends on how you've been conditioned.
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Lint - upon - Tweed
Re: Subjective hearing
The sound of bells around the ankles generally reminds me of a bunch of drunken Morris men stumbling over guy ropes trying to find their way to their tents at 4.30 in the morning after a long night of singing in the stairwell....
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by zepherin
Re: Subjective hearing
Sad but true.
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by zepherin
Re: Subjective hearing
...and the difference is?
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Lint - upon - Tweed
Re: Subjective hearing
Those Morris dancers with bells on their ankles sound like a group of ding-a-lings.
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by fauxcelt
Re: Subjective hearing
Would you like some Fauxcelt? with the value of the $ these days we could do you a discount for a full set with a fool thrown in free. Say $3000 plus transprt
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by bazouki dave
Re: Subjective hearing
And don't forget that in England (and perhaps Wales - dunno about the other two in the Union) isn't Morris dancing allowed by Act of Parliament?
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Subjective hearing
just because its legal doesnt mean that you have to do it Lazyhound.
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by bazouki dave
Re: Subjective hearing
Morris dancing's only allowed because they're likely to introduce a stealth tax on it.... probably.
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Subjective hearing
Sorry having difficulty equating Morris Dancing and stealth. But I like the idea of Taxing them . Based on weight?
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by bazouki dave
Re: Subjective hearing
Might I suggest a whole raft of Morris dancing taxes?
1) Bells tax
2) Stick tax
3) Baldricks tax
4) Floral hat tax
5) Dirty face tax
6) Clogs tax
7) Hobby horse tax
8) Antler tax (local tax in Abbot's Bromley)
9) Stripey kilt tax (local tax in Bacup)
10) Smock tax
11) Pig's bladder tax
12) Melodeon tax
... and a special road-pricing levy for anyone driving through Oxfordshire, Lancashire and Shropshire ...
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Subjective hearing
13) Tankard tax
# Posted on December 20th 2008 by Pomme de Terre
Re: Subjective hearing
What could be more Christmas-y sounding than a full-on Morris dancing slagfest? I hereby bow to the spirit of all previous postings, and respectfully withdraw the original discussion.
14) excessive ribbon tax.
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by drone
Re: Subjective hearing
No thank you bazouki dave, I have better things to spend my money on than bells as well as having some relatives who might almost qualify as fools.
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by fauxcelt
Re: Subjective hearing
I support Mix's proposed road-pricing levy having diced with death several times when processing along narrow country roads. Neither the fierce brandishing of sturdy sticks nor the jingling of Morris bells will deter crazy drivers.
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by zepherin
Re: Subjective hearing
..and to revert to drone's original post - most tunes that employ a crumhorn sound Christmassy to my ears....
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by zepherin
Re: Subjective hearing
Oh - forgot to mention - double road tax on all Morris Minors, Morris Travellers and Morris Oxfords.
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Subjective hearing
Um, Mix, the likelihood is that most of those Morris vehicles listed, if still on the road, will probably be old enough to be exempt from road tax.
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Subjective hearing
Ah, but under my proposals, lazy, those particular models would not qualify for the tax exemption!
Neither would the other Morris models which I omitted to mention, including:
Morris Cowley
Morrs Major
Morris Isis
Morris Eight
Morris Six MS
Morris Ten
Morris Twelve
Morris Fourteen
Morris Twenty-One
Morris Twenty-Five
Morris Mini-Minor
Morris 1100
Morris 1300
Morris 1800
Morris Marina
Morris Ital
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Subjective hearing
Ah, but then the Moris Marina was a dog.
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Subjective hearing
"Morris" Marina - for some reason I couldn't even type the name of that terrible car correctly...
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Subjective hearing
Speaking of crazy drivers.....my sister-in-law (who has never heard of Morris dancing) always drives too fast. Getting several speeding tickets hasn't improved her driving, either.
# Posted on December 21st 2008 by fauxcelt
Re: Subjective hearing
Does your sister live anywhere near Phoenix, fauxcelt?
http://www.bedlambells.com/
... on second thoughts, better keep that one a closely-guarded secret ...
Bedlam, by the way, is derived from the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem of London, which served as a hospital for lunatics, circa 1400.
... need I say more?
# Posted on December 22nd 2008 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Subjective hearing
Just to add a note from my link above, I sent this link to a harp playing friend who sent me back "his" version of this tune. I suggested it might be fun to email "his" version to someone and see what they came back with, and then email that one to someone, and so on.
He's now coordinating this so we'll see how this tune slowly becomes something else...!
# Posted on December 22nd 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Subjective hearing
No, Mix, my sister-in-law lives across the river in the Big Pebble (Little Rock) which is too close for comfort so far as I am concerned.
Earlier this year, we were nice enough to go with her to Memphis for some stupid and useless reason and she volunteered to drive. She isn't driving my car again because almost the whole way to Memphis, this crazy woman drove ten to twenty miles above the official speed limit and enjoyed it far too much. She likes too much to boast about how she can make trips faster than anyone else.
She disapproves of my participation in the local sessions because it isn't religious music (she thinks I should play only in church and no where else).
# Posted on December 22nd 2008 by fauxcelt
Re: Subjective hearing
Faux - you'll have to tell your sister-in-law that the devil has all the best tunes!
# Posted on December 23rd 2008 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Subjective hearing
in olden days, the Delta Blues was referred to as "singin' a reel".
as for the original question, to my mind, for "Seasonal" music, nothing tops the Watersons. Gives me the chills every time!
# Posted on December 23rd 2008 by pipewatcher
Re: Subjective hearing
Mix, I would try to tell my sister-in-law about the devil having all of the best tunes but she wouldn't listen because it is difficult for her to accept that someone else could be right (yes, she thinks she is a Know-It-All).
There are some people who think the music which they play at the independent Pentecostal church my sister-in-law attends is the music of the devil because they use electric bass and drums and electric guitar as well as an electronic piano. This music sounds like popular music such as rock'n'roll.
# Posted on December 23rd 2008 by fauxcelt