I'm sure somebody mentioned last year about playing at one of the centres in London. We're looking for advice/comments/helpful suggestions, as someone brought it up at one of our sessions a couple of weeks ago. My SO just looked on the website and felt overawed, certainly at the idea of just the two of us doing a set, but she's less of a public performer than me, and we were definitely thinking more of us and a few friends from the session.
Carols apart, you might check out some compendiums of, or including, contemporary Christian songs, such as "Mission Praise". Whether or not you wanted to sing them, some at least are coming through with really good tunes. Graham Kendrick is a composer responsible for a lot of these. One of his - "The earth was dark..." (I think) - is seasonal, and has a good tune.
One good tune (not season-specific) is a recent one to an older hymn, "Before The Throne Of God Above". It sounds for all the world as though it could be Welsh trad, and goes as follows:
X:1
T:Before The Throne Of God Above
M:3/4
L:1/8
R:Waltz
K:D Major (At least, it's published in that)
|A, DE||F2 D2 B,D|D3 A, DE|F2 D2 FA|A3 D FA|B2 A>F E>F|D3 B, DF|
|ED B,2 D2|D3 d dc|B2 A2 FA|A3d dc|B2 A2 Bc|d3 e dc|
|B2 A>F E>F|D3 B, DF|ED B,2 D2|D3 B, DF|ED B,2 D2|D3 ||
(Obviously, it could easily be played an octave up, or in another key.)
I played with John and Aiden and co at several of the shelters last year... it was a whole lotta fun! There were loads of requests for the dreaded Fields and Danny Boy, but everyone was happy to oblige - spirit of the season, and all
I do believe we even threw in a rousing Long Way to Tipperary at the wet shelter!
Any rate, it was loads of fun - even if I wasn't able to stick around and go play on the main shelter stage and get the spotlight and dry ice fog machine treatment like the rest of the gang
Is this a session site or a revivalist meeting? Personally I look in here to hear discussions about Irish music not to have God-botherers using this as an opportunity to hijack discussions in order to peddle their blether.
For Pete's sake, is it that big a deal that somebody suggested CHRISTian music for CHRISTmas? If you don't share the beliefs then fine, but don't get upset because people celebrate the holiday for it's intended purpose.
I'm not a Christian by name or otherwise, but some of those Christmas Carols are fine tunes.
By the way, I'll be in London over Christmas, and would be up for entertaining the unhoused masses with a few tunes. I did it a couple of years ago with the Family Carte, and it was an enjoyable experience.
A fine organisation and very deserving of all of our support, regardless of whether we bend the knee or not. So as not to detract from its excellent, much-needed and much-appreciated efforts, I'll bite my lip and say no more ...
... and one that needs volunteers in general, not just musicians!
So if you feel like helping (and/or escaping from your own Christmas), please contact Crisis direct.
This year there will be more (and smaller) shelters than there have been in previous years. We (the Gillard clan and friends) traditionally do one day when we hit as many of the shelters as we can, but it's not yet clear when that day will be, or if the new logistics will change things in terms of numbers, timing, etc.
When I have more information, I'll post it here, but if anyone's interested, but can't make that particular day, you can still contact Crisis direct.
A wee bit of feedback for anyone who's thinking of offering their services in any way.
I found my involvement in last year's musical offering to be one of the most unsettling things I've ever done ...
We folks who play trad music are often quite egotistical - at least in the sense that we fairly ruthlessly pursue our own musical and cultural agenda. We're dismissive of punters, publicans and them that doesn't know our tunes and play too fast and too loud or too slow or with too much swing or play too many jigs or whatever ... We're often wrapped up in our own wee world of smugness; we know what's what and nobody else does and we love our musical friends because even within the wee niche that is Irish music, they're on the same wavelength as us and together we know so much more about the music and how it should be played ...
(Sorry if any of the above is being unfair on any of you ...)
And then you get to the first Crisis shelter and any scrap of ego you've ever had is dismantled within seconds, as you realise that today YOU do not matter a damn. Today is not about YOU and it's not about your friends and it's not about your music and it's not about whether you know this tune or that one. It's about Crisis' customers - end of story.
And that requires some pretty profound mental adjustment. The mental adjustment that allows you to sing Fields of Athenry if one of the customers wants to hear it. The type of mental adjustment that makes you politely apologise that you don't, unfortunately, know "Duellin' Banjoes". The type of mental adjustment that allows you to get up on a "proper" stage and perform as a band, when you weren't expecting to have to do so and when you perhaps have to overcome debilitating nerves in order to do so. (But you do it, because your nervousness and your unpreparedness are NOT IMPORTANT.)
Last year's musical outing was exhausting - darting from shelter to shelter, hasty farewells and puzzling rendezvous, a wealth of experiences squeezed into a few hours.
However it wasn't until I was travelling home alone on the train after the dust had died on that I realised how profoundly moved I had been by the day and how grateful I was to have been given the opportunity to be part of one of the most quietly life-affirming and altrustic ventures I have ever experienced.
So, if you are offered the opportunity to contribute to Crisis, my advice would be to seize the chance and take part. To do so with an open mind and to prepare to be challenged mentally and physically by the day. You may enjoy it - you may not - but there's no way that you'll leave without being deeply affected by the experiencing of giving with no thought of getting in return.
There are hundreds of people who give up a large part - or indeed all - of their Christmas holidays to volunteer for Crisis. They work long hours, doing jobs which are often extremely difficult. These people are, quite simply, heroes.
Crisis at Christmas
Crisis at Christmas
I'm sure somebody mentioned last year about playing at one of the centres in London. We're looking for advice/comments/helpful suggestions, as someone brought it up at one of our sessions a couple of weeks ago. My SO just looked on the website and felt overawed, certainly at the idea of just the two of us doing a set, but she's less of a public performer than me, and we were definitely thinking more of us and a few friends from the session.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Crisis at Christmas
http://www.thesession.org/members/display/3296
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Crisis at Christmas
Carols apart, you might check out some compendiums of, or including, contemporary Christian songs, such as "Mission Praise". Whether or not you wanted to sing them, some at least are coming through with really good tunes. Graham Kendrick is a composer responsible for a lot of these. One of his - "The earth was dark..." (I think) - is seasonal, and has a good tune.
One good tune (not season-specific) is a recent one to an older hymn, "Before The Throne Of God Above". It sounds for all the world as though it could be Welsh trad, and goes as follows:
X:1
T:Before The Throne Of God Above
M:3/4
L:1/8
R:Waltz
K:D Major (At least, it's published in that)
|A, DE||F2 D2 B,D|D3 A, DE|F2 D2 FA|A3 D FA|B2 A>F E>F|D3 B, DF|
|ED B,2 D2|D3 d dc|B2 A2 FA|A3d dc|B2 A2 Bc|d3 e dc|
|B2 A>F E>F|D3 B, DF|ED B,2 D2|D3 B, DF|ED B,2 D2|D3 ||
(Obviously, it could easily be played an octave up, or in another key.)
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by nicholas
Re: Crisis at Christmas
I played with John and Aiden and co at several of the shelters last year... it was a whole lotta fun! There were loads of requests for the dreaded Fields and Danny Boy, but everyone was happy to oblige - spirit of the season, and all
I do believe we even threw in a rousing Long Way to Tipperary at the wet shelter!
Any rate, it was loads of fun - even if I wasn't able to stick around and go play on the main shelter stage and get the spotlight and dry ice fog machine treatment like the rest of the gang
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Q
Re: Crisis at Christmas
Sounds good - count me in, if that's ok.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Crisis at Christmas
Is this a session site or a revivalist meeting? Personally I look in here to hear discussions about Irish music not to have God-botherers using this as an opportunity to hijack discussions in order to peddle their blether.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Aidan Crossey
Re: Crisis at Christmas
Aidan's being slightly disingenuous there; we've all seen his alter ego preaching to the masses on Oxford Circus http://www.maskworld.com/pix/beards/large/5067-prediger-1.jpg So are ye a sinner or a winner?
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Conán McDonnell
Re: Crisis at Christmas
I hadn't realised God's name was Aidan.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by nicholas
Re: Crisis at Christmas
It's an easy mistake, Nicholas. But the name of that garden Adam and Eve used to hang out in back in Genesis should have given you a clue.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by Q
Re: Crisis at Christmas
I'm with Aidan. ITM, yeah. God blather, boo.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by timmy!
Re: Crisis at Christmas
......
What on earth is the problem? Is Guernsey Pete's post supposed to be 'offensive' or something? Haha...If that offends you, there's a problem...
Hey everybody! Head on over to Shepherd's Chapel.com! How's that for "God blather" eh?
Anyway, good luck Pete! Hope it goes well.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by Lady-Falconer2008
Re: Crisis at Christmas
Yer Ladyship,
I think it was Nicholas's contribution that got a couple of hackles up. Get your butler to reread the posts for you...
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by Ottery
Re: Crisis at Christmas
I'll do that, Ottery....Oh, Chives!
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by Lady-Falconer2008
Re: Crisis at Christmas
For Pete's sake, is it that big a deal that somebody suggested CHRISTian music for CHRISTmas? If you don't share the beliefs then fine, but don't get upset because people celebrate the holiday for it's intended purpose.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by possumawesome
Re: Crisis at Christmas
"For Pete's sake"? Very appropriate. How about a mention for St. Nicholas above?
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by oldstrings
Re: Crisis at Christmas
I'm not a Christian by name or otherwise, but some of those Christmas Carols are fine tunes.
By the way, I'll be in London over Christmas, and would be up for entertaining the unhoused masses with a few tunes. I did it a couple of years ago with the Family Carte, and it was an enjoyable experience.
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Crisis at Christmas
http://www.crisis.org.uk
A fine organisation and very deserving of all of our support, regardless of whether we bend the knee or not. So as not to detract from its excellent, much-needed and much-appreciated efforts, I'll bite my lip and say no more ...
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Aidan Crossey
Re: Crisis at Christmas
... and one that needs volunteers in general, not just musicians!
So if you feel like helping (and/or escaping from your own Christmas), please contact Crisis direct.
This year there will be more (and smaller) shelters than there have been in previous years. We (the Gillard clan and friends) traditionally do one day when we hit as many of the shelters as we can, but it's not yet clear when that day will be, or if the new logistics will change things in terms of numbers, timing, etc.
When I have more information, I'll post it here, but if anyone's interested, but can't make that particular day, you can still contact Crisis direct.
This is what happened last year:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/8739
... and thanks to Matt, Danny, Aidan, David for your comments
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Just a person
Re: Crisis at Christmas
A wee bit of feedback for anyone who's thinking of offering their services in any way.
I found my involvement in last year's musical offering to be one of the most unsettling things I've ever done ...
We folks who play trad music are often quite egotistical - at least in the sense that we fairly ruthlessly pursue our own musical and cultural agenda. We're dismissive of punters, publicans and them that doesn't know our tunes and play too fast and too loud or too slow or with too much swing or play too many jigs or whatever ... We're often wrapped up in our own wee world of smugness; we know what's what and nobody else does and we love our musical friends because even within the wee niche that is Irish music, they're on the same wavelength as us and together we know so much more about the music and how it should be played ...
(Sorry if any of the above is being unfair on any of you ...)
And then you get to the first Crisis shelter and any scrap of ego you've ever had is dismantled within seconds, as you realise that today YOU do not matter a damn. Today is not about YOU and it's not about your friends and it's not about your music and it's not about whether you know this tune or that one. It's about Crisis' customers - end of story.
And that requires some pretty profound mental adjustment. The mental adjustment that allows you to sing Fields of Athenry if one of the customers wants to hear it. The type of mental adjustment that makes you politely apologise that you don't, unfortunately, know "Duellin' Banjoes". The type of mental adjustment that allows you to get up on a "proper" stage and perform as a band, when you weren't expecting to have to do so and when you perhaps have to overcome debilitating nerves in order to do so. (But you do it, because your nervousness and your unpreparedness are NOT IMPORTANT.)
Last year's musical outing was exhausting - darting from shelter to shelter, hasty farewells and puzzling rendezvous, a wealth of experiences squeezed into a few hours.
However it wasn't until I was travelling home alone on the train after the dust had died on that I realised how profoundly moved I had been by the day and how grateful I was to have been given the opportunity to be part of one of the most quietly life-affirming and altrustic ventures I have ever experienced.
So, if you are offered the opportunity to contribute to Crisis, my advice would be to seize the chance and take part. To do so with an open mind and to prepare to be challenged mentally and physically by the day. You may enjoy it - you may not - but there's no way that you'll leave without being deeply affected by the experiencing of giving with no thought of getting in return.
There are hundreds of people who give up a large part - or indeed all - of their Christmas holidays to volunteer for Crisis. They work long hours, doing jobs which are often extremely difficult. These people are, quite simply, heroes.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Aidan Crossey
Re: Crisis at Christmas
Yeah, it's always "feel the fear and do it anyway", more "edgy" than drinking a latté in Hoxton. But always some good stories afterwards
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Just a person
Re: Crisis at Christmas
... and as Aidan says, the full-time volunteers are the heroes. Which would include my sisters, who take a day off from Crisis proper to do the music!
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Just a person