Archive for November, 2011
Jingle Bells!
‘Jingle Bells’ is perhaps the most popular Christmas tune of all time, however it’s history and development into the present day version is anything but straightforward. Originally penned and copyrighted by James Lord Pierpont in 1857 under the name of ‘One Horse Open Sleigh’ , the original version is quite different than the one we all [...]
Shakespeare’s Carol - Thomas Arne
This carol is a little bit of a curiosity being one of the songs written by Thomas Arne as incidental music for the Shakespeare play ‘As You Like It’. Like his other famous songs ‘Rule Brittania’ (from ‘The Masque of Althred’) and ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ (also from ‘As You Like It’) it is characterised by an extensive melody which is [...]
Wedding at St Mary’s Church, Beaconsfield
On Saturday, we performed as a string duo for a wedding held in St Mary’s Church, in the Old Town of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. We were situated to the right hand side of the altar and provided half an hour of music as guests arrived.
We then played Pachelbel’s Canon in D to accompany the bridesmaid’s and bridal entrance. [...]
See Amid the Winter’s Snow
The twelfth carol on our second volume of carols is an arrangement of ‘See Amid the Winter’s Snow’ by John Goss. It is also known as ‘Hymn For Christmas Day’ and the melody first appeared in Bramley and Stainer’s ‘Christmas Carols New and Old’.
Rather like ‘It Came Upon The Midnight Clear’, it is a tender [...]
Past Three O’Clock
The words to this splendid Christmas carol were written by George Ratcliffe Woodward for the ‘Cambridge carol book’ of 1924. He based them on the cry of the city night watchman and added them to an existing refrain that has it’s origins in Playford’s ‘Dancing Master’ of the 17th century. The tune is a traditional [...]
O Holy Night…..
The tenth track on the disc ‘It Came Upon The Midnight Clear and other carols’ is ‘O Holy Night’ (also known as ‘Cantique de Noel’). It is a carol written in 1847 by Adolphe Adam. Adam is now best known for his ballet ‘Giselle’ as well as being the teacher and mentor of Leo Delibes.
It is a [...]
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
The ninth track on our second volume of Christmas carols (entitled ‘It Came Upon The Midnight Clear and other carols’) is the ubiquitous ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’. The carol is thought to have originated from the 16th century in the west country of England where travelling ‘waits’ sang Christmas carols for food or [...]
Wedding at Ettington Park, Warwickshire
Yesterday, the quartet were pleased to return to Ettington Park in Warwickshire to play for a wedding ceremony and reception. Having played at the venue several times, we were very much looking forward to going back as the staff always give us a really warm welcome.
We provided music as guests assembled for the ceremony and [...]
Gaudete! Gaudete! Christus est Natus
This carol is another that appeared in the celebrated collection of sacred songs of 1582 entitled ‘Piae Cantiones’. The manuscript does not contain any melody for the verses and the standard version comes from other liturgical sources. The folk rock outfit ‘Steeleye Span’ did it a huge service by releasing a version in 1973 that appeared [...]
Adagio FM
We’re delighted to learn that both our carol discs have just been added to the playlist of Adagio FM, an online classical music station who play a varied selection of well known music and some neglected works. The station support classical musicians by adding a link to itunes and amazon from their playlist so that listeners can [...]
