
Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band Tour in December more information to be announced
Spanfest 2008 Folk Day
New venue for the 2008 Folk Day. Spanfest 08 will be on Saturday 26th July at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire. click here for Spanfest website
Seven For Old England CD 2008
I have recorded a traditional acoustic CD, following a few dates in March with Benji Kirkpatrick and Giles Lewin, a more comprehensive tour is to follow in the autumn. The project is called 'Seven for Old England' and references my first LPs with Tim Hart, 'Folksongs of Olde England Vols 1 & 2'. The 'e' on Olde was never popular with either of us the first time round.
The title comes from the magpie rhyme:
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a wedding
Four for a boy
Five for a fiddler
Six for a dance
Seven for Old England
And eight for France.
This is different from the one most people are familiar with from the TV programme, and I don’t know where it came from, but it’s firmly stuck in my mind. There is an assortment of material here, some I remember from childhood, written pieces from Playford’s Dancing Master, although I didn’t know that at the time. Incidentally, one of my family names is Playford, a quite unusual name. Other songs I remember friends from the revival performing. Some I have come across in books, some in Cecil Sharp House, that bastion of traditional music.
Benji and Giles have put perfect accompaniments, drawing out the individual styles of each piece and lifting them to joyous and delicious heights. Benji’s dad John is to join us on certain tracks, and Giles is writing some string parts. Some are sweet, some ribald, some solemn, some earthy and some poignant, but all great to sing. I look forward to touring with them.
Maddy Prior
click here for an archive of earlier news
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