Fire and Sleet and Candlelight

"As soon as the Morning of the Nativity appears, it is customary among the common people to sing a Christmas-Carol".

- Henry Bourne, The Antiquities of the Common People. (1725)

Regional and historical carols and

songs from midwinter traditions

With bands of carollers and wassail songs, tales of Mowbray Pies and ghosts - and hospitable customs like Mumping and Clementing, the Winter season in the English countryside was a time of fireside celebration and travellers’ voices at the door. Now, you can't say better than that now, can you? This album is the inspiration for this page, and while the album is the central piece, and, of course the participants on the album, we will, as usual, provide you with an example or two of carols and songs, and provide you with the usual links, in their usual places, to other websites that are relevant to the topic at hand.

Coop, Boyes & Simpson (in that order!)

Drawing on first-hand accounts of old customs, traditional stories and carols from the small towns and villages in the English counties, Fire and Sleet and Candlelight brings these once common experiences back to life. The incomparable accapella harmonies of Coop Boyes & Simpson, Fi Fraser, Jo Freya and Georgina Boyes featured on an album of music from the production were an outstanding success with audiences on Classic FM ,

BBC Radio 2 and 3 and led to a sell-out tour in England and The Netherlands.

Barry Coope Jim Boyes & Lester Simpson,Fi Fraser,Georgina Boyes and Jo Freya

a review of the album from the BBC had this to say:

"The powerful, utterly distinctive harmonies of Coope Boyes and Simpson with the additional vocal tones of the Fraser Sisters and Georgina Boyes produce a dense, resonant sonority ... Here are songs from Albion's past to be enjoyed at any season but since it's that time of year ... light the candles, sit close by the fire and wallow in the aural gorgeousness of Coope, Boyes, Simpson, Fraser, Freya and Boyes." BBC Radio 2 website.

Jo Freya, Fi Fraser - The Fraser Sisters

Fire and Sleet and Candlelight [click for larger]

No Masters NMCD21 2004

Hark, Hark What News (Good News)

While Shepherds Watched their

Flocks by Night

(Sweet Chiming Bells)

Drive the Cold Winter Away

Diadem

Gloucestershire Wassail

Personent Hodie*

Clementsing

I Saw Three Ships

King Pharim

Hail Smiling Morn

The Cherry Tree Carol

Peace o’er the World

(The Bradda’ Anthem)

Shepherds Rejoice

Down in Yon Forest

*Words: Latin from 12th Century,

German from 14th century

(several sources give

the date of 1360), from

Piae Cantiones, 1582

Music: "Personent Hodie,"

14th Century

Coop Boyes & Simpson

Jo Freya

multi-instrumentalist,

singer, caller at dances.

Old Swan Band, Blowzabella,

Token Women, we could go

on forever but we won't, we'll let

Jo speak and sing for herself

Whittington & District History Society

a small village, three miles from Lichfield

in Staffordshire.and it's from

the website we got the absolutely

delightful picture of the

carol singers from

there are other really great

photographs as well, illustrating

the life of the village down the years.

and in the photograph:

Carol singers - ca 1920.

Adolphus John (Jack) Pass

shown on left; his daughter,

Margaret, in front of him.

Georgina Boyes

The Albion Christmas

Website

sam-and-lizzie