Five weeks to Christmas ...

Subject: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: JeffB
Date: 11 Nov 08 - 05:42 PM

... and pretty soon you'll be running around the shops frantically wondering what you're going to get for your favourite folkie friends. Something a bit different, something they'll enjoy, something they've never heard before, something that's not too expensive ...

Here's your answer - a CD of traditional carols, but carols with a difference. They are mainly from England's West Country, and while a number of them will be well-known and well-loved by anyone with any experience of English folk song, others are settings to quite unfamiliar tunes, and some we believe have never been recorded before. The playlist includes three carols from Cheddar and one from Dunster, as well as an old carol from Dorset, a round from the 13th century, and a West Gallery (Sacred Harp)piece. There's even one from Kentucky.

The singers and musicians are the Hotwells Howlers, a Bristol (UK) based group who for the past eight years have been singing their three sets of seasonal songs throughout the year to raise money for cancer charities. Earlier this year we gave £1000 to McMillan Nurses, a charity which provides nursing for cancer sufferers in their own homes. We hope to hand over another sizeable cheque in 2009. Nearly all of the money raised by selling our CD will go to a cancer charity - a small amount will be kept aside to help fund props and hall hire for folk opera projects (again, proceeds from those performances will be donated) and (a very modest amount)to partly subsidise our Christmas dinner.

The CD is tremendous value with 22 tracks. It is on sale at £10 in the UK or $20 (cash) to the US (p&p incl). Please phone or e-mail your orders to either 1) John Shaw - [e-mail] 0117-9673443, or 2) Dave Byrne - [e-mail]   01761-419224 or 3) send me a PM.

Tracklist is :-
1    See the angelic host (Cheddar)
2    The holly and the ivy (Glouc)
3    Near Bethlehem       (Cheddar)
4    On Christmas time
5    Gloucestershire wassail
6    Away dark thoughts   (West Gallery)
7    Brightest and best   (Kentucky)
8    Christmas song    (Copper Family)
9    Sweet bells
10   Ye people all    (Cheddar)
11   Boar's head carol   (with rare 4th verse)
12   Come tune your cheerful voice (Dorset)
13   Christmas Day in the morning (tune from Shetland)
14   Scatter your crumbs
15   While shepherds were watching (Staffs)
16   Sheep 'neath the snow (Isle of Man)
17   Somerset wassail
18   Mirie it is ("Merry it is" - a round sung in Middle English)
19   The virgin unspotted (Glouc)
20   I hear along our street (North Somerset)
21   We singers make bold
22   Hark the herald angels sing (Carlingcott, Somerset)

Each CD will be copied from a master on domestic equipment which takes a little time. So get your order in now to make sure that it reaches you before Christmas.

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 03:55 AM

It's over 6 weeks to Christmas.... Jeez

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: Fidjit
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 05:16 AM

And we only just finished with the last one too.

I vote we have Christmas like the Olympics. Every 4 years.

Chas

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 10:46 AM

Humbug !!

eric

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: glueman
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 11:14 AM

I love Christmas. The CD sounds excellent. It should return to a two or three day festival (one day?) but that's the fault of marketing, not the occasion.
I reserve the right to excited from the 23rd Dec onward.

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: Sleepy Rosie
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 12:02 PM

Two or three days is just right IMO, and some years ago that's exactly what we in my home pared it down to.

We took to the practice of going out on Christmas Eve to gather holly and ivy, which would be rather inelegantly strewn about the walls and beams that night while we got gently mullered on mulled wine. When the greenery is becoming a bit lifeless and a fire hazard (along with all the dripped wax and candle stubs) it goes in the compost.
Christmas over.

Now that it has become my norm, I must say that there's something exceedingly satisfying about a very simple, minimal Christmas. I much prefer it to the mass marketed, stress inducing excess I see about me.

Simply 'downsize Christmas' I would say to all the 'bah humbug-ers', and you will definitely enjoy your experience of what can be a gentle, intimate seasonal festival, much more.

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: JeffB
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 12:45 PM

The reason we are getting in early with selling our CD (which by the way is called "Angels a-shouting", a phrase from one of the Cheddar carols) is that at this stage it did not seem economical to pay for a commercial run of copies, which are about 1000 minumum. So every one ordered from you has to be copied on domestic equipment. This takes about 20 minutes each, and if we left advertising too late we could be snowed under and unable to supply in time for Santa to pop into your stockings.

I should have said that if you want to pay by cheque, please make it out to The Hotwell Howlers and post to Dave Byrne at 7 Silver Street, Midsomer Norton, B&NES, BA3 2ET.

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 12:50 PM

Sounds like a great CD! Bah humbug on the grousers!**bg** Any sound clips we might listen to?

Thanks!

kat

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: JeffB
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 01:23 PM

Sorry Kat. We have been talking for ages about getting a website together but so far it's been just talk.

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: Acorn4
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 01:30 PM

Jeff,

There is a permathread on "Charity CDs" which I'm helping to edit.
I've put a note on it referring to this thread but if you want to put it on that thread as well, it will get double exposure. I've just refreshed the thread with a reference.

Subject: RE: Five weeks to Christmas ...
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 12 Nov 08 - 04:40 PM

Actually it's 7 weeks to go but I'm still worried....

The TV ad that I did some filming for in September (my choir sang '12 days of Christmas' over and over and had to stand around looking happy and eating chocolate - the agonies!) hasn't been aired yet (leastways, not whilst I've been watching)... is this some kind of record? A supermarket (Aldi) not having their Chrismtas ad out before Remembrance Day?

I only bring this up because it raised a considerable amount of money for charity... and I'm in it! :D

LTS