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17 Nov 08 - 01:09 PM (#2495954) Subject: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: Anglogeezer Can anyone supply the ABC or the dots to the traditional English carol "The Ditching Carol"?? I want to include it in a book of carols for our Easy Session. (In time for this christmas I hope!!) regards Jake |
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17 Nov 08 - 01:33 PM (#2495975) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: gnomad I think the midi here may help Ditchling Carol. Can't offer ABC or dots, but if this is the song you are after you may notice a slight difference in the name. Hope this helps. |
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17 Nov 08 - 01:54 PM (#2495994) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: Q (Frank Staplin) Does anyone have information on origin or collector? |
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17 Nov 08 - 02:00 PM (#2495999) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: Marje I have a version of it in Noteworthy composer, if that's any use to you. I also have a program to convert NWC to abc, but the NW version has the words in it, so when you put it into the program it comes out with the words interspersed. I think the tune is slightly different from the Waterson:Carthy onel If you'd like me to send it to you in either of those forms, let me know. Marje |
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17 Nov 08 - 02:07 PM (#2496005) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: The Borchester Echo Detailed attribution kindly provided by Malcolm Douglas. There's a version and midi of The Ditchling Carol already in the DT. |
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17 Nov 08 - 03:47 PM (#2496075) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: Anglogeezer Thanks for prompt replies. The change in spelling did it. I found it at Traditional Music regards Jake |
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17 Nov 08 - 04:06 PM (#2496092) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: Malcolm Douglas No need to look so far afield (except for the conversion to staff notation); the text and midi at 'traditionalmusic.co.uk' were copied without acknowledgment from the DT; though before the DT file was partly updated with Roud number and a writer's credit. |
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17 Nov 08 - 05:14 PM (#2496152) Subject: Tune Add: DITCHLING CAROL (Spencer, Parsons) From: Anglogeezer Here's the ABC: regards Jake ************************************ X:1 T:Ditchling Carol C:Music by Peter Parsons (d:1901) C:Words by William R Spencer (1769-1834) M:4/4 L:1/8 W: W: W:Be merry all, be merry all W:With holly deck the festive hall W:Prepare the song, the feast, the hall W:To welcome merry Christmas W: W:Chorus W:And all remember gentles gay W:For you who bask in fortune's ray W:The year is all a holiday W:The poor have only Christmas W: W:You who in velvet mantle go W:Defy December tempest's roar W:Oh! spare one garment from your store W:To clothe the poor at Christmas W: W:You who the costly banquet deal W:To friends who never famine feel W:Oh, spare one morsel from your meal W:To feed the poor at Christmas W: W:With blazing logs of fuel the while W:Your homes are within summer's smile W:Oh, spare one log from off your pile W:To warm the poor at Christmas W: W:So shall each note of mirth appear W:More sweet to Heaven than praise or prayer W:And angels in their carols there W:Shall bless the poor at Christmas K:D "A"A2|"D"d2d2d2A2|"F#m"f2e2"D"f2d2|"D"d2d2d2d2|"A"c2d2e3A| w:Be me-rry all, be me-rry all With ho-lly deck the fest-ive hall, Pre\- "D"A2d2d2d2|"D"d2e2f2d2|"Em"e2e2"A"c2c2|"D"d3d3"Chorus"Ad| w:\-pare the song, the feast, the hall To wel-come me-rry Christ-mas And_ "D"d2d2d2c2|"Bm"B2A2B2B2|"Bm"B2B2"A"A2B2|"A"c2e2c3B| w:all re-mem-ber gen-tles gay For you who bask in for-tune's ray The "Bm"B2A2B2c2|"D"d2f2f2d2|"D"d2d2"A"e2c2|"Bm"B3B3|] w: year is all a hol-i-day The poor have on-ly Christ-mas |
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18 Nov 08 - 05:09 AM (#2496494) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: GUEST,OLDNICKILBY The chorus was written as "Only the rich have Christmas" It was, I believe, a tribute to Lord Byron when he tried to do something to relieve the poverty of of the stockiners of Long Eaton and Loughborough. This does change the song somewhat! Stockiners were the people who knitted socks and stockings. |
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18 Nov 08 - 11:35 PM (#2497359) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Looking for a tune: DITCHING CAROL From: Anglo A few years ago my Xmas band started singing the Ditchling Carol, learned from an article in the EFDSS magazine by Gwilym Davies, I think, known on this forum as Tradsinger. Later I heard Waterson:Carthy's recording, and as I recall their notes indicated that they had no idea of its provenance. Coincidentally I received a Xmas card with a verse of the carol attributed to William Spencer, who turned out to be a second son of one of the Dukes of Marlborough (same family as Winston Churchill, and of course Lady Di). See HERE for example. I managed to check on the poetry reference a few months later, making a stop at a university library where I had ascertained there was a copy of Spencer's poetical works, and I did find the original, very close to the text as sung today. Funnily enough (well, not really, I had planned it that way) I was on my way to a Waterson:Carthy concert, and I presented my research findings to Martin as I helped him unload his CDs from their car. By then others had already told him of its authorship, so I wasn't actually the bearer of a significant folkloric research breakthrough, but I thought it was interesting enough nonetheless. Just an anecdote, as I see the abc above has the correct attribution, even one for the musical setting, which I had no idea about. Should anyone be interested, our recording is on GHM-105 Just Say Nowell, info at http://www.goldenhindmusic.com/ There will eventually be soundclips there, but there is one already at CDBaby. |
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06 Dec 08 - 05:10 PM (#2509481) Subject: RE: Tune Req: Ditching Carol / Ditchling Carol From: Tradsinger Much as I would like to take the credit for an article on the Ditchling Carol in the EFDDS mag, I can say categorically that it was not me, sir. I did collect a song in Ditchling about 3 years ago, but not a carol. Also, sometime in the past, I did an article about Gloucestershire wassail songs that I had collected. Perhaps that's what Anglo had in mind. Whatever - keep singing. Tradsinger |