|
Sheffield
Carols at Ryton
There is an area to the west of Sheffield where
carols are sung in pubs rather than church or from door to door. In each
village, for 2 or 3 hours the whole pub is taken over by people singing
"village carols", which are a bit different from the ones sung
in the main session outside on the green. This tradition, which used to
be widespread in England, has existed since Victorian times. It has undergone
a strong revival in recent years, and does not just happen at Christmas.
Two of the sessions run on Sunday lunchtimes, starting the week after
armistice Sunday. Another starts the same week, but on Saturday nights.
A mixture of villagers and people from further afield ensure a high quality
(and volume!) with splendid harmonies and part singing. It's different,
and really exhilarating.
For the last few years, after the main carols on the green
with the silver band, many of us have "retired" to the pub for
a good festive sing, including several of the Sheffield carols, other
traditional ones, as well as a few jokey ones. Some of us have also practised
for 2 or 3 weeks beforehand. If you're interested, but haven't been before,
listen to the samples on this page (coming soon). We'll let you know if
there are practices this year via this site, and we'll put words on the
site (see below). But you can just turn up on the night and join in.
Mind you, perhaps you don't need to worry too much about
words, as we do three different sets of "While Shepherds Watched"
(Sheffield have 14, all excellent).
This year (2012) there will be no 'dry run' but The Cumberland Arms in Byker are also having Sheffield Carols on the following Mondays:
26th November
10th December
17th December
from 8pm to 10pm
Contact Pete
Wood on 01661 832705 for more information.
For those who want to hear a sample of 'Sheffield Carols,
you can download a windows media audio file of Awake
Arise here
The words for the Sheffield
Carols can be downloaded here as a pdf file
If you are interested in carol singing in Sheffield, a full diary of events in that area can be found at www.localcarols.org.uk
|
