Welcome to...
Forgotten Melodies
In this Bonus Series, we explore folk music, types of folk song, and feature original recordings which put fresh spins on trad tunes...
Episode 1: Wassail
In this first episode, we talk all about the seasonally-appropriate Wassail tradition, and are joined by our friend and collaborator Ben Harber, who, with Eleanor, delivers brand new versions of "Here We Come A-Wassailing" and "The Bottom of the Punch Bowl," talking through the song-types' musical features.
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If you're unfamiliar with what a Wassail even is, you're in the right place, as we're chatting through the earliest records we have, from Anglo Saxon drinking games to Geoffrey of Monmouth and Shakespeare weaving Wassails into the fabric of English Literature.
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But, while modern perceptions of Wassailing might relate hundreds of regionally varied folk songs to waking up apple orchards after winter, is that the purpose they have always served? Is there any difference between a Wassail Bowl and a Loving Cup?
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And why oh why, on a Wassail, do people pin bits of toast to fruit trees?
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As ever, we'll do our best to get to the bottom of these mysteries, and several others. All while trying to appease the Old Apple Tree Man, in the hope he might show us the way to buried treasure!
Episode 2: Sea Shanties
In this episode we talk all about Ben's absolute favourite kind of folk song, the Sea Shanty, as well as 'Songs of the Sea' more generally - including three brand new versions of classics of the genre, "Haul Away Joe," "Santiana," and "Spanish Ladies."
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If you've never heard of a Sea Shanty then don't worry - as ever, Eleanor and Ben talk us all through the song-types' musical features, and Martin will become increasingly befuddled by nautical terminology!
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We'll be chatting through their history, too, from the roots of the form in African and African American work songs to which kinds of nautical musics were prohibited by the Navy, the reasons why shanties died out (and so quickly roared back into popularity) as well as other rum-soaked mysteries.
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Such as, why did pirates definitely not play concertinas?
What does it take to make something 'ship shape and Bristol fashion?'
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And what exactly does it take to stop a cat?
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This one has it all: stolen wooden legs, sandy bottoms, and plenty of 'Drawing Room Safe' terminology that is very likely to make you giggle!
We really hope you enjoy it, and will see you on deck, sailor!
Episode 3: Fair Songs
We talk all about Fair Songs - in particular, Scarborough Fair, Brigg Fair and Widecombe Fair - and the histories behind these iconic tunes.
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The episode of course features new takes on all three of these songs, 'Scarborough Fair,' 'Brigg Fair' and 'Widecombe Fair,' and this time it's not just Eleanor and Ben singing, but our friend and collaborator Katie Sommers, too!
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Boosted along by her fine soprano, we chat through what we know about where each of these songs came from, along with the history behind each fair in turn - from Scarborough, one of the 'Great Fairs' that drew people to Yorkshire from all across Europe, to the gypsy/horse trading origins of Brigg Fair, to the scrappy, upstart, terrier-racing silliness of Somerset's Widecombe Fair, Uncle Tom Cobley and all!
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With discussions of musical modes, what 20th century British composers like Benjamin Britten and Vaughan Williams did to popularise these songs, and plenty of silliness, too, be sure to bring some money and let's revel in all the fun of the fair!
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As always, we really hope you enjoy the episode, and if you've seen our grey mare then do let us know it's whereabouts, if you'd be so kind...
Episode 4: Villain Songs
Cover your faces and wield your flintlocks with care, as on this month's Forgotten Melodies bonus episode we're talking all about Villain Songs - in particular, Van Diemen's Land, The Female Highwayman, and The Lincolnshire Poacher!
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As ever, the episode contains new takes on all three of these songs from Eleanor and Ben, as well as plenty of chat about the history behind each song, and the English traditions of poaching and roadside robbery.
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From the nation's 18th century penchant for sending people to what is today called Tasmania for even the most minor of crimes to quite possibly the worst girlfriend ever, and the folk of Lincolnshire's very proud tradition of pinching stuff from the landed gentry, it's a fun episode underpinned by some serious concepts.
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After all, these songs do have dark underbellies - and how ought we feel about crime and punishment? Should we still be singing songs with misogyny baked into them from conception? And does our love of the 'English rebel' obscure an awkward fact: that we seem to often want to cheer on those who have clearly broken the law...
