Woodwinds, Brass, Free Reeds, Strings and Voices
The Mellstock Band and Helen Chadwick
Helen Chadwick
Songs from the Republic of Georgia
Dalston & Other Songs
Tim Hill & Phil Humphries
Albion Horns Street Band
Tim Hill
Worlds Unknown
Charles Spicer
Mr. Spicer’s Catch Club
Phil Humphries & Charles Spicer
Tunes from Mellstock
Dave Townsend
Oxfordshire Harmonies
Oxfordshire Carols
Ability Levels Terms & Conditions Booking Form
SATURDAY COURSE UNITS:
A1 - Helen Chadwick - Songs from the Republic of Georgia
The Republic of Georgia in the Caucasus is the home of one of the richest oral harmony traditions in the world. The repertoire ranges from sacred music to drinking songs, sung with rich and unusual harmonies and counterpoint. It includes some of the oldest music in the world, handed down in continuous oral tradition, with a melodic and harmonic style which is unlike any other known music.
[Level - B/I/H]
A2 - Tim Hill & Phil Humphries - Albion Horns Street Band
The sound of Tim’s community band The Albion Horns - breathing new life into English celebratory traditions by creating a powerful rhythmic street band, playing music from a variety of English sources, with strong spicings of jazz and world music. This is for brass, saxes, clarinets, other wind instruments, squeeze-boxes, and anything else loud enough to compete!
[Level - I/H]
A3 - Charles Spicer - Mr. Spicer’s Catch Club
The wonderful world of rounds, canons and catches, ranging from the drunken and bawdy to the haunting and soulful. Some easy, some tricky, and some frankly absurd - a whole world of singing!
[Level – B/I/H]
A4 - Dave Townsend - Oxfordshire Harmonies
Both oral and written tradition in Oxfordshire suggest that there was a strong tradition of making up harmony lines to dance tunes, and of playing harmonised songs as instrumental pieces. Many of these harmony parts survive, and Dave has developed these into arrangements for village band, suitable for strings, winds, brass and squeezeboxes, playing mostly in D major, G major, A minor and E minor.
[Level - B/I/H]
Ability Levels Terms & Conditions Booking Form
SUNDAY COURSE UNITS:
B1 - Helen Chadwick - Dalston & Other Songs
A selection of Helen’s own compositions for voices, including some from the highly acclaimed Dalston Songs, Helen’s staged song cycle for eight singers based on interviews with people in multicultural East London, staged by the Royal Opera House.
[Level - B/I/H]
B2 - Tim Hill - Worlds Unknown
Musical adventures exploring folk music on the edge - the strange place where traditional celebrations, free jazz, folk tunes and modern classical music meet. Working on interpretation, improvisation, arrangements, scales and an emphasis on harmony. For confident players with open ears on any instrument.
[Level - I/H]
B3 - Phil Humphries & Charles Spicer - Mellstock Tunes
Village band settings from the repertoire of the Mellstock Band - dances, marches, tunes slow and fast. Suitable for most instruments.
[Level - B/I/H]
B4 - Dave Townsend - Oxfordshire Carols
A selection of West Gallery carols from Adderbury, Bampton, Marsh Baldon, Great Milton and other Oxfordshire villages. For voices and instruments.
[Level - B/I/H]
Ability Levels Terms & Conditions Booking Form
HELEN CHADWICK has released several albums, tours internationally with performances of her own compositions, and has led many community singing events and workshops, working with The National Theatre, English Touring Opera, Royal Opera House and Welsh National Opera. She has made field trips to the Republic of Georgia, to South America and various other places, meeting communities and learning their songs, which have inspired her composition and teaching. www.helenchadwick.com
THE MELLSTOCK BAND:
TIM HILL is an amazing wind player with roots in jazz and contemporary music. He runs the bands Tongues of Fire, Albion Horns and Worlds Unknown Trio and performance group Rag and Bone, creating myriad haunting musical and multimedia experiences. He has many years' experience leading workshops in street band music and improvisation, and has worked with organisations including Welfare State, Folkworks, Folk South West and taps.
PHIL HUMPHRIES studied at Trinity College of Music (London) and later became trombonist with the Andy Ross Band, which played for BBC TV’s Come Dancing. His interest in early music led him to the serpent. He is currently playing in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas around the world, with the New London Consort directed by Philip Pickett.
CHARLES SPICER studied acting and singing at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and theatre at the University of Surrey. He has worked as actor and musician for many theatre companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, and has performed with various ensembles including Wimborne Waits and The Oxford Waits.
DAVE TOWNSEND is a full-time musician and singer, playing concertina, fiddle and accordion as a soloist and with various groups. His formidable technique and unique style on English Concertina are only one part of a wide range of activities, including music for TV, film and theatre, as well as recording, composition and research. He is the Director of Hands On Music Weekends.