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Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man

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2006 studio album by Waterson:Carthy
Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man
Studio album by Waterson:Carthy
ReleasedOctober 30, 2006 (2006-10-30)
Length59:47
LabelTopic Records
ProducerOliver Knight, Tony Engle
Waterson:Carthy chronology
The Definitive Collection
(2005) 		Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man
(2006)

Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man is a 2006 album by English folk group Waterson:Carthy, also featuring the vocal group The Devil's Interval, released on Topic Records. It is a collection of seasonal songs, most having a Christian flavour ("Diadem" is unique in that it has phrases which suggest that the figure being adored is a Green Man rather than Christ). They have mostly avoided familiar carols, and even where the words as well-known, they have selected unfamiliar tunes. There is more instrumental accompaniment on this collection than on any previous Waterson:Carthy album, notably containting brass arrangements influenced by Martin Carthy's work in the band Brass Monkey.

Track listing

  1. "New Year Carol – Residue" (Traditional) (2:57)
    The meaning of the title "Residue" is unknown: the traditional song is titled "Levy-Dew", and this variant may be a mondegreen .
  2. "Sugar Wassail" (Traditional, Roud 209) (2:12)
    From the collection of Rev. John Broadwood.
  3. "St George" (John Kirkpatrick) (2:50)
    Kirkpatrick's song is similar to words in the Mummer's Play.
  4. "May Song" (Traditional, Roud 305) (2:44)
    From Fred Hamer's collection, combining the "Night Song" and the "Day Song" into one.
  5. "Christ Made a Trance" (Traditional, Roud 2112) (2:32)
    A grim Passiontide vision of Christ's pain.
  6. "When Jesus Wept The Falling Tear" (W Billings) (2:24)
    Sung as a round. Originally written by William Billings (1746 - 1800, Boston), commonly regarded as the first American choral composer.
  7. "Cherry Tree Carol" (Traditional, Roud 453, Child 54) (4:20)
    A song for Epiphany.
  8. "Reaphook and Sickle" (Traditional, Roud 1375) (2:48)
    A song for the end of harvest.
  9. "Jack Frost" (Mike Waterson) (4:33)
    A description of a frosty scene
  10. "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" (Words: Nahum Tate / Tune: Traditional, Roud 936) (5:17)
    Sung to one of the many traditional tunes found in Yorkshire - this version was collected from the singing of Walter Pardon.
  11. "On Christmas Day It Happened So" (Traditional, Roud 1078) (2:43)
    From Hamer's "Garners Gay". A ploughman is punished for ploughing on Christmas Day.
  12. "Time to Remember the Poor" (Words: John Fielding / Tune: H. T. Dyring, Roud 1121) (4:40)
    A poetic plea for charity.
  13. "Jacobstowe Wassail" (Traditional, Roud 209) (2:50)
    A Wassail song from the Devon village of Jacobstowe, from the Baring-Gould collection.
  14. "Awake Awake (New Years Carol)" (Traditional, Roud 701) (4:06)
    Not the same song as the one by Steeleye Span.
  15. "Diadem" (Traditional, Roud 17726) (3:28)
    A song from Yorkshire where Christ is portrayed as a king.
  16. "Jolly Old Hawk" (Traditional, Roud 1048) (2:51)
    A Somerset carol from The Twelve Days of Christmas family of songs.
  17. "Gloryland (Baptist hymn)" (Words: Traditional, Tune: Eliza Carthy) (3:40)
    A flowing, soaring description of heaven.

Personnel

Waterson:Carthy:

The Devil's Interval:

  • Jim Causley – vocals
  • Emily Portman – vocals
  • Lauren McCormick – vocals

Also with:

  • Martin Brinsford – percussion
  • Alice Kinloch – trombone and tuba, brass arrangements
  • Tom Allan – trumpets, brass arrangements
  • Oliver Knight – cello

References

  1. "Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man". mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  2. "Sugar Wassail". Mainly Norfolk. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  3. "A Wassail a Wassail". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  4. "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks / Sweet Chiming Bells / Hail Chime On". Mainly Norfolk. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  5. Waltz, Robert; Engle, David G. "Remember the Poor". The Traditional Ballad Index. California State University, Fresno. Retrieved 4 May 2021.

External links

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