This new release is a bouquet of traditional hymns taken from 18th and 19th century hymnals. These beloved works have been passed down from generation to generation, and remain some of the most sung hymns in churches across the globe. The Mellstock Band & Choir perform music from the Hardy family and Puddletown Church manuscripts using authentic instruments as they would have been performed by a village band in Hardy's Wessex. Maddy Prior and The Carnival Band were formed in 1984 for a BBC Radio 2 broadcast of Christmas carols. The broadcast became an album, which was enthusiastically received by the public. Each member of the ensemble enjoys their own career, but the group is always happy to come together for a project like this, with opportunities to combine styles and talents.
Recorded at The Meeting House, Frenchay, Nr. Bristol, Feb 1987.
CD is labelled "A Tapestry Of Christmas Carols"
Like Vaughan Williams – who collected all of the Trad folk songs here – Maddy Prior and her band care more about the spirituality and heritage of a go...
Robin Denselow - 16/Dec/2010
It has become a Christmas tradition that Maddy Prior should break away from Steeleye Span to work with those exponents of carols and early English mus...