Lewes Virtual Session – Tuesday 19th January 2021

Hello again singers in Lewes or wherever you are. Happy 2021 and I hope you managed a peaceful and restful holiday period. Some of you may still be waiting to celebrate with family and friends who were in the wrong tier at the wrong time and the whole country is now back in lockdown awaiting the long-promised vaccines. As we have more time this year and no public performances immediately on the horizon, we can string out and enjoy the Christmas and wassailing songs for a bit longer than usual. Here are my January suggestions with attachments for you to sing along in the privacy of your own homes. New recordings for this month can be found HERE (those recorded previously are marked *).

If you prefer to sing with others, however chaotically given the limitations of latency and connections, everyone is welcome at these two Zoom sessions. The singers present will decide how to use the time. Do pop in, even if you just want to say a quick hello, being visible on camera is optional too! You should have received the links already, but they are:

TUESDAY 19th 7.30PM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83131009406?pwd=Z2kyUnNhR3YzQ05lZWNxeGhZOWFMUT09
Meeting ID: 831 3100 9406
Passcode: 515155

SUNDAY 24th 3PM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82077361404?pwd=dlBZeHRyMTkwV2Z4VDlsRGtsVUR5dz09
Meeting ID: 820 7736 1404
Passcode: 943906

• Let’s warm up with two old favourites celebrating our local landscapes – Ha’nacker Mill* and The Song of the Sussex Downsman*
• Next a trio of songs from our usual Christmas collection – The Sussex Mummers’ Carol, Sweet Chiming Bells and While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (to the newer tune Pentonville)
• To take us to our break, two new songs which some of us already know and love from singing with Brighton Pub Carols – Then Let Us be Merry (from the singing of William Harris, blacksmith and church musician at Rodmell) and Wake Ye Shepherds (from William Boyce of Handcross)
• Welcome back with another new, but more recent, seasonal song. When It’s Christmas Time was written in 2010 by Glen Redman of Brighton Morris and Brighton Pub Carols. He gave permission for SDFS to use it five years ago when we had a lot of other new material to consider, maybe time for another look. Geoff suggested it as one of his favourites at the last Zoom.
• The last of our familiar wassailing songs for this year – Apple Tree Wassailing Song, Here We Come A-Wassailing and Wassail Wassail All Over the Town.
• And to round off the night raise your hearts and voices in Thousands or More* and East Sussex Drinking Song*

Best wishes, solidarity, golier etc!

Tina