The Carnival Band (folk group)
Encyclopedia
The Carnival Band is an English early music
group. Their broad repertoire focuses on popular music from
the 16th and 17th centuries, and traditional music from around the world. Presentation is informal and humorous, and in the spirit of medieval
and renaissance
Carnival
. The band was founded by Andy Watts (principal bassoon
in the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
) and Giles Lewin
(Dufay Collective
) while they were members of the Medieval Players touring theatre company in the 1980s. They have had a long association with Maddy Prior
.
. The show featured actors, giant carnival characters, puppets, acrobatics, juggling and 16th century music. The three founder members were musicians with the Medieval Players. Together with percussionist Charles Fullbrook the quartet made their debut on the towpath
of the Leeds-Liverpool canal
at the Burnley
Canalside Festival in 1984. Andrew 'Jub' Davis joined the band for a New Years' concert in 1985 and, according to "this date marks the band's real birthday". There have been four lineup changes since then:
Bill Bradley and Raph Mizraki both continue to make occasional guest appearances with the band.
Maddy Prior's collaboration with the band began near the start of their existence in 1984 for a BBC radio programme of Christmas carols . Since then, Maddy has featured on most Carnival Band albums. They have co-written material. For example, they wrote and toured a song cycle based on the life of Worcester-born heroine Hannah Snell
. Maddy toured with them again in 2007 for their "Music for Tavern and Chapel" tour.
Other performers have appeared on their CDs. For example, Rose Kemp
sang on Carols at Christmas and Terry Jones
appeared on Ringing the Changes.
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
group. Their broad repertoire focuses on popular music from
the 16th and 17th centuries, and traditional music from around the world. Presentation is informal and humorous, and in the spirit of medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
. The band was founded by Andy Watts (principal bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
in the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and has its headquarters at Kings Place...
) and Giles Lewin
Giles Lewin
Giles Lewin is a British violinist and bagpiper.He was born in Essex in 1960 or slightly earlier. Aged nine, he sang the female lead in Mozart's "Bastien et Bastienne". At Cambridge University he acquired a love of Irish traditional music. His admiration for William Lawes led him to join a group...
(Dufay Collective
Dufay Collective
The Dufay Collective is an early-music ensemble from the United Kingdom, specializing in Medieval and Renaissance music. Founded in 1987, it was named after the Renaissance composer Guillaume Dufay. The group is directed by William Lyons...
) while they were members of the Medieval Players touring theatre company in the 1980s. They have had a long association with Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
.
History
The band was founded in 1983 by Andy Watts and Giles Lewin, together with Bill Badley, after Watts had been the musical director of an open-air Medieval Players production of Rabelais' GargantuaGargantua and Pantagruel
The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a connected series of five novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It is the story of two giants, a father and his son and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein...
. The show featured actors, giant carnival characters, puppets, acrobatics, juggling and 16th century music. The three founder members were musicians with the Medieval Players. Together with percussionist Charles Fullbrook the quartet made their debut on the towpath
Towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
of the Leeds-Liverpool canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
at the Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
Canalside Festival in 1984. Andrew 'Jub' Davis joined the band for a New Years' concert in 1985 and, according to "this date marks the band's real birthday". There have been four lineup changes since then:
- Charles Fullbrook left in 1990 and Raph Mizraki took his place.
- Steve Banks joined in 1999 when Raph Mizraki moved on
- Bill Bradley stopped appearing regularly
- Steno Vitale joined in 2002 to form the current line-up.
Bill Bradley and Raph Mizraki both continue to make occasional guest appearances with the band.
Maddy Prior's collaboration with the band began near the start of their existence in 1984 for a BBC radio programme of Christmas carols . Since then, Maddy has featured on most Carnival Band albums. They have co-written material. For example, they wrote and toured a song cycle based on the life of Worcester-born heroine Hannah Snell
Hannah Snell
Hannah Snell was a British woman who disguised herself as a man and became a soldier.Hannah Snell was born in Worcester, England on 23 April, 1723. Locals claim that she played a soldier even as a child. In 1740, she moved to London and later married James Summs on 6 January, 1744.In 1746, she...
. Maddy toured with them again in 2007 for their "Music for Tavern and Chapel" tour.
Other performers have appeared on their CDs. For example, Rose Kemp
Rose Kemp
Rose Kemp is an English singer and guitarist who performs in a variety of genres. She is the daughter of Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp of the folk-rock band Steeleye Span.- Singing career :...
sang on Carols at Christmas and Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
appeared on Ringing the Changes.
Current members
- Andy Watts shawmShawmThe shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
/curtal/bagpipesBagpipesBagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
/recorderRecorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple... - Giles LewinGiles LewinGiles Lewin is a British violinist and bagpiper.He was born in Essex in 1960 or slightly earlier. Aged nine, he sang the female lead in Mozart's "Bastien et Bastienne". At Cambridge University he acquired a love of Irish traditional music. His admiration for William Lawes led him to join a group...
violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
/recorder - Steve Banks percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
/violin - Steno Vitale guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
/mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Jub Davis double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
Discography
- Hoi Polloi (Park 1999 PRKCD51)
- Live - Jump for Joy (1994)
- My Heart Doth Dance (Park 2007)
- Choral History: Radio Ballards (2008)
- Around the World (2010)
with Maddy Prior
- A Tapestry of CarolsA Tapestry of CarolsA Tapestry of Carols is an album by Maddy Prior. It is a collection of ancient carols from across Europe, played by The Carnival Band on replicas of medieval instruments...
(Saydisc 1986 CD-SDL 366) - Sing Lustily And With Good CourageSing Lustily And With Good CourageSing Lustily And With Good Courage is an album by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. It was recorded at Valley Recordings in March 1990 and released as a CD on the Saydisc label....
(Saydisc 1990 CD-SDL 383) - Carols and Capers (Park Records 1991 PRKCD9)
- Hang Up Sorrow and CareHang Up Sorrow and CareHang Up Sorrow and Care, recorded and released in 1995, is an album by Maddy Prior with The Carnival Band.- Track listing :#Prodigal's Resolution #5 Playford Tunes...
(1995) - Carols at Christmas (Park Records 1996 PRKCD45)
- Gold Frankincense and Myrrh (Park Records 2001 PRKCD59)
- An Evening of Carols and CapersAn Evening of Carols and CapersAn Evening of Carols and Capers is an album by Maddy Prior with The Carnival Band.This double album is effectively an audio version of the DVD of the same name, though the tracks vary slightly. It is a collection of live recordings from concerts in Oxford and Salisbury. The dates are not given...
(Park Records 2006 DVD PRKDVD87, CD PRKCD86) - Paradise Found (Park Records 2007 PRKCD94)
- Ringing the Changes (Park Records 2007 PRKCD98)
- Vaughan Williams Carols Songs & Hymns (Park Records 2010 PRKCD111)
Instruments played by the band
- Sing Lustily
- Bill Badley: Lute, guitar (19th cent. original), steel-string guitar, mandolin, mandocelloMandocelloThe mandocello is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It has eight strings in four paired courses, tuned in 5ths like a mandolin, but is larger, and tuned CC-GG-dd-aa . It is to the mandolin what the cello is to the violin.-Construction:Mandocello construction is similar to the...
, banjo, vocals - Charles Fullbrook: TaborTabor (instrument)Tabor, or tabret, refers to a portable snare drum played with one hand. The word "tabor" is simply an English variant of a Latin-derived word meaning "drum" - cf. tambour , tamburo...
s, side drumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, wood blockWood blockA woodblock is essentially a small piece of slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. It is struck with a stick, making a characteristically percussive sound....
s, cowbell, vocals - Jub Davis: Double bass
- Giles Lewin: Violin, recorder (2, 13), vocals
- Andy Watts: Curtal, bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
(19th cent. original), clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
in C, recorder (2, 7, 14), vocals
- Bill Badley: Lute, guitar (19th cent. original), steel-string guitar, mandolin, mandocello
- Hang Up Sorrow And Care
- William Badley (acoustic & electric guitars, baroque guitarBaroque guitarThe Baroque guitar is a guitar from the baroque era , an ancestor of the modern classical guitar. The term is also used for modern instruments made in the same style....
, luteLuteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, vocals) - Giles Lewin (mandolin, violin, recorder, hoboy, vocals)
- Andrew Watts (Flemish bagpipes, shalmes, curtal, recorder, melodicaMelodicaThe melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
, kazooKazooThe kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
, vocals) - Jub Davis (double bass, vocals)
- Rafaello Mizraki (drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, vocals)
- William Badley (acoustic & electric guitars, baroque guitar