I wanted to have a try at recording the proper tune of The Ploughboy's Dream. Any of the few recordings of this so far have actually used RVW's arrangement Forest Green ... but that has a couple of subtle changes to the tune which he actually collected from Henry Garman on 27 December 1903. (What I have sung does stray from the original a few times, but really only to vary things a little. I doubt if Henry sang it the same all the way through anyway. RVW collected only 3 verses from him; the rest has been taken from the broadside ballad words composed by the Rev W Mason and published in the late 18th century. Where Henry's tune came from, whether it was his own using the broadside ballad sheet for the words, or he learned it from somewhere else is not known.

The Ploughboy's Dream. (Arranged: Irene Shettle)

A rehearsal performance of a waltz derived from The Eagles Whisper, collected from Bridget Geary in 1906 by Lucy Broadwood. After a number of rehearsals, although retaining the feel of the original the melody became somewhat changed (the folk process in operation). Performed here by Ralph Jordan and Keith Kendrick

Eagles Whisper Waltz

I have been singing this song for years - obtained from one of those books published by the EFDSS publishing arm in the 1970s, now well out of print (and the title currently escapes me). After many years of singing it I had had "fun" in decorating and "making it mine" - I'm pretty sure it sticks relatively closely to the original tune. Love the last verse (the one before the repeat first verse at the end) - the imagery appeals to me.

Bird in a Cage (trad arranged Irene Shettle)

On 22 July 2017 a number of performers of folk song and dance got together in Rusper Church to perform a concert intended to raise money to fund the refurbishment of Lucy Broadwood's grave. Lucy was a noted folksong researcher and collector in the Victorian/Edwardian era, as well as composer, singer, amateur artist, poet and limerick writer. She was also a great influence on a number of English classicla composers of the period. Performers were the Broadwood Morris Men, Martyn Wyndham Read and Iris Bishop, Moira Craig and Carolyn Robson, Dick Streeter and myself. We raised £750 for the cause, and performed free of charge for the event.

Introduction to Lucy Broadwood Concert in aid of refurbishing her grave in Rusper Churchyard

A live recording (hence low quality) of a performance of this waltz as a Maccann duet concertina duet. The tune was collected by Lucy Broadwood from Bridget Geary in Co Waterford in 1906... subsequently arranged and somewhat amended by Ralph Jordan and Irene Shettle in performing it during their show "Listen and You Shall Hear" about the life and work of Lucy Broadwood, the Victorian folksong collector and researcher.

Eagle's Whisper Waltz

One of the songs from the collection of folksongs from Surrey and Sussex published by the Reverend John Broadwood in 1847 - acknowledged as the first true collection of folksongs - words and tunes as collected together and exactly as sung.

A rehearsal recording from June 2008 in preparation for the show that Ralphie Jordan and I presented on the life and work of Lucy Broadwood.

Bold Privateer

A song collected from a Mr Lough in Dunsfold Surrey in the late 1890's by Lucy Broadwood. Descended from an earlier broadside ballad from the late 18th century called "Love's Fierce Desire: or Two Lovers Reconciled" "to an excellent tune of its own".
This is a rehearsal recording; at one point Ralph comes out with an extemporisation which he had not intended and guffaws at it - shame really, because I think the unintended variation works!>
It was a tune that he loved playing, and said so on more than one occasion when in performance. Good reason for choosing to post it up?

Some Rival Has Stolen My True Love Away performed by Ralph Jordan and Irene Shettle

A song collected from Marina Russell and based on an actual case, that of Private John Frederick White of the 7th Hussars, who was sentenced to 150 lashes of the cat o'nine tails for the offence of striking a colour sergeant with a metal bar while drunk. The sentence was the maximum allowed, and was viciously delivered. White was despatched to hospital, seemingly all right, but died there several days later. His became a cause celebre, and eventually led to the prime minister at the time, several years later that he favoured the abolition of corporal punishment . White's flogging occured in 1846, but the punishment was not withdrawn in the army until 1881, some long time afterwards. 
The song exaggerates the number of lashes but a certain degree of the story is true.

John White

A rehearsal performance from 2008 of "The Moon Shines Bright" , a carol collected from the Goby family, travellers in the Horsham/Dorking area of Surrey and Sussex, by Lucy Broadwood in the 1880s. Many versions of the carol have been collecte, and it is often known as the Bellman's Carol, and more often than not is more likely to be a May Day carol. Here the sentiments are related to the end of the year. The accompaniment,on Maccann duet concertina, was performed by Ralph Jordan.

The Moon Shines Bright  __ Irene Shettle and Ralph Jordan

The Bare Necessities conducted by Nigel Perrin at the Lighter Side concert at the end of the Canford Summer School of Music in the summer of 2002 at Canford School in front of an audience of tutors and music students from a variety of courses (conducting, composing, piano, singing masterclasses, brass instrumental , chamber choir etc etc) after a week of learning a number of pieces. The Lighter Side concert was always a popular one.

The Bare Necessities : The LIghter Side Course , Canford Summer 2002

Part of Nigel Perrin's introductions to various pieces during the concert performed by members of the Lighter Side Course which he directed at Canford Summer School of Music in summer 2002 in front of an audience of members of other courses at Canford that summer  - musicians, singers, composers, tutors etc. Always a popular concert during the week. The pieces performed ranged from light classical to jazz, pop, Kings Singers arrangements (perhaps not surprisingly), humorous, Swingles singers arrangements,gospel etc ... now if only I could find Ken Burton's "Put on the Armour of the Lord" amongst my tapes ..

Life Expectancies - Nigel Perrin

Sopranos and Altos - Nigel Perrin's chat during the Lighter Side Show at Canford 2002

Part of Nigel Perrin's introductions to pieces being performed at the Lighter Side Show at Canford Summer School of Music in 2002

Tenors and Basses - Nigel Perrin reads a description of their qualities as singers

A lunchtime traditional session in the Volunteer pub in Sidmouth during Sidmouth Folk Week 2005, featuring the "pit band" of the day (GBH) , a short song from the landlord Steve Lea, and the Snig Bag Song performed by Sid Calderbank

GBH - Steve Lea - Sid Calderbank

Marian and I first met at the last Sussex Singers' Weekend in Seaford in early 2001 - both arriving early, and discussing the sort of songs we sang. We discovered that we had a very large chunk of our repertoires in common. We've been friends ever since, and have been to many folk weekends, festivals etc together over the years, to the extent that at one point Ivy Poole thought we were sisters! She produced one CD some years ago, which I thought I had lost but which remerged in my collection recently. Happy to share

06 The Fowler

A version of this song that I have been singing for years ... and have no idea where it came from. Any information about it would be welcome!

Here this is a rehearsal recording with Ralph Jordan on guitar and myself on vocal. We were having fun with it, and recorded two endings - a straight "folk" ending and a slightly more experimental jazzy end. Guess which one we preferred!

EDIT: Ten years later, or so, I found the wee small publication "Folk" edition number 1 published in 1962 which I had bought while at university in Wales in the 70s ... and there was the song. Apparently arranged and edited by Frank Purslow and John Pearse. Still on the hunt to find out where it actually came from in the first place!

Blow the Candle Out (Irene Shettle Vocals; Ralph Jordan Guitar)

Trad arr Shettle/Jordan

A rehearsal recording. Beware the unexpected ending! 
The song (or at least three verses of it) was collected from Joseph Taylor in Brigg , Lincolnshire in 1906. We included it in our show "Listen and You Shall Hear".

Brisk Young Lad  (Irene Shettle Vocals; Ralph Jordan Guitar)

A demo recording of a performance of this song, collected by Cecil Sharp, by Ralph Jordan, Keith Kendrick and Irene Shettle in 2008 while preparing for a show about Lucy Broadwood and her life and work, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of her birth in August 1868. In the end the show went ahead as a two hander with Ralph Jordan and Irene Shettle as a duo. It was,nevertheless, a great pleasure to sing with Keith and to hear the concertina collaboration between the two of them.

Recorded by Ralph Jordan

Some Tyrant has Stolen My True Love Away

A rough recording of The Moon Shines Bright ... sometimes known as The Bellman's Carol. In this case it is a May Day song, collected by Lucy Broadwood (words and tune from different singers) in Hertfordshire in the early 1900s. Specifically recorded on my phone for May Day 2020. The picture is one taken on May Day 2019 in Rusper Church of the garland placed on Lucy Broadwood's memorial in the church.

Irene Shettle

Popular tracks