Guest
Winter Solstice Carol, The Halsway Carol performed here by Jonny Dyer on the great organ Ely, Bill Slark on Trumpet and Nigel Eaton on Hurdy Gurdy of course. These fabulous organ parts were also by the wonderfully talented Jonny Dyer. I'm so grateful and proud of his work here. Thanks Jonny The words are HALSWAY CAROL (lyrics by Iain Frisk, tune by Nigel Eaton) Lo for the tiding of the long night moon Let the sunrise call about the morning soon Short is the biding of the fading light Sing for the coming of the longest night North wind tell us what we need to know When the stars are shining on the midnight snow All of the branches will be turned to white Sing for the coming of the longest night A winter day, the summer grass turned hay Frost in the field 'til the dawn of May A summer's light never shone as clear or as bright So dance in the shadows of a winter's night Lo for the tiding of the long night moon May the harvest last until the springtime bloom Home is our comfort at the winter's height Sing for the coming of the longest night All of the colours of the sunrise sky Shine a light upon us, as the day goes by Sun-setting shadows fading out of sight Sing for the coming of the longest night A winter day, the summer grass turned hay Frost in the field 'til the dawn of May A summer's light never shone as clear or as bright So dance in the shadows of a winter's night Nigel Eaton is a British multi-instrumentalist and composer best known for playing the hurdy-gurdy. Eaton played the piano and cello before switching to the hurdy-gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began manufacturing them. Eaton has been described as the “foremost hurdy-gurdy player in popular music in North America and Europe“ Eaton has performed as a member of a number of different bands, including Whirling Pope Joan (with Julie Murphy), Blowzabella, Ancient Beatbox, The Duellists, and Firestarters of Leiden. He has released two solo albums, The Music of the Hurdy-Gurdy (1987) and Pandemonium (2002), and the collaborative album Panic at the Café (1993) with Andy Cutting. As a session musician, Eaton has contributed to the film scores for Robin Hood, The Shipping News, Kingdom of Heaven, Aliens, Mansfield Park, Tulip Fever, and Carl Davis's 1980 score for the 1927 silent film Napoléon. Eaton wrote “The Halsway Schottische“, a song which later became “The Halsway Carol“ (with lyrics by friend and collaborator Iain Frisk) and has seen hundreds of versions performed.[4] He has performed Howard Skempton's Concerto for Hurdy-gurdy and Percussion (written for himself and Evelyn Glennie) with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. Eaton has collaborated and recorded with a wide range of other artists including Afro Celt Sound System, Loreena McKennitt, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Scott Walker, Shelleyan Orphan, New London Consort, Heidi Berry, Gary Kemp, Bombay Bicycle Club, Blue Aeroplanes, Martin Simpson, The Palladian Ensemble, Moya Brennan, Robert Plant, Maddy Prior, June Tabor, Silly Sisters, The Tavener Consort, Jake Walton, and Hamish Moore. In addition to his work in music and film, Eaton is a designer and maker of built-in furniture in South London. / fezziwig-single
