An Olde English Carol

Just in time for the holidays, M.C. has come up with a nifty and unique arrangement for beginning recorder players. This tune is an old English carol (really) from the 18th century. It's original title is "Gloucestershire Wassail." Aren't you glad we changed it here?

We tried to record this piece in an authentic way, using instruments that might really have been around during the 18th century. You will hear recorders, guitars, harp, celli, hand drum, tambourine, antique cymbals, and sackbut, which is an ancestor of the trombone. (Okay, we didn't have a sackbut lying around, so we cheated and used a slightly dismantled trombone.) Though mallets were not around at the time, we have nonetheless included a part for them, as well as recorders, which can be played on xylos, bells, or maybe even your own harp or guitar. Remember, recorder and mallet parts can be played by any C instrument.

If you would like to add your own percussion, we have included the basic pattern at the bottom of this page. It continues similarly until the end. The antique cymbal is the last sound on beat 2 of the last bar.