Albion Band in Lark Rise, Cottesloe Theatre Southbank London England 1978-04-28, brand new transfer from cassette copy of National Sound Archive master reels FLAC
Recording lineage unknown, headphone amp output/Sony Pro Walkman/Played on JVC TD-W718 to adobe audition CC>Noise Reduction>Tracks>Fades> Flac
SBE fix / Checksum file in Traders Little Helper
The hamlet stood on a gentle rise in the flat, wheat-growing north-east corner of Oxfordshire. We will call it Lark Rise because of the great number of skylarks which made the surrounding fields their springboard and nested on the bare earth between the rows of green corn. For a few days or a week or a fortnight, the fields stood 'ripe unto harvest'. It was the one perfect period in the hamlet year. The 1880s brought a succession of hot summers, and day after day, as harvest time approached, the children of the end house would wake to the dewy pearly pink of a fine summer dawn, and the swizzh, swizzh of the early morning breeze rustling through the ripe corn beyond their doorstep. ...
This is a copy made from the recording held at the National Sound Archives in Kensington, London around 1991. I sat at a workstation in the listening room which had a headphone amp and headphones provided. The reels were played in another room. I had with me a DIY stereo lead with large jack on one end to fit into the headphone amp and a mini stereo jack on the other for my Pro Walkman. I then used the house headphones via an adapter to fit the phones mini jack on the Pro Walkman - perfect stealth!
With a dynamic promenade staging, featuring extensive live folk music, the production immerses the audience in the intense forgotten communities of a vanishing rural England.
So I once again take you back to the magic of the music of Lark Rise in the Cottesloe Theatre over 34 years ago. I have kept some of the dialogue in.
On this brand new transfer, as done previously, I have reduced the rumble and ambient noise present on the recording, and on this one I have evened out sound levels where possible.
Brand new transfer done 2014-11-09
01 The girl I left behind me
02 Lemady/Arise and pick a posy
03 All of a row
04 Sally drive the geese home
05 John Barleycorn
06 John Dory/Tommytoes
07 Poor old soldier
08 Pettycoat
09 All of a row
10 Children singing
11 The Witch Elder
12 In and out the window
13 In and out the window - reprise
14 Down the road
15 Military band
16 Morris dance
17 Abroad for pleasure
18 Outlandish knight
19 Hymn
20 Dialogue from the book
21 Roll call after WW1/Battle of the Somme
22 The grand circle dance
23 Bonny labouring boy
The Albion Band
Peter Bullock (Keyboards, tuba), Howard Evans (cornet), Michael Gregory (drums), Ashley Hutchings (leader, bass gtr), Phil Pickett (woodwinds, tenor horn), John Tams (vocals, melodeon, fiddle, banjo, flugelhorn), Graeme Taylor (gtr., banjo), Martin Cathy (vocals, acoustic grt., banjo), Shirley Collins (vocals), David Busby (Morris dance)