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Lammas
Medieval Music Duo- Sarah Deere-Jones and Phil Williams
To see Sarah playing medieval harps on YouTube, paste these into your browser-
Angelus ad
Virginum http://www.youtube.com/v/Ki6Mzh6aeGI
English Dance C13th http://www.youtube.com/v/4Bf1bFOf4Gg
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| Lammas is a medieval music duo consisting of Phil Williams on English Bagpipes, Cittern and Hurdy-Gurdy, and Sarah Deere-Jones on Harps, psaltery, whistles, gemshorn, portative organ, hurdy-gurdy, dulcimer, vocals and darabuka. In their performances they play a selection of medieval music and songs and include readings from Chaucer and Langland and other anecdotes and amusing quotes from the middle ages. They can perform in costume and when performers in residence, live in a reproduction medieval tent with their three deerhounds. They work mostly for historical organisations such as English Heritage and The National Trust, but also do concerts, music festivals, themed events and weddings. |
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They have performed in the following places: Carlisle Castle Cumbria, Mount Grace Priory, Richmond Castle & Whitby Abbey Yorkshire; Stokesay Castle Shropshire; Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire; Hailes Abbey Gloucestershire; Cleeve and Muchelney Abbeys, and Farleigh Hungerford Castle Somerset; Urchfont Manor Wiltshire; Old Wardour, Portland & Corfe Castles Dorset; Dartmouth, Bickleigh, Oakhampton & Berry Pomeroy Castles Devon; Restormel Castle and Trerice House Cornwall; Bayham Abbey Kent; and the London Livery halls. |
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For outdoor events or when living on site, Lammas have their own reproduction medieval tent and living history furniture, not to mention the three magnificent hunting hounds! |
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Concerts and Presentations:- Lammas Medieval Duo, can perform in a variety of settings and contexts. Their concerts are extremely popular and successful in churches or village halls where they provide two 45 min halves. The concerts are designed for a mainstream audience with many fascinating readings, descriptions of the rare instruments and amusing quotes. Churches are by far the best venues as they have the required atmosphere, acoustics and backdrops, but they MUST be heated for winter performances! The stage area required is fairly large with a minimum flat area of 12 X 12 feet, in churches it helps of the stage area can be raised slightly. Lammas require good lighting but can bring their own spotlights if warned in advance, they also require a changing area as all of their concerts are in costume. |
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Lammas have three concerts, 'Music for a medieval setting' is the most popular with an introduction to all of their instruments as well as readings and anecdotes about medieval life and the lives of the minstrels. 'Groweth sed and bloweth med' is a concert about the medieval year featuring customs, rituals and hardships of the agricultural seasons. 'Singe We Yule' is extremely popular at Christmas with beautiful settings of the medieval carols on authentic instruments and details of medieval life at Yule, and 'A Medieval Wassail' a concert about mid-winter, the rituals and hardships endured during the long dark season. |
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Lammas can also add harp workshops to a concert tour,
where unusually small lap harps are provided for complete
beginners. Phil can also do a 45 minute talk about the
history and development of the Bagpipe. Lammas also do 30 minute 'presentations' for historic sites, they have 5 different half hour sessions which can be spread throughout a day and indispersed with question and answer sessions. Lammas also do 45 minute presentations for schools. PLEASE ENQUIRE BY E MAIL FOR FEES FOR ALL THE ABOVE |
Recordings
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‘There is no rose‘ by Lammas
- Sarah Deere-Jones and Phil Williams A magical selection of medieval music for harp, voice and other instuments with a mid-winter theme, haunting English medieval songs for voice and harp such as ‘There is no rose‘ and ‘Song of the nuns of Chester‘ are mixed with lively ‘Estampies‘ and ‘Saltarellos‘ from the era and new arrangements of favourite ancient carols such as Puer Nobis, In Dulci Jubilo and Coventry Carol - featuring wire-strung and gothic harps, Gemshorn, hammered duclimer, Hurdy-Gurdy, Recorders, Saz, Bagpipes, and percussion. An atmospheric and uplifting addition to the christmas music repertoire! Available from www.cornwallharpcentreshop.co.uk |
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'Lammas' the
CD - medieval and contemporary music for harps,
whistles, gemshorn, bagpipes and with Mike Eaton on hurdy
gurdy. Recorded for our USA tour and quickly sold out! CD
£10 Featuring a breathtaking and unusual mix of
medieval, traditional and original music for this dynamic
trio - with haunting medieval songs such as 'Miri it is'
and 'La Redonda' (Girault Requier). Available from www.cornwallharpcentreshop.co.uk |
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Amoroso - CD - the latest collection of medieval music arranged by Lammas, with some traditional and home made music mixed in! £10 Featuring the 13th century spanish Cantigas, Bird on a Briar, Amoroso, Pastourelle (Thibaut de Navarre), A Chanter M'er (Contessa de Die), Bulla Fulminente, Waves of Vigo (Martin Codax), Danse Royale, Ce Fu En Mai (Monoit de'arras), As I Lay on Yoolis Nicht, Noel Nouvelet, and others.... Available from www.cornwallharpcentreshop.co.uk |
Please add £2.50p for P&P in the UK, make cheques payable to 'S Deere-Jones' and contact us by email sarah at trehawsa.com
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Join us for our- Yuletide Celebration of Medieval Music! In the Great Hall of Trehawsa, north Cornwall, Dec 28th-30th 2007 A yuletide festival of medieval music, dance and fun, in the medieval style 'Great Hall' at Trehawsa, with roaring log fires and candlelight, mead and ale- to brighten up the long dark winter season and to escape from the drab materialism of a 21st century christmas! For any instruments in D or G whose origins lay in the middle ages, see below for details. |
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Meet at 7pm friday 28th Dec for dinner, followed by first rehearsal. Saturday 29th 10am, rehearsals continue - instruments will be grouped together in ensembles according to key etc. Light lunch provided, rehearsals continue in afternoon until 4pm. Break then for relaxation and preparation for the evening banquet at 7.30pm. All guests must be in costume for the evening! Evening banquet is vegetarian - consists of Peas pottage and herby rolls, Chestnut Stilton and Ale pie with roast vegetables, Fruit crumbles and alchoholic Figgy pudding, wine ale and mead also served, plus the famous vegetarian delicacy of Tofu and Lentil Boars Head!!! The evening banquet will be followed by a concert of medieval music, games, mummers plays, storytelling and medieval dancing with instructors, late into the night. Sunday 30th late, bagpipe-free, breakfast for survivors, depart before lunch. |
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Fee £120, some lap harps or bagpipes available for loan. Free parking for campervans/caravans and indoor communal camping for the insane. List of local B&Bs sent with details. Recent problems with the serfs at the manor of Trehawsa means that guests will be expected to 'muck in' and help with furniture moving, food preparation and clearing up! Serfs just are'nt what they used to be............ |
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Suitable instruments: (Must be able to play in D or G) Celtic/Lap harps, bagpipes, flutes, hurdy-gurdys, recorders, whistles, psalteries, hammer dulcimers, mandolins, citterns, guitars (played classical or lute style only) violins/rebecs, cellos/viols, handbells/cupbells, period or north african drums (darabukas, dumbeks, NO bodhrans or african hairy drums!) please e mail if you're not sure about your instrument! Bookings taken with filled in and returned booking forms and deposits of £40, please e mail for form. Photos - Yuletide Festival at Trehawsa 2006 |
| Lammas' Instruments Our Instruments include :- English Great pipes, Three drone Greatpipes, Border pipes, Altarnun medieval pipes, Cittern, Hurdy Gurdy, English medieval lap harp, Gothic harp, Hammer Dulcimer, gemshorn, wooden flute, medieval recorder, whistles, darabuka, psaltery, portative organ, cup bells. Our instruments are beautifully made reproductions and they are worth many thousands of pounds which means sadly, they cannot be handled by the public. |
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By the way .........'Lammas' is the old English word for the season of summer, 'lammastide' was the opposite of 'yuletide' which is more familiar to us! We chose this name as it had good associations with the summertime, when we most often perform.
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Left, Phil and hound 'Flora' at Muchelney Abbey, Somerset. Well bred hunting hounds were very highly prized in the middle ages, whole books were written about their care and breeding! Our deerhounds are more modern descendants, but their shaggy good looks and gentle temperament always prove a great attraction when Lammas are 'in residence' at a historic site! Below left, Lammas' reproduction pavillion tent pitched at the base of Dartmouth Castle during the music festival there in May 2000. |
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For more information and tape/CD orders - email:- |
