SINGING IN THE LAKE DISTRICT - NEWS: May11 2013 - The Zbor Jurij Vodovnik choir from our twin town Zrece in Slovenia joined us for a few days and sang here in Sedbergh, in Ambleside and in Edinburgh - concerts, walks in the Langdale valley, a trip to Farfield Mill and several great sessions of singing in local pubs . We'll see them in Slovenia when our group visits May 23-30 - we now have some extra places due to having more transport - if you'd like to join us. .
We also had an excellent time on the Scottish island of Jura over Easter - singing in brilliant sunshine on walks, boat trips, in the church at Craighouse and round fires on the beach and in Ardlussa house. We are back again Monday September 23-30 for a week including harmony singing workshops, a trip out to the island of Colonsay and the Jura Folk Festival with ceilidhs, concerts and pub singing. Music in advance and shared lifts (or public transport via Glasgow, CityLink bus to Kennacraig, CalMac to Port Askaig and Jura ferry.)
There are still spaces on the Singing Cyclists Coast 2 Coast - who ride again from Whitehaven to Tynemouth across the north of England; one place on our Slovenia tour May 23-30 ; And the recently formed Ambleside Community Choir Mondays 7.30-9.30pm in the Ambleside Parish Centre.
Continuing this week are the recently formed Ambleside Community Choir on Mondays in the Ambleside Parish Centre, Lakeland Voices in Castle Street Community Centre in Kendal on Tuesdays, and the Penrith Community Choir in Mostyn Hall, Frairgate on Thursdays - all 7.30-9.30pm with summer evening singing walks in the Lake District later in the term.
May 23-30 Slovenia - join a tour of Slovenia visiting the wild flower festival in Bohinj, Ljubljana and our twin town Zrece. Includes half board accommodation and workshops, outings, minibus travel in Slovenia and walks - plus cheap Wizzair flights from Luton airport to Ljubljana.
July 20-26 Singing Cyclists ride again - this time from Coast to Coast from Whitehaven to Tynemouth visiting singers and community choirs across the North of England. Van carries heavy bags - meals made for you! £295.
October 4-6 Singing Settle Carlisle - on the trains, in the stations, over the wild Pennine hills....and round the fires of country pubs with some great singarounds at the Ingleton folk festival. Based at Chapel le Dale near Ribblehead and Ingleton. £115 including train tickets.
December 6-8 Dent Folk Carols weekend - workshops, concerts, dance, accommodation in twin and double rooms in cosy Yorkshire dales cottages in the cobbled village of Dent. Plus pub singing, Lucia's fabulous festive feasts, singing walk down the valley, music sent in advance with recordings etc.
January 2-5 2014 Black Sail singing retreat. See the new year off to a good start at this fabulous mountain retreat high in the Lake District mountains - can only be approached by foot walking a few miles through the mountains - now cars, telephone, internet - just mountains and your singing! All meals cooked by Lucia - music in advance. Singers must have had some Lake District walking experience and dress for mountain walking - we shall be singing on top of the local mountains which might include Great Gable, Haystacks, Pillar, High Stile and Red Pike - as well as workshops and concerts before and after in Buttermere. 3 nights - Thursday to Sunday - £140. Or just come for the workshop in the Buttermere village hall on Thursday January 2 - 10am - 12 noon followed by a singing walk around the lake and over the Scarth Gap to Black Sail.
A £50 deposit secures a place for any of the above - in the first instance send an email to make sure there are places available.
We also have a number of free pub singing events - including the Strickland Arms (At Sizergh near Kendal) on Tuesday December 17, George and Dragon (in Dent near Sedbergh) Friday December 6, and the Badger Bar (in Rydal near Ambleside) on Tuesday December 10. .
Our groups start with body and voice warm-ups and easy rounds - followed by longer songs in 2, 3 and 4 part harmony. Free recordings, and emails with the words and background to the songs, are also available.
For accommodation we aim to suit all needs - ranging from wild camps in the Lake District, to single, twin and double en suite rooms in luxury holiday cottages in the old cobbled village of Dent. Our meals are prepared by the popular Lucia Marquart - as well as vegetarian and meat dishes, she caters for those on special diets such as wheat and dairy free food. Even our five year old daughter Anika helps with the singing of some of the songs.
There are links below to photos on Facebook, and videos on Youtube, of previous singing events:
In brief - Weekly singing groups in Kendal, Keswick and Ambleside:
Mondays: 7.30-9.30pm Ambleside Community Choir at Ambleside Parish Centre (Wesley Room.) 10 week term £56 from April 8 2013
Tuesdays: 7.30-9.30pm. Kendal community choir Lakeland Voices at Castle Street Community Centre. 10 week term £49 from April 9 2013
Tuesdays: 7.30-9.30pm. Kendal community choir Lakeland Voices at Castle Street Community Centre. 10 week term £49 from April 9 2013
Thursdays: 7.30-9.30pm. Penrith Community Choir, Mostyn Hall, Penrith. 10 week term from April 11 2013 £49.
Please book rather than just turn up.
In brief - Weeks, weekends and days:
March 22-24 - You are also welcome to join a singing group staying for the whole two nights in accommodation overlooking Ullswater - with singing on walks by the lake, through the woods, in chapels and pubs and a concert/ceilidh in the village hall. £119 including all meals and accommodation.
March 28 - April 5 2013 - A week of harmony singing on the Scottish island of Jura - staying in the luxurious Ardlussa house in the north of the island near George Orwell's house and the Corryvrekin whirlpool. As well as singing workshops learning songs from Scotland (and other places) we will have a number of outings which in the past have included the Jura Whisky distillery, a boat trip to the Corryvrekin Whirlpool, a walk to the top of the Paps of Jura, a trip to George Orwell's house, joining a ceilidh in the village hall, singing in the Jura church service, joining concerts.....and much more. Lovely accommodation in twin or double rooms - and delicious meals cooked by Lucia. £360 for the week (doesn't include travel.)
For travel to Jura - we will be arranging lift shares should you wish this - although at the moment most lifts are going from the North West.
for public transport - go to Glasgow (overnight train - or stay in Glasgow overnight.) Then catch the 9am Citylink bus from Buchanan street to Kennacraig (the bus goes on to Campeltown.) The bus connects with the 1am CalMac ferry to Port Askaig on Islay (the ferry will wait if the bus is late) - and then the Jura ferry is alongside and will take you across the sound of Jura (about 5 minutes) where you can catch the Jura bus to Ardlussa - at the other end of the island.
JUNE 21-23 INTERNATIONAL CHOIRS MEET in the Lake District.
July 20-26 The Singing Cyclists ride Coast 2 Coast - join singers on a ride across the north of England from Whitehaven to Tynemouth via the Borrowdale valley, Penrith, Alston, Hexham and Newcastle - visiting community choirs along the way. Van carries all heavy bags and gives support and refreshments. Meals provided. £295
And More details - our weekly community choirs:
Lakeland Voices' Spring term starts again on Tuesdays in the Castle Street Community Centre, Kendal from January 8 2013. We will be learning new songs, as well as singing ones we already know. Videos of the parts are available for free home study - as a well as a learning CD which can be purchased. Everyone is welcome - although it is expected that you can match a pitch (ie if I sing something, that you can sing the same thing back! Most people can do this.) The songs are taught by ear, we have a warm-up at the beginning, and we then sing rounds and songs in 2, 3 and 4 part harmony from the British Isles and around the world. There'll be opportunities to sing these on carol walks, at the Dent folk carol festival, and in our pub carol singing events.
Subscription for each term is £49 (a term is 10 weeks, though I usually add a few extra weeks) And there is a one off payment of £7.50 for those who can only come occasionally.
There are videos of me teaching the parts for many of the songs we sing at www.youtube.com/Lakelandvoices and photos of singers at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150552006859108.431363.619619107&type=3
The Penrith Community Choir is very similar and starts again on January 10 2013 in Mostyn Hall in Penrith (very near the large Co-op.) Similar to Lakeland Voices - this term 10 weeks long. All welcome.
AND ONE DAY, WEEKEND AND WEEK LONG SINGING EVENTS:
NOVEMBER 16 2013 - WEST GALLERY CAROLS WORKSHOP with Paul Guppy - as immortalised by Thomas Hardy in Under the Greenwood Tree. The People's Hall, Sedbergh, Saturday 10am-5pm £20 . Lunch is available in the hall for £5 if booked in advance.
DENT FOLK CAROLS FESTIVAL - December 6-8 2013 - concerts, workshops, ceilidh and singing walk with carols from near and far and from all ages, including Sheffield pub carols, mediaeval English carols, west gallery, old folk carols, Slovenian, Polish, American and Russian...and more. All meals cooked by Lucia Marquart and accommodation in single, double and twin rooms, some en suite. £12 individual workshops/ceilidh/walk. £59 weekend without meals or accommodation. £85 including meals but not accommodation. Everything including a choice of luxury accommodation in cosy Dent village cottage - most with the option of 3 nights: £115 - £145
See photos of Dent at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150513318474108.425109.619619107&type=3
See videos of previous singing events on our video channel: www.youtube.com/Davidburbidge
RYDAL HALL CAROLS WEEKEND - December 7-9 2012 - concert in Rydal church, workshops, carols in a candlelit cave, carolling walk round the lake, pub singing in the nearby Badger Bar - and wonderful accommodation and food in this magnificent stately home. Please contact them to book: http://www.rydalhall.org
BLACK SAIL HARMONY SINGING RETREAT - January 2-5, 2014 - join us in the centre of the LAKE DISTRICT for a few days of SINGING round the fire and walking in the highest Lake District mountains - Haystacks and Great Gable. Starts at 4pm on January 2 and we will leave Black Sail at 12noon on Friday to sing in Buttermere in the afternoon. We can collect singers from Penrith railway station on Wednesday afternoon, January 2 and also arrange lift shares. Includes all cooked meals, two nights acccommodation, music sent in advance and workshops in the hostel. £140 Click here for photos.
COMING EVENTS
For all details click on our "Events" section on the right of this page.
Welcome - we hope your visit to the Lakeland Voice website is useful and inspiring.
Here you can find out about natural voice and harmony singing workshops based in South Lakeland in the North of England for groups and individuals.
The work is led by David Burbidge (pictured here leading an outdoor workshop in the Little Langdale valley) with guest teachers from around the world.
What is the Natural Voice?
We use the term 'natural voice' here to show that we express certain core beliefs in our way of working. These include that:
a) Singing is our birthright and should be accessible to everyone, whatever their musical training or experience.
b) The voice has its roots in the body and through releasing the breath and unnecessary tensions a more pleasurable experience of singing can be had as well as a richer and more authentic sound.
c) Harmony singing is a celebration of community and difference where the empowerment of the different parts creates a richer whole than when everyone is the same
d) And that musical terminology should be expressed in user friendly terms or explained sufficiently so as not to confuse or alienate those who sing naturally.
BLACK SAIL HARMONY SINGING RETREAT - January 2-5, 2014 - join us in the centre of the LAKE DISTRICT for a few days of SINGING round the fire and walking in the highest Lake District mountains - Haystacks and Great Gable. Starts at 4pm on January 2 and we will leave Black Sail at 12noon on Friday to sing in Buttermere in the afternoon. We can collect singers from Penrith railway station on Wednesday afternoon, January 2 and also arrange lift shares. Includes all cooked meals, two nights acccommodation, music sent in advance and workshops in the hostel. £140 Click here for photos.
COMING EVENTS
For all details click on our "Events" section on the right of this page.
Welcome - we hope your visit to the Lakeland Voice website is useful and inspiring.
Here you can find out about natural voice and harmony singing workshops based in South Lakeland in the North of England for groups and individuals.The work is led by David Burbidge (pictured here leading an outdoor workshop in the Little Langdale valley) with guest teachers from around the world.
What is the Natural Voice?
We use the term 'natural voice' here to show that we express certain core beliefs in our way of working. These include that:
a) Singing is our birthright and should be accessible to everyone, whatever their musical training or experience.
b) The voice has its roots in the body and through releasing the breath and unnecessary tensions a more pleasurable experience of singing can be had as well as a richer and more authentic sound.
c) Harmony singing is a celebration of community and difference where the empowerment of the different parts creates a richer whole than when everyone is the same
d) And that musical terminology should be expressed in user friendly terms or explained sufficiently so as not to confuse or alienate those who sing naturally.
Lakeland Songlines
Many of these workshops use the beautiful landscape in our area especially during our short, singing walks when we take our songs out into the landscape, singing by waterfalls and rivers, in
caves, woods and fellside chapels and round the open fires of country inns.
Video of Lakeland Voice singers and Old Foster in a Dentdale wood
Some involve longer tours and will require more fitness such as 'The Hills are Alive' long Whitsun weekend with camping in the mountains of the central Lake District and 'The Singing Cyclists' tours.
Workshop Venues
Our workshops are mostly based in Sedbergh and Dent, small communities in an area overlapped by South Lakeland District and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The area includes the beautiful, rounded hills of the Howgill Fells with the spectacular Cautley Spout waterfall, and the serenity of the wooded valleys with their ancient churches and cobbled villages.
We use comfortable village halls for our workshops, as well as my old stone cottage where the river Clough flows outside the window providing its unique accompaniment to our singing. Where possible we sing round open fire with informal singing sessions in remote country inns, and singing fireside suppers under the old oak beams of Dent's Stone Close cafe.
For our residential weekend and week long retreats we hire old country cottages, and self catering hostels and country mansions in spectacular settings. We are often able to provide single, double and twin rooms. These venues range from Dentdale, Sedbergh and the Lake District to as far away as the Scottish island of Jura and our twin town Zrece in the Slovenian mountains.
Some of our workshops - on weekends or summer evenings - include singing walks using local caves, waterfalls and magnificent mountain scenery for a different acoustic and as a setting for our singing. These have included Cathedral Cavern in Little Langdale, Rydal Caves near Ambleside, Yordas cave near Ingleton, Tarn Hows, Martindale, Raisgill stone circle and 'Long Meg and her Daughters', through the Elysian Shades beech woods and the rapids of the Dee near Sedbergh, and singing cruises across the lakes at Coniston and Ulswater.
Our workshops in other parts of the country include mansions overlooking the sea on a Scottish island and a smugglers' cove in Cornwall.
What Do We Sing?
Songs are mostly drawn from cultures where people sing as naturally as they talk - especially Africa, Georgia and the Balkans. Songs in English are drawn from the American Shape note and British folk traditions as well as some jazz and sacred music.
Many of these workshops use the beautiful landscape in our area especially during our short, singing walks when we take our songs out into the landscape, singing by waterfalls and rivers, in
caves, woods and fellside chapels and round the open fires of country inns.
Video of Lakeland Voice singers and Old Foster in a Dentdale wood
Some involve longer tours and will require more fitness such as 'The Hills are Alive' long Whitsun weekend with camping in the mountains of the central Lake District and 'The Singing Cyclists' tours.
Workshop Venues
Our workshops are mostly based in Sedbergh and Dent, small communities in an area overlapped by South Lakeland District and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The area includes the beautiful, rounded hills of the Howgill Fells with the spectacular Cautley Spout waterfall, and the serenity of the wooded valleys with their ancient churches and cobbled villages.
We use comfortable village halls for our workshops, as well as my old stone cottage where the river Clough flows outside the window providing its unique accompaniment to our singing. Where possible we sing round open fire with informal singing sessions in remote country inns, and singing fireside suppers under the old oak beams of Dent's Stone Close cafe.
For our residential weekend and week long retreats we hire old country cottages, and self catering hostels and country mansions in spectacular settings. We are often able to provide single, double and twin rooms. These venues range from Dentdale, Sedbergh and the Lake District to as far away as the Scottish island of Jura and our twin town Zrece in the Slovenian mountains.
Some of our workshops - on weekends or summer evenings - include singing walks using local caves, waterfalls and magnificent mountain scenery for a different acoustic and as a setting for our singing. These have included Cathedral Cavern in Little Langdale, Rydal Caves near Ambleside, Yordas cave near Ingleton, Tarn Hows, Martindale, Raisgill stone circle and 'Long Meg and her Daughters', through the Elysian Shades beech woods and the rapids of the Dee near Sedbergh, and singing cruises across the lakes at Coniston and Ulswater.Our workshops in other parts of the country include mansions overlooking the sea on a Scottish island and a smugglers' cove in Cornwall.
What Do We Sing?
Songs are mostly drawn from cultures where people sing as naturally as they talk - especially Africa, Georgia and the Balkans. Songs in English are drawn from the American Shape note and British folk traditions as well as some jazz and sacred music.
As we teach mostly by ear - though sometimes accompanied by written music as an aide memoire - our songs tend to come from cultures where music is passed on from one generation to the next by ear, as opposed to the complexities of written music found in Western classical music. We include rounds and simple harmony arrangements as well as two, three and four part harmonies.
4 comments:
How absolutely fantastic......and so so so natural. I often sing as I am walking or [if I have breath] cycling - there's just one snag :-) It could, I reckon, become addictive!! Therefore could contribute massively to happiness levels....Whoops and where would that take us eh? More hills?
I love this song. What song is it? Is it English folk song?
It is an English folk carol called Old Foster - after the man who wrote the arrangement John Foster from Sheffield. The carol is sometimes called one of the Sheffield pub carols because it is sung in the pubs in villages near Sheffield like the Royal at Dungworth, the Blue Ball at Worral, the Travellers at Oughtibridge and others. Our groups here in Cumbria sing it too - often on walks through the winter landscape.
The landscape is breath-taking; lush green patches amidst the majestic slopes where clouds gently roll by. I read about that place in hotels in luton where they offer additional country side info.
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