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There are many ways to categorize music. We have chosen 5 categories to describe the music that Shady Grove plays.
Each of these labels deserves some explanation since the words are used in various ways currently, and the words often had a different meaning 200 years ago.
Hymns - Hymns are religious songs, mainly intended for worship. At the beginning of the 18th century several religious denominations strictly managed what songs were used for worship. For some, the only acceptable lyrics were from that church's own "psalter". A psalter is a collection of the Psalms translated in metrical form to allow for congregational singing. During the 18th Century Isaac Watts, and the Wesleys and others wrote many hymns that became so popular among the people that they were sang in worship in spite of the official rules. By the end of the 18th century many churches which had previously forbade them, were moving to include these popular hymns. These hymns and the metrical psalms were most often printed as lyric sheets only, with an indication of the meter of the lyrics. Worshipers would match the meter of the song to a tune they knew of that meter.
Christmas Carols - Originally carols were pagan dance tunes/songs and there were different carols for different ceremonies throughout the year. The church carried out a practice of taking pagan symbols and rituals and attributing Christian meaning to them. Mid winter celebrations were associated with Christmas meanings, and this included changing the lyrics to mid winter carols to add Christmas meanings. These older Christmas Carols were not used as worship songs, but in non-church settings, public and private, large and small. Many of these older carols included events you will not find in Matthew Mark or Luke's accounts of Jesus' birth. They were not usually intended to teach scripture, but more to divert people away from the pagan rituals that were so deeply ingrained in the society. The 18th century hymn writers mentioned above did write many Christmas based hymns. Even though the use was very different in the 18th century, we have included those Christmas hymns here with the Carols, because that is where most of the site visitors would look for them. Many pious Christians of the 18th century (and earlier and later) held the carols and other practices held over from pagan practices in disdain. We find in these carols, not only a good history lesson, but also, often inspiration to Christian ideals.
Dance tunes - The tunes identified as "dance tunes" here are typically up beat, faster tunes. There were courtly dances that were slower, but the dances of commoners and the middle class were usually faster dances, requiring faster tunes. Many of these dance tunes have survived as fiddle tunes, and fiddlers in competition have ramped up the speed to show off their skills. We play these tunes fast, but slower than you might hear at a fiddle competition. We can claim that we are trying to be authentic, but the fact that we can't play them as fast as expert fiddlers does have something to do with it.
Airs - The airs here are slower tunes, without lyrics, typically (but not exclusively) for listening rather than for dancing. Often airs would eventually be treated to lyrics later, as in Ashgrove. Alternatively a poem, as in Auld Lang Syne, would later become identified with a particular existing tune.
Ballads-Ballads are slower tunes, but with lyrics that tell a story. Like the hymns mentioned above, they were very often published as lyrics only, often with a suggestion for them to be sung to a particular well know ballad tune. We have noticed that many of the ballads were cautionary tales, and read much like soap operas of the radio and TV ages.
There are many ways to categorize music. We have chosen 5 categories to describe the music that Shady Grove plays.
Each of these labels deserves some explanation since the words are used in various ways currently, and the words often had a different meaning 200 years ago.
Hymns - Hymns are religious songs, mainly intended for worship. At the beginning of the 18th century several religious denominations strictly managed what songs were used for worship. For some, the only acceptable lyrics were from that church's own "psalter". A psalter is a collection of the Psalms translated in metrical form to allow for congregational singing. During the 18th Century Isaac Watts, and the Wesleys and others wrote many hymns that became so popular among the people that they were sang in worship in spite of the official rules. By the end of the 18th century many churches which had previously forbade them, were moving to include these popular hymns. These hymns and the metrical psalms were most often printed as lyric sheets only, with an indication of the meter of the lyrics. Worshipers would match the meter of the song to a tune they knew of that meter.
Christmas Carols - Originally carols were pagan dance tunes/songs and there were different carols for different ceremonies throughout the year. The church carried out a practice of taking pagan symbols and rituals and attributing Christian meaning to them. Mid winter celebrations were associated with Christmas meanings, and this included changing the lyrics to mid winter carols to add Christmas meanings. These older Christmas Carols were not used as worship songs, but in non-church settings, public and private, large and small. Many of these older carols included events you will not find in Matthew Mark or Luke's accounts of Jesus' birth. They were not usually intended to teach scripture, but more to divert people away from the pagan rituals that were so deeply ingrained in the society. The 18th century hymn writers mentioned above did write many Christmas based hymns. Even though the use was very different in the 18th century, we have included those Christmas hymns here with the Carols, because that is where most of the site visitors would look for them. Many pious Christians of the 18th century (and earlier and later) held the carols and other practices held over from pagan practices in disdain. We find in these carols, not only a good history lesson, but also, often inspiration to Christian ideals.
Dance tunes - The tunes identified as "dance tunes" here are typically up beat, faster tunes. There were courtly dances that were slower, but the dances of commoners and the middle class were usually faster dances, requiring faster tunes. Many of these dance tunes have survived as fiddle tunes, and fiddlers in competition have ramped up the speed to show off their skills. We play these tunes fast, but slower than you might hear at a fiddle competition. We can claim that we are trying to be authentic, but the fact that we can't play them as fast as expert fiddlers does have something to do with it.
Airs - The airs here are slower tunes, without lyrics, typically (but not exclusively) for listening rather than for dancing. Often airs would eventually be treated to lyrics later, as in Ashgrove. Alternatively a poem, as in Auld Lang Syne, would later become identified with a particular existing tune.
Ballads-Ballads are slower tunes, but with lyrics that tell a story. Like the hymns mentioned above, they were very often published as lyrics only, often with a suggestion for them to be sung to a particular well know ballad tune. We have noticed that many of the ballads were cautionary tales, and read much like soap operas of the radio and TV ages.