Reviews of VT152CD 'The Barford Angel'
(reviewed with VT150CD Heel & Toe)
Here are a couple of delightful offerings of the
traditional music and song from East Anglia; the first doubly so because it is
so unexpected.
Sam Steele does not enjoy a wide reputation as a
recording collector of traditional song and music, but this album shows that in
the years around 1960 in Cambridgeshire and the surrounding area, sometimes in
the company of Russell Wortley, he was tapping into a very rich vein. Some of
the dance tunes with Walter & Daisy Bulwer and the hammer dulcimer of Billy
Cooper have the same feeling as the musicians gathered on the classic English
Country Music album and were recorded during the same years. There is also some
fine melodeon playing, particularly from Percy Brown's wonderfully swinging
approach. Anyone seeking to find out about style and repertoire of English
dance music would learn a lot from these recordings. The dance music is all well
worth a listen but overall, it is the singing that provides the greatest
delights; Hockey Feltwell's Lamkin and Reg Bacon's The Banks Of The
Sweet Dundee compare with the best of the much better known English song
recordings made on behalf of the BBC during roughly the same years. As part of
the excellent 24-page booklet, there is regret expressed about the quality of
these recordings, but anyone who is used to listening to field recordings will
have no problem with the standard of these sounds and indeed there is much to
delight in. One thing that we don't learn is just how extensive the Steele
recordings are. If this sample is in any way typical, then they deserve to be
widely heard.
More East Anglian delights with the hammer dulcimer playing of Billy Bennington. Billy's nimble playing has been heard on other releases over the years, but this selection of recordings from a variety of sources show why he is regarded as a master. His playing has a fine sense of dynamic and syncopated swing that is not always there with East Anglian dulcimer players and he varies the tone by plucking chords by hand as well as hammering. The repertoire is what you might expect, with a selection of tunes for stepping and social dancing interspersed with adapted pop songs and other pieces that sound as though they may have come from militia marching bands. An album made up exclusively of solo dulcimer could have palled after a while so it is good to have the tunes broken up by Billy's delightful Norfolk burr and the stories of some of the humorous happenings during his long, playing years. The Barford Angel? No, not a pub name, nor yet a statue at a pub. It was the sight of Billy himself, cycling with his hammer dulcimer in its case strapped to his back.
fRoots
Billy Bennington, 1900-1986, played the hammered dulcimer for most of his life, both with beaters and with his fingernails; with an extensive repertoire of tunes, an elaborate style of playing, and a host of stories, he was welcome at festivals as well as his local pub in Norfolk. This is a reissue with extra tracks and a 12-page booklet.
Folk Kernow
We should all be familiar with the excellent recordings of traditional music & song from the Veteran label. This CD is no exception, chronicling hammer dulcimer tunes played by one Billy Bennington of Norfolk. Twenty four tunes, many introduced by Billy in his quaint dialect are a perfect record of music gone by ~ unpretentious, uncomplicated, tuneful and unamplified! Many tune has a short story ; attached that adds to the sense of being in the room with Billy as his dulcimer reverberates a rich sound that defies the logic of strings being struck with only two little sticks. Originally released on vinyl this is not just an archive recording but truly pleasurable to listen to and comes with the usual copious sleeve notes expected from Veteran.
Essex Folk News
It was with some trepidation that I approached this CD to review. I know now that the hammered dulcimer is a traditional East Anglian instrument but it hasn't been a choice of mine to listen to. I was put off dulcimer music at a Walt Michael concert some years ago, so more than an hour of dulcimer music was a rather daunting prospect. To help people like me cope Veteran have interspersed the music with some bits and pieces of Billy talking. The tunes were a real eye-opener for me - such an amazing diversity - lots of dance tunes and popular tunes from the early decades of the twentieth century.
Veteran has been generously supported by several financial sponsors in this project, which is an important recording of traditional East Anglian music. It was originally released on vinyl in 1987. Eight additional tracks from Topic's English Country Music LP are included on this CD along with Billy's bits of Norfolk dialect. Nice to listen to as background music for anybody. Essential listening for anyone with a passion for the music of this region.
Mardles
Once very popular as a folk instrument in East Anglia, the hammered dulcimer is still seen and heard in folk clubs & pub sessions, but has probably lost out amongst buskers & folk musicians to the more portable melodeon. This 24-track album from Veteran is particularly welcome as it features tunes and anecdotes from the last of the great Norfolk 'dulcimore' players, Billy Bennington It is also quite rare to find a whole album featuring this as a solo instrument. Having learnt to play as a youngster, the lifetime of experience is evident in the quality of the playing and variety of tunes. There are some folk favourites such as Flowers of Edinburgh and The Sailors' Hornpipe, and a wealth of less familiar polkas, hornpipes, etc. that I'd be quite keen to learn. This CD combines both important archival material with enjoyable music for listening.
What's Afoot
East Anglian hammer-dulcimer player Billy was born in 1900 and spent most of his life as a gardener. His prowess on the dulcimer was nurtured from an early age, when his father (who kept the old King's Head pub at Barford) gave Billy his first instrument; subsequent years saw him playing in consort with fellow dulcimer player Billy Cooper and fiddle player Walter Baldwin and touring the Norfolk village pubs on a motorbike combination! And Billy B had earned his nickname of The Barford Angel because he used to carry his dulcimer on his back while cycling and its shape made him appear to have angel's wings!… Billy was "discovered" by the folk scene in the 1970s, and gained quite a following through to his death in 1986. Eight tracks of his superbly nimble playing appeared on Topic's 1973 English Country Music Of East Anglia LP' these all appear on this new Veteran CD, along with others whose recorded provenance is not stated although the booklet notes imply that they were first issued on "the original Barford Angel LP" in the 80s. Billy's playing is characterised by a keen sense of swinging rhythm that's wonderfully infectious (it must have inspired latter-day dulcimer players like Chris Coe), while another unusual and interesting feature of his style is his interpolation of hand-plucked notes and chords in between the hammered ones. You might think a whole album of solo hammered-dulcimer would be tedious, but it proves not to be so, largely due to the variety within Billy's technique and the variety of material he plays – as well as plenty of the expected tunes for dancing, there's "novelty" items (The Chicken Reel), adaptations of military marches (J.P. Sousa's On Parade), popular tunes (Lovely Lucerne, from the dance-band repertoire) and songs (Billy Cooper had provided him with music-hall favourites like Obadiah and When Johnny Comes To Town), and musical showpieces (The Bells Of St. Mary's). And many of the selections are introduced with choice wee snippets of Billy recounting funny things that happened at gigs. This is a delightful and charming release (unless you happen to be allergic to the juicy clang of the hammer-dulcimer, of course!).
Folk Roundabout
****
Another essential collection for any fan of traditional music. Billy Bennington (1900-86) of Barford near Norwich was a popular musician for all of his adult life, playing hammered dulcimer. As this collection proves he was not just talented musician but proved to be an inspiration for many modern dulcimer players around the world after his discovery by the folk world in the 1970s. These 24 tunes (including medleys) show his skills on not just dance tunes (especially polkas, schottisches and hornpipes) but also on 'standards' from the first half of the 1900s and music hall tunes. On a few tracks Billy speaks about his escapades as a musician around Norfolk - adding to the portrait of an important folk musician. Norfolk traditional music is currently enjoying a popular revival - thanks a great deal to the standard set by artistes like Billy.
Eastern Daily Press
Billy Bennington was known as the Barford Angel
because he carried his dulcimer on his back and it looked like he had wings.
This is the first little story that you will hear when you play this CD and
there are many more between the dulcimer tunes. I had heard Billy's music before
and had always enjoyed it, but on this recording the humour in his playing and
his anecdotes shines through. When I first played this CD, I smiled all the way
through. To hear someone playing the music and the instrument that he obviously
loves is a delight.
There are some old standards including The Bells of Saint Mary's, The Flowers of
Edinburgh, and The Sailor's Hornpipe, and some lovely tunes that are new to me -
Dulcie Bell, The Gunner's March, and When Johnny Comes To Town were amongst my
favourites.
OK, so the dulcimer isn't always perfectly in tune, but it doesn't matter a
damn. It's a complicated instrument to tune by ear. The important thing is the
vitality of his playing. This is not a CD solely for the purist, it's fine music
well played
If you are a player of English traditional music, go and buy it, you won't be
disappointed.
The Folk Mag
On this charming and highly-recommended CD, well up to Veteran's usual standards, the indefatigable John Howson has brought together recordings of Norfolk 'dulcimore' player Billy Bennington, known as The Barford Angel. With his instrument on his back, he looked like he had wings. The cd contains all of Benningtons's one album, and his tracks from the Topic album English Country Music From East Anglia.
I've a soft spot for the hammered dulcimer - like a piano frame played with tyre levers - so an album played by a great player is most welcome. The attractive and well-illustrated booklet explains how Bennington made his beaters, and how he sometimes plucked one part of a tune with his fingernails. (Check out My Beloved Cornelia for an example of 'the sound of a mandolin accompanied by the dulcimer'. On some tunes he plays with his fingernails before switching to beaters.
This is, though, social music to listen (and dance!) to. The repertoire is a mix of dance tunes (polkas, hornpipes, schottisches), popular songs and tunes apparently taken from local brass and military bands. Bennington played dance music with marvellous swing and drive; the stepdance tunes are particularly inviting.
He was also an entertaining raconteur, so it is pleasing to see his talk given due credit. His anecdotes give valuable context for social dance in Norfolk, and a real flavour of East Anglian pub life. You may also never look at a marrow quite the same way again...
Folk London
Here's a real treat! Billy Bennington (Barford, Norfolk 1900-1986) was a
virtuoso hammer dulcimer player in the East Anglian style. His nickname of 'The
Barford Angel' stems from his habit of carrying the dulcimer on his back while
riding his bike: the angles of the instrument stuck out like angel wings. This
CD brings together recordings made by John Howson and Mike Yates (issued in 1987
as a vinyl album of the same name) and those made by Tony Engle for Topic's
'English Country Music from East Anglia'. Together they give us a detailed
picture of Billy as a player and as an anecdotal storyteller. The mellow tones
and rolling style of East Anglian playing matches the pace of the storytelling
and warm Norfolk voice. Both are served well by the careful production and
excellent overall clarity of sound.
John
Howson's sleeve notes with their evocative photographs are up to their usual
high standard, giving us good information on the instrument itself, local styles
of playing, tune repertoire and social background; but more than that, they
paint an affectionate picture of a fine musician who loved to perform, loved his
audience and especially loved playing with other musicians.
Billy
learned to play from Old Cooper, father of Billy Cooper, another hammer dulcimer
hero. (The fee was sixpence a time and hard discipline.) Eventually he played
with other musicians all over the area, servicing dances, church fetes and other
community events. The 'folk scene' found him in the 1970s and as new players, we
learned so much from listening to the way he used cane hammers and fingernails
to vary the texture of sound, and watching how he syncopated tunes and lifted
the dancers' feet from the floor. He was always generous with his music and his
help.
East
Anglia is lucky. Billy Bennington's dulcimer is now being played by
twelve-year-old Tom Knight, grandson of Reg Reader, yet another excellent player
who worked with Billy. A rare and precious continuum.
These are important archive recordings, but the CD is first and foremost a parcel of joyful music which doesn't loose its hold on you until the last chord dies away. (That can take quite a while on a dulcimer). Our thanks to Veteran.
English Dance & Song
Billy Bennington
(whom I was lucky enough to hear at Sidmouth many years ago), got his nickname
The Barford Angel from the spread-wing shape his dulcimer suggested when carried
on his back while cycling. From Barford in
Stirrings
Billy was one of Norfolk's great dulcimer players. This was a popular instrument in East Anglia - at one time, there were 25 players of the 'Dulcimore' within ten miles of one small parish near Norwich. Hornpipes were the favourite tunes for stepdances while social dances needed polkas, waltzes and schottisches's. Billy will often play a tune as a schottische and then as a stepdance, to illustrate the difference. Many well known tunes - 'Flowers of Edinburgh', 'Yarmouth Hornpipe', 'Gay Ladies Polka', and Sailors Hornpipe' sit alongside 'On the Green', 'Bells of St. Mary's', 'Obidiah' and 'Pony Trot Polka'. oiily became known as the Barford Angel, due to his carrying the dulcimer on his back whilst cycling. The shape of the dulcimer made it look as though he had angel wings. The gods must have known - his playing is angelic. A fine exponent of a fine instrument.
Folk Around Kent
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