Maddy’s Christmas carnival fun
THE Queen of folk, singer Maddy Prior will join up with the Carnival Band for their celebratory show Carols & Capers at The Atkinson.
They mix renaissance, modern and ethnic instruments with a cavalier attitude and plenty of humour, putting their inimitable stamp on a range of familiar and notso-familiar festive fare.
Tossed together in 1984 on a “let’s see what we come up with” basis for a Yuletide Radio 2 broadcast, what began as a oneoff session in a village hall in Cumbria has endured for more than 20 years and become something of a tradition.
It shows little danger of fossilisation as both parties keep coming up with new ideas.
The 2001 collaboration and fifth album, Gold, Frankincense And Myrrh, introduced Arabic and African-influenced music.
The next project explored the lives of 18th century female soldiers and the ballads they inspired.
Few festive traditions have stood the test of time better than the Christmas carol.
Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band know this more than most, having been inspired by the music of Christmas for the past 25 years.
Now and for the first time, the very best of these have been brought together on one album, featuring a mixture of the familiar and the less well known, presented in a unique style.
Telling the Christmas story in a variety of ways, such songs as I Saw Three Ships, While Shepherds Watched, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and The Holly And The Ivy are revealed as versatile, striking pieces of music with words to match.
Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band come to The Atkinson in Southport on Friday, December 7.
For more information and tickets go to www. theatkinson.co.uk or call the box office on 01704 533 333.