Johnny Coppin - 21 South Street Arts Centre, Reading Uk, 1991-12-18, master aud cassettes


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West Country's Johnny Coppin is well known for his song writing and his association with Laurie Lee. His winter concert tours include stories, songs and carols which recall days gone by and gets everyone in the mood for the festive season. The beautiful environment and acoustic of the Pump Room in Cheltenham adds another dimension to the evening.

Johnny Coppin is a singer/songwriter, composer and poetry anthologist. Formerly with the folk-rock band Decameron, his many solo albums include "Forest & Vale & High Blue Hill" (Songs of Gloucestershire), "Edge of Day" - a collaboration with world-famous writer Laurie Lee, "Force of the River", "A Country Christmas" "The Shakespeare Songs" and his most recent albums "Keep the Flame" and "The Winding Stair". His clear voice together with his ability to write fine songs make his music essentially English in character while having universal appeal.

Johnny has supported Gerry Rafferty, Jasper Carrott and The Albion Band on tour and has appeared at Festivals in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Holland and Belgium - including the prestigious Cambridge, Edinburgh, Lisdoonvarna and Nyon Festivals. He has played on the European folk scene for many years, and makes a long overdue return to Scotland this May before beginning a UK tour of "Edge of Day" - his tribute to Laurie Lee, the writer of "Cider with Rosie".
TV appearances include his own programme "Song of Gloucestershire" for the BBC, "Stars in a Dark Night" for Channel 4, and the recent "Music Writers on TV" for HTV, while his radio work includes "Kaleidoscope" for Radio 4, "West Country Christmas", the Arts Programme and "Folk on Two" for Radio 2, as well as many appearances on British local radio shows.

His music for theatre includes "Songs on Lonely Roads" (the story of composer/poet Ivor Gurney) with David Goodland, The Shrewsbury Theatre Guild's production of "Arthur's Plough", as well as writing and directing the music for the Festival Players Theatre Company and their touring productions of Shakespeare which culminate in the Three Choirs Festival. He has edited two poetry anthologies - "Forest & Vale & High Blue Hill" and "Between the Severn and the Wye" - poems from the border counties of England & Wales. His 3rd book was"A Country Christmas" - a collections of prose, poetry, carols, songs and folklore.

Wassail means good health!


CD 1

01 Lord of all this revelling/Wassail Wassail
02 Introduction/Leonard Clark poem - Singing in the street (read by Paul Burgess)
03 Leonard Clark poem set to music by Johnny Coppin
04 Reading from Westward Ho by Charles Kingsley (read by Paul Burgess)
05 The sailors carol by Charles Causley
06 intro/Laurie Lee poem that heralds the onset of winter - sung by Johnny Coppin
07 Laurie Lee poem read by Phil Beer
08 Leonard Clark poem set to music by Johnny Coppin
09 Reading from "A Doctor in the Forest" by Bill Tandy (read by Paul Burgess)
10 Sans day carol (from Cornwall) sung by Johnny Coppin
11 Some folklore from Johnny Coppin/paul Burgess about the days of Christmas
12 /tune played by Phil Beer
13 intro
14 extract from "Seasons of the Year" by John Moore (read by Paul Burgess)
15 more folklore from Johnny Coppin/Phil Beer
16 The Oxen by Thomas Hardy, set to music by Johnny Coppin
17 Dorset story read by Phil Beer
18 intro to Wassail Medley
19 Wassail Medley

CD 2

01 intro
02 Tune/Somerset Wassail/His wondrous works sung by Johnny Copin
03 intro
04 extract from "Secrets of Breedon Hill" by Fred Archer (read by Paul Burgess)
05 intro/Song for Loders
06 more folklore from Johnny Coppin
07 extract from Eleanor Fetterplace's Receipt Book 1604 (read by Phil Beer)
08 intro/extract from "Portrait of Elmbury" by John Moore (read by Paul Burgess)
09 intro/Come all you worthy Christian men - carol from Somerset collected by Cecil Sharpe
10 intro/extract from "Under the Greenwood Tree" by Thomas Hardy
11 intro/Tomorrow shall be my dancing day/Past 3 o'clock
12 intro/The flowering of the thorn
13 intro/Campden Carol
14 intro/extract from "A Devon Country Christmas" (read by Phil Beer)
15 intro/Tom Lehrer song (sung by Phil Beer)
16 intro/Innocents' song
17 intro/"Christmas Thank yous" by Mick Gower (read by Phil Beer)
18 intro/Christmas must be tonight
19 intro/Gloucestershire Wassail
20 encore break/intro/Rockin Robin
21 intro/Shine silently
22 outro

Johnny Coppin.......Accoustic guitar/keyboars/vocals
Paul Burgess........Recorders/keyboard/fiddle
Phil Beer...........Mandola/Fiddle/guitar/mandolin