For me the highlight of Christmas is the singing of local carols in the pubs of Sheffield.
Every year from mid-November people gather in pubs across Sheffield and North Derbyshire to sing the many wonderful locally-written Christmas carols that have been passed down through generations.
The singing is loud and enthusiastic, more like football terrace singing than typical hymn singing in a church.
Many of the carols and tunes were written by local people in the late 18th and 19th centuries. When they were no longer allowed in churches, they were performed by bands of musicians who went carolling arounds the houses of the villages and were sung in the pubs. They have been passed down the generations in what is one of the last remaining aural folk traditions to continue in England. Some of the songs are only sung in Sheffield. Some only in one pub. There are multiple tunes for While Shepherds Watched – a tradition that dates back to the time when only the psalms and this carol were permitted to be sung in church. Many of the carols include a “fugue” where the parts (mainly top and bass) intertwine. A number of non-religious Christmas songs and other folk songs are also sung at most sings.
The pubs where there has been a long tradition of carolling are mainly in the villages to the North East of Sheffield – including Stannington, Dungworth, Worrall and Ecclesfield. There are now sings across Sheffield, with several in Crookes and Nether Edge.
Many sings are accompanied by organ; others are unaccompanied. Grenoside tends to have a group of string musicians. Several sings are led by brass bands and tend to be a mixture of well known and local carols, so these could be a good place to start if you don’t know the local carols yet.
You can get an idea of what the sings are like from clips like this and this, but the videos really don’t do justice to the sound and atmosphere of being there. You need to come at try it for yourself!
Words are available at most sings and new singers are always made welcome. It really doesn’t matter if you don’t think you can sing – the singing is loud, so you won’t be heard! Come and join in. Just turn up – there is no charge but usually a collection is band for the band or organist.
See a full list of the sings gathered by Local Carols.
Written by Kathy Barnes from Sheffield Folk Guide.
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