Patricia Hammond

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to release a Renaissance CD, but here’s the first! It contains a lot of Campion, not only a composer but also poet – and physician! The CD contains a catchy Broadside Ballad, and a very folky number as well as Dowland’s sexy morbid hit, In Darkness Let Me Dwell.
And some interesting instrumentals performed by William Summers and Stephen Carpenter, the former playing a flute made out of pear-tree wood and a boxwood descant recorder, and the latter a 7 course lute by Paul Thomson and a 5-course Renaissance guitar by Peter Forrester, which weighs about as much as a ukulele.
Anyway, you can buy it on Big Cartel! HERE.

And here is a sampling so you know what it all sounds like:

The new year is filling up…there will be a project with the Museum of Vancouver for Canada’s 150th birthday, many projects to do with the hundredth anniversary of America’s joining the First World War, a Wilton’s Music Hall date, a tour of Guernsey, and even better, I’ll be in Southport on the 18th of January for Midweek Music! I love that series, and especially the lady who runs it, marvellous Angela, my partner-in-crime for the legendary 2006 tour of North Wales, never forgotten. The people who attend Midweek Music are wonderful. True music-lovers. Last time, I sold out of CDs and about six people gave me money and trusted me to send them the CDs later, which is almost unheard-of. Hoping to visit the Lawnmower Museum while there.

Here is a photo from the concert at Valence House where we performed songs from the Crimean War. I tried to get the dress as right as I could without bankrupting myself, but the length is a bit short, made to appear shorter by the LATE Victorian high heels: I did have some black velvety flat slippers as they would have worn in the 1850s, I carefully chose them in Brussels a year ago, but I left them outside for a few minutes and the foxes stole them! When I found them, one in a neighbour’s yard and one a block away, they’d been chewed beyond usefulness. Matt as always looks perfect.

Introducing the Versatility Serenaders!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. The 1910s were a fascinating and rich time of cultural flux, chock-full of many different musical trends, and finally, here’s a band that tries to incorporate them all! Well, I can go on about it, but I’ll give a digest of our gig in July, right here:

Normally we wouldn’t be using microphones, but this engagement was in a place with zero acoustic, and a lot of liquored-up young hooligans, though bless em, I haven’t a word to say against someone who chooses to drink cocktails at a place that presents 1910s pop songs.

For more on this marvellous band, I refer you to its founder’s website. Click HERE.

In other news, I’m doing a CD of Early Music! With these fine fellows here:

There are many tremendously worthy CDs of Renaissance music that seek to illustrate a historical point, or fill out a previously-unheard corner of music, but we’re just making something that is fun, has contrasting songs, and sounds good. To sell at gigs! Quite a few Campion pieces, because I love Campion. Almost everything will be Elizabethan. Lute, various wooden flutes and a very interesting-looking guitar (a replica of one that sits in a museum) will feature.

I’ll supply details of this as it comes, but we shall (touch wood) be recording on the 27th of this month.

I have to note here for anyone wanting to come to the gig at Stoke Newington on the 20th (two days’ time). That gig is cancelled. It appears that the venue wanted some (a fairly large amount of) money in case not enough people came! We didn’t know that! So it is cancelled.

But you can see us on YouTube!