Edward Chance - Rover, the Ragman and the Landlord

By: arr Edward Chance

Folk melodies and their accompanying lyrics have been passed down through countless generations by aural tradition. Composers of all nationalities have mined this rich melodic seam, whether for patriotic reasons or on account of a melodys inherent beauty or for the possibilities it offers in terms of harmony and thematic development.

The ancient folk music tradition faltered somewhat, certainly in the British Isles, with the advent of the Music Hall, when the hoary old songs and those who sang them began to be sidelined at village social gatherings by the newly written ballads and their performers. Fortunately, many of the old melodies and the history they enshrine have been preserved, both on manuscript and magnetic tape, by collectors who realised their value.

As I Roved Out
There are many songs with this or similar titles and with many regional variations. The out-rovings usually involve a meeting with a maid or a lover. The version that begins this arrangement eventually gets displaced by a version more familiar to me which used to introduce the early morning farming programme on the BBC Home Service.

( A Travllin ) Candyman
This tune was sung to me in a Geordie accent by my grandmother when I was a small child and, though there are songs of a similar title, I have not been able to find anything like the version she sang. A candyman was an alternative name for a rag and bone man, who would drive his horse-drawn cart through the streets, ringing a hand-bell and shouting "rag-a-bone!". They were the pioneers of our modern recycling process, and would take old clothes, scrap metal and just about anything else.
The original theme is quite jaunty, but in this treatment is much more reflective. The second section of this movement uses an inversion of the original theme, which suggests new harmonies.

When Joness Ale Was New
This is a typical agricultural labourers drinking song, the words of which extol the joy of a pint or two at The Barley Mow when the days work is done. The lyrics of the original verses introduce and describe various different customers, the last one dealing with the landlord himself. Discovering a time signature of 6/8, the horns are soon off frightening foxes with their hunting calls, which sometimes punctuate the stanzas of the folk tune.

"... It is a relief and a pleasure to review a publication that includes tunes from the folk heritage of the British Isles. Edward Chance has provided three contrasting pieces which could be performed as a three-movement set. The pieces are set for specialist orchestral brass section consisting of three trumpets, three trombones, four horns in F and a tuba: parts for Eb horn, and treble-clef trombone and tuba are available on request. Your players will need to be confidently Grade 5 as some of the rhythms are complex, resembling written-out ornamentation that will need mature interpretation. The second piece, Candyman, is led by the first trumpet in folk solo-song style with simple scoring to begin with in the lower brass. The third piece, When Joness Ale was New, is a 6/8 jig with hunting horn calls and is a wonderfully descriptive adaptation of a typical agricultural labourers drinking song extolling the virtues of a pint or two at the Barley Mow - so no change there for brass players.
Reviewed Music Teacher