Three Ravens (ukeless)

Three Ravens / Shepherd's Song (ukeless)

THREE RAVENS Traditional
https://www.box.com/s/6pdyyucf91fon8av9tud
My dad was a talented guy. His main instrument was the cello but he also played just about anything - piano, piano accordian, mouth organ, banjo, baritone (brass instrument) and more.
When he hit 80 he realised that his finesse on the cello was deminishing which frustrated him. Later in his life he played a lot with my brother and his wife Debbie in church music. My brother Ivan (ivantheT), realising dad wouldn't be with us forever, organised some time in a studio to document some of the music they had done together. I got to tag along and join them for a few songs.
Three Ravens is a very old English folk song. Dad is playing cello and Ivan (ivantheT) the guitar and vocals in first verse and then the harmonies. I play recorder in first verse and then lead vocals in the remaining verses. It was one of the songs that I had brought into the mostly religious mix.
This was done before my ukulele days so no ukulele here.
SHEPHERD"S SONG - not sure of composer but recorded by a group called Dream of Eden.
Debbie and Ivan (guitar) on vocals, dad on cello and me on sopranino recorder
https://www.box.com/s/s4lsooh5era1x8qu7wfi

I love this song... the 3 ravens, playable on low g uke (I play it on the renaissance guitar (same tuning) here :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG5yp7jFL0c )
Oh I'll make a recording on the baritone uke... Do you want the tab ? (yes I guess)

Ukeval said:

I love this song... the 3 ravens, playable on low g uke (I play it on the renaissance guitar (same tuning) here :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG5yp7jFL0c )
Oh I'll make a recording on the baritone uke... Do you want the tab ? (yes I guess)

Click to expand...

Loved that clip Val!
If you do a bari recording I might try and add a recorder part.
I'm not a tab reader.
Not much for music notation either although I can sometimes muddle through.
I hope you listened to the Shepherd's Song as well. It took me a lot of practice to get that part on sopranino recorder correct. It was my dad's arrangement and he had hand written out the music score but I tended to sort of wing it. We did perform this in front of a very large audience at a church spring service.
On 16th March there is a 'play the recorder day' where they are trying to get people all around the world to play this song
http://www.americanrecorder.org/events/PTRM/13ptrm/Porque Llorx Music.pdf
The first 'melody' part is easy but then I struggle a bit.
It is a beautiful song though - described as Sephardic which is a style you may be familiar with.
If you search YouTube there are some beautiful versions.

but my bary is low G not low D...
Recording done, time to upload (with low speed internet, a few hours... ;-)

Ukeval said:

but my bary is low G not low D...
Recording done, time to upload (with low speed internet, a few hours... ;-)

Click to expand...

Gee I get annoyed when mine takes 10 minutes.
Should be grateful we do tend to take this fantastic ability to share across the planet for granted.

I'm living like the hobitt, in a bag end...
;-) (vid on his way...)

after two hours upload, here it is :
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?75998-The-Three-Ravens-Ukulele

Very nicely done, Pabrizzer. The Three Ravens is a great song and love the imagery in it.

I liked the recorder part in the Shepherd's Song.

I put a version on You Tube a couple of years ago with just a drone accompaniment. http://youtu.be/d7IJCDQEvD4

I have put some notation for Thomas Ravenscroft's 1611 four part setting on Ukeval's thread if that's any help for you to produce a recorder part.

Thanks Tootler I'll go and check it out. That version does have a very different melody part in it.