Description
A brand-new retelling of the best-loved Yuletide adventure of them all – “A Christmas Carol”
Using new lyrics and traditional English folk tunes, GreenMatthews (with special guest Jude Rees) use a bewitching blend of voices and instruments to create a musical reimagining of this seasonal favourite.
The album is an hour-long “folk opera” of Dickens’ iconic novella and is presented entirely in narrative song, using brand-new lyrics set to traditional English folk and carol melodies.
The album is the latest in a long line of similar folk operas such as Peter Bellamy’s The Transports, Fairport Convention’s Babbacombe Lee and of course Ewan McColl’s classic Radio Ballads. Lyricist Chris Green says “A Christmas Carol is one of those rare works of literature that has been completely assimilated into the popular consciousness. It’s a tale that has been retold and reinvented by each new generation for the last 170 years, much like a classic folk song – so it seemed a natural progression to retell it using traditional melodies with new words.”
- Introducing Scrooge
- The Coming of Marley
- Marley’s Song
- After Marley
- The Ghost of Christmas Past
- Into Scrooge’s Past
- Scrooge’s Boyhood
- Fezziwig’s Ball
- After the Ball
- Scrooge’s Sweetheart
- Scrooge Banishes the First Spirit
- The Ghost of Christmas Present
- London at Christmas
- The Cratchits’ Christmas Dinner
- The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come
- A Funeral
- Christmas Morning
- Scrooge’s Change of Heart
- The Following Morning
- In Conclusion
Sophie Matthews – voice, flute, English border bagpipes
Chris Green – voice, guitar, mandocello, piano, accordion, bass, drums
with special guest Jude Rees – voice, oboe, melodeon
Lyrics by Chris Green. Music trad. arr. Chris Green.
Recorded and mixed at The Garret, Coventry.
Mastered by Jeremy Carroll at Woodworm Records, Oxfordshire
Photography by Lucas Pitcher at Timelight Photography
Album design by Frank Doran
