Between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day celebrate the Winter Solstice, Christmas, New Year's, Twelfth Night and other occasions with special music.
Old-Fashioned Christmas Carols
As the duo The Little Dickens Band, Anne and Rob play winter holiday music of the British Isles from the time of Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria, as well as old standard holiday fare. They enjoy presenting these beloved songs in unusual and older settings with flute, guitar, pennywhistle, concertina, dulcimer and voices. Their concerts of old-fashioned Christmas music have been enjoyed by multi-generational audiences. The Little Dickens Band has appeared at the Detroit’s Noël Night, Troy Historical Museum, the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, Borders Book Shop, Highland Township Library, Midland Public Library, Brandon Township Public Library, at malls, galleries and at private functions.
Wassail Music
In the concert program "A Jolly Wassail Bowl," A Reasonable Facsimile and Friends perform music selected from years of entertaining at Renaissance-themed events, most notably the Detroit Institute of Arts Wassail Feasts. The ensemble, under the name Good Company was the "house band" for the DIA Wassail Feasts for 18 years, and has continued playing for the Feasts at other locations, currently The Players' Playhouse. The concert features festive Renaissance music played on recorders, flutes, shawms, violas da gamba and percussion. The group sings as well as plays instruments, and a few selections of later traditional wassailing music are included for good measure. The program can also go back to its roots and be presented as part of a dinner theatre. In addition, Renaissance dancers can join the musicians to enhance the presentation.
"Wassailing is the practice of going door-to-door singing Christmas carols and requesting in return wassail or some other form of refreshment." Wikipedia
"Wassail is a hot, spiced punch often associated with winter celebrations of northern Europe, usually those connected with the Christmas holiday such as Christmas, New Year's and Twelfth Night. Particularly popular in Germanic countries, the term itself is a contraction of the Old English toast wæs thu hæl, or "be thou hale!" (i.e., "be in good health"). Alternate expressions predating the term, with approximately the same meaning, include both the Old Norse ves heill and Old English wes hál." Wikipedia
