Event review: Belshazzar’s Feast at the Oval Tavern, Sunday 7th December
Paul Sartin on fiddle. Photo author’s own.
My husband Steve and I went along to this gig at East Croydon’s recently. We know the musicians very well. They are Paul Sartin, who is a singer, oboist, violinist, composer and arranger. He performs and records extensively with BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winners and nominees , and , amongst other things. He has an excellent singing voice, having spent five years singing with a cathedral choir. The other musician is Paul Hutchinson, who is well known from his work with , and the . He is a superlative accordion player with a unique style.
On this occasion, they played songs and tunes, interspersed with a lot of humour, occasionally mixing a morris tune with the tune of a well known Christmas carol. There were a lot of rather naughty comments thrown in. Some songs had a chorus, which we were encouraged to sing along with, including one about beer and sheep – work that one out!
They played a tune from the first edition of the Complete Dancing Master, which was preceded by the tune of the carol It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, after which Paul Sartin sang a lovely carol. Then there was a waltz and a tune by Thomas Hardy, followed by the tune of Believe me, if all those endearing young charms with a deliberate bum note thrown in from time to time, which had us all in stitches!
We were then given song sheets with traditional Christmas carols for the second half. Prior to the carols they played a tune which they had written for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee a couple of years ago and then a tune by the poet John Clare. Then we all sang along to Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem and Good King Wenceslas. Paul Sartin sang a song after that, and then we listened to them playing a melody to the oldest traditional dance and it was here that we saw Paul playing the most unusual instrument – a Swanee whistle!
Just before playing their last tunes, Paul Sartin sang a very moving song, with words written in 1916, called Home Lad Home. Well – with all the commemorations we have had of the First World War, this was very apt.
Finishing by singing a song about ice cream to the tune of O Sole Mio – better known in recent times as ‘Just one Cornetto’ – had us all in stitches again. Wonderful musicians!
