Thanks to much dedicated work from our new MD, Richard Fox, the choir has met virtually to produce a version of the Gloucester Wassail Song for Christmas, which is available to listen to here, or via the choir’s facebook page or on You Tube.
The Tetbury wassail tradition dates back more than 150 years “In early December for 3 weeks, finishing at Christmas, a band of about 8 farmworkers went wassailing. They toured round the outlying villages and then finished up with the town, going in pubs and private houses. The men wore fancy clothes, flowing robes, Arab hats, crowns, and masks, anything to make them look fancy… Their music was an old accordion, mouth organ, bones and triangle and they took with them the wassailing bowl and the Bull’s Head. The bowl was a large round china washstand bowl with wires round and trimmed with evergreen held by the wires around the edge of the bowl. This was filled with fruit and sweets – apples, oranges and bananas – to give to the children.