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The
News of the Victory listen to extracts of our mini-cd, "NotV"MusicHere is a list of tunes currently in our performing repertoire. Scrolling down the page and clicking on any hyperlinks will allow you to hear extracts from live performances. All the tunes are composed or selected and initially arranged by Derek. All members of the band contribute to the final arrangements through improvisation during performance.We
believe it is important to acknowledge our sources and all reasonable
efforts have been made to trace the composers of our tunes. However,
if anyone has any information regarding unattributed tunes we
should like to hear from them.
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HornpipesA Peck On the Cheek Derek Paice32-bar hornpipe. Some guys get all the luck ...George Green's College HornpipeMore from the East Anglian molly dancing repertoire.Good King Wenceslas/Jingle BellsYes, really ... but only in the rainy season.Tree Topping Derek Paice16-bar hornpipe. This wasn't topping, it was annihilation.When We Get Back Derek Paice32-bar hornpipe. One day they were gone. All that remained was a text message saying, "See you when we get back".topJigsDon't Need $26 Derek Paice32-bar jig. Anyone who makes a connection between this tune, the first wave of punk and Geneva Airport knows too much.Dried Up Teachers Derek Paice48-bar jig. ... become even more obsessive than the ones you wouldn't want to be trapped at a party with. They telephone to complain and send abusive letters.Emerald Goreham, Robertson, Downey, Lynott arr Derek Paice64-bar jig. People often ask if we play any Irish music. Well, yes we do; this Thin Lizzy classic IS our full Irish repertoire. Look! If you want Irish music, get an Irish band!Jeanne's Joy Derek Paice32-bar jig. Raise a glass to the best of the past and for good times to come.La Belle Jardinière Anon - this one can't remain unattributed, surely? (Dec 2004 version)Beautifully heavy 32-bar jig grabbed from near the back of Mel Stevens' "Massif Central Tune Book No 2".Mon Amimour Derek Paice32-bar jig, although it should really be played as a waltz. No tune played in this world could ever do the subject justice. The quest is always on, but if Derek ever wrote a tune as beautiful as Dark Isle he could die happily knowing his work was done. A good tune can survive whatever people do to it. You only have to listen to some of the dreadful versions of Dark Isle on the web to know that!Musing at Cock Crow Derek Paice32-bar jig. No need to guess what time of day this was written. It was an early attempt to write something specifically for a fiddle player.Smash the Windows trad (Jan 2006 .mp3 version) or you can listen to 2004 recording (smaller file = less download time)32-bar jig This is as close as we get to traditional. The Fenland connection runs deep. Derek first encounted this tune in his earliest molly dancing days in the mid 80s. The Devil Amongst the Groceries Derek Paice32-bar punk jig. Composed in anger after a particularly trying visit to the supermarket. Why is it that supermarkets in other countries look so much more interesting? Why does LIDL look the same wherever you go? And why, oh why, oh why do so many parents take their children to a supermarket to shout at them? This extract from 2004 gives an idea of how we often walk the dances through, before launching into the tune. The second extract is a little further on in the performance. It's worth listening to for Ivan's outrageous chords. Maybe he was bored by the hypnotic 2-chord trick ... The cd version is without the calling and all the better for it.The Divine Miss M Derek Paice32-bar jig. No, not Bette Midler. This French lady is renowned in at least three countries for her great taste, secretarial skills, crinoline ballgowns and the obvious ownership of any stage upon which she dances.The Week Before Christmas Derek Paice32-bar jig. It usually manages to produce a happier outcome than the Week Before Easter. No one dies in this version.Twice Round the Block Derek Paice32-bar jig. Some conversations need a good ten mile walk.Un Pied Dans La Merde Derek Paice64 -bar jig. The almost-infinitely more scatological French language encourages this modest highlighting the unwary pedestrian's urban experience. Why the French take such huge pride in the appearance of their towns through magnificent municipal floral displays whilst allowing their dogs to unload anywhere is baffling to the averagely repressed ros'bif. On the other foot, it could also be allegorical.When Your Friend Becomes Your Mother-In-Law Derek Paice48-bar jig. Not an everyday tale of life in this, or any other country.topPolkasCafouillée trad (Jan 2006 .mp3 version) or you can listen to 2004 recording (smaller file = less download time)32-bar polka. Not only English, but also French tradition informs the music of The NotV. This is one of the first tunes Derek heard Blowzabella play and is notated in the indispensable Encyclopaedia Blowzabellica. It's such a good tune it's been with The NotV since the beginning. Cooked the Cake, Lost the Nozzle Derek Paice48-bar polka. Heavy, loud, fast, no prisoners taken - not even time for a glass of water in the Pachelbellish C-music.The Personal Tragedy Derek Paice48-bar polka. One of the first tunes Derek tried to score, many years ago, using "Logic". Whoever thought up the name for that computer software is either guilty of misrepresentation or has an imagination befitting a computer programmer. After nearly 3 years of getting nowhere Derek gave up and arranged for a consultant to visit and train him in its use. Said consultant didn't show, but later phoned, declaring that a "personal tragedy" had prevented him fulfilling the engagement. It's intriguing to consider what might constitute a personal tragedy. Many years further on and Derek uses Logic regularly. Unfortunately, logic is often absent otherwise.topReelsBricks and Mortar trad32-bar reel. Possibly Canadian ... have to check this one out. Surprised more people don't play this, it's a jolly fine tune.Chantal's Baby Derek Paice32-bar reel. Let's celebrate total upheaval in interesting lives!Every Bridge In Luton Derek Paice32-bar reel. Every bridge in Luton amplifies the sound of one hundred samba drummers to head splitting volume, specially when the carnival parade is doubled back on itself and there's nowhere else to go.Hole In the Sump Derek Paice32-bar reel. A great dance tune and celebration of the effects of driving an Austin Maestro on to a field at Rookery Farm.The Wedding in the Wood Derek Paice32-bar reel. See The Parson and the Celt, above.Valse Sauteuse de Rett trad32-bar reel. More from Encyclopaedia Blowzabellica. Confusingly, while it may be a "valse" by name, there's not a 3-beat bar in sight. The idea of a jumping waltz is perversely alluring.Wrong Colour Rabbit Derek Paice32-bar reel. There was a reason this title was relevant at the time, I'm sure.topSchottishesFrom the Ouse to the Arve Derek Paice32 bar schottische. A lifetime's experience taking in the Nene, Wissey, Waveney and Glaven en route.Ganivelle Frederic Paris32-bar schottishe. Another simple and beautiful tune composed by the great man, Frederic Paris.Go Your Own Way Lindsay BuckinghamAn eminently suitable title for the tune we use in one particular dance, where the dancers invariably end up doing exactly what it says on the tin.Heacham Cowboys Derek Paice20-bar schottishe. There's much more to Heacham than lavender and caravans ...Noise and Pearls Derek PaiceCan't remember how this one got its title. Maybe there wasn't a very good reason at all. Now, if only we could have come up with a title like Paul Hurst's "Nine Ferrets and a Chainsaw".Rattlejack, Jaz and the Teaspoon Derek PaiceIt's a family thing ...Suffragette City David Bowie arr Derek PaiceFormer band member, guitarist Jarom Paice (now living in the USA), once said what a great ceilidh tune this would make. He's right, even if Derek had to interfere with the structure to make it work.The Parson and the Celt Derek Paice (Dec 2004 version)32-bar schottische, composed in commemoration of John and Carol's wedding, as was The Wedding in the Wood. They exchanged their vows and rings in a clearing in a wood on Nick and Suzie's farm at Oxborough in Norfolk. The ceremony was conducted jointly by a Church of England vicar and a Celtic celebrant. Carol wore pre-Raphaelite green and John was splendid in a black kaftan. The wedding reception featured much music making and was the first time Henry and Sianed played NotV repertoire.Tilney St Lawrence Longdance Derek Paice48-bar schottische. Derek lived in Tilney St Lawrence for many years. It's a nice village with lots of interesting people, one of the largest in the Marshland area, but it manages to have remarkably little recorded history. To try and redress the balance Derek composed this tune and a dance to go with it. Unfortunately, the dance is too fussy for most ceilidhs, but the tune is not.Un Pied Dans L'Eau trad (Jan 2006 9 minute .mp3 version) or you can listen to 2004 recording (smaller file = less download time)32-bar schottische done by loads of other people, but we hope we bring a special something to bear on this simple and beautiful tune - proof, if any were needed, that if the devil has all the best tunes he lives in France. A thrilling techno-samba groove complete with full percussion section in the middle. Well, one has to make an effort. The same 4 bars repeated over and over has a tendency to become a trifle too trance-like otherwise.topWaltzesAshokan Farewell Jay Unger arr. David PrestidgeBeautiful waltz, arranged for the band many years ago by our former guitarist.Gael, Leandro, or ... Derek Paice16-bar waltz. So, Chantal's baby is a boy, but what did she call him?Gitane Eric Montbel32-bar waltz. The source music gives only the tune, so the chords are Derek's idea. It took years to find musicians who would trust his harmonies enough to play what he'd written. It's not controversial ... just scrumptiously scrunchy in places.Leziate Drove Derek PaiceA romantic 32-bar waltz with a little rocky quote in the B-music composed as a wedding gift when Stef got married.The Battle of the SommeAnother contribution to the band during the time of former guitar-playing member, David Prestidge. Not really a surprise he chose a waltz with this title. He spends a lot of time visiting and studying WW1 sites in France and Belgium.The Highland Boat SongAnother surprise that this elegant waltz (from Scotland?) is unattributed.The Lime and the Pink Derek Paice32-bar waltz. One does not always wear black ...topOther rhythmsAlunelul AnonA simple circle dance involving a lot of shuffling sideways and stamping. It is a children's dance from Rumania and the name means "hazelnut". In some circle dance ... er, circles, it is associated with Beltane (May Day). Allegedly, the Maypole has phallic associations and the hazel nuts, testicular, but "in a playful way". This would seem to be a very good reason never to believe what you are told without corroborative evidence.Branle de Bourgoyne tradAnother hang-over from Derek's Elizabethan days. Why is it that no stand-in musician can play the "oh so simple" A-music first time round?Gimme All Your Sharp-Dressed Smoke Collected from the archives of Hill, Gibbons, Beard, Glover, Lord, Paice and Blackmore. Arranged by Derek Paice from an idea by David Prestidge.You don't have to listen too hard to hear quotes from all kinds of rock classics during our performances. This arrangement of "Gimme All Your Loving" and "Sharp-Dressed Man" by ZZ Top has been mixed up with Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" for no particular reason other than Derek wanted to hear what it sounded like (that is unless one counts revenge on an awkward aunt who was "difficult" at the birthday party of a very sprightly 80 year old we played at). Of course, most pop songs have middle-8s and bridges in them that make them unsuitable for barn-dancing. Hence some of the tunes you know and love have been adulterated. One day Derek will have the courage to leave the tunes alone and make the dancers move out of their 4, 8, 16 and 32 bar straightjackets. Guess we'll have to invent a new form of ceilidh before that happens.Gimme Shelter/Jumpin' Jack Flash Jagger/Richards Arr Derek PaiceNow this is more like it. Real traditional music! Ah, that hot summer day in Hyde Park in 1969 ... All those butterflies! Ohhhh children ... it's just a kiss awayHanter Dro sequence Derek Paice/Toby Paice/trad.Occasionally we slip into a new-age dreamy meditation. The Breton Hanter Dro is often best danced with the eyes closed, as long as you aren't leading the line! This sequence is actually three tunes. Tune number one never really had a title, Toby's "Raspberry Ripple" and a poorly recalled version of a song about "Trois Matelots" from Brittany.Myhrpolska Per Myhr arr Derek Paice32-bar polska. Sweden produces some of the best musicians in the world. This tune is from "Groove", an album by one of their best bands, Hoven Droven. Being a polska, the phrase lengths sound all wrong and it's sometimes hard to work out where the bar begins, but it's such a beautiful tune we had to do it. Derek's given everyone plenty of warning that he wants this tune played at his funeral! The rest of the band is a little worried that he's going to attempt to turn Elevation of Love, by the Esbjorn Svennsen Trio into a ceilidh tune ...Plane Fever Derek Paice32-bar tango. Considering how often Derek is reduced to a hyperventilating wreck by crowds, enclosed spaces and heights it is odd that he flies so often. On one flight his aisle seat was boxed in for nearly half an hour by the cabin crew's refreshment trolley. As the panic took hold, Derek took out his manuscript book and music came to the rescue ... again.Slashed In Half Derek Paice32-bar polska. It's not often that our tunes reflect any kind of emotional connection to their titles, but this one does. Over a period of several months Derek spent many days reworking and recording a song for a cd project. Each track was by a different artist or band, but all the music was by the same songwriters. The track was edited, without his knowledge, to half its length by a production team that clearly had more of an eye on the clock than they had on the style and form of the music. Hence a carefully constructed lancaran-style piece was chopped in and out arbitrarily, in the middle of phrases, at the beginning and end of the song making the whole thing sound ridiculous. This tune is dedicated to the prima donna who dwells somewhere in all of us.The Gift of Thora's Grave Derek Paice48-bar mazurka written in humble acknowledgement of an extraordinary act of compassion. Thora is a published academic, currently (and for many years past) a lecturer in politics at a French university, although a native of Canada. Derek loves going to Thora's house. Each visit is an adventure (and it's not just the hairpin mountain roads!). She recently had an exhibition in a museum in Lyon to celebrate her book on the history of illustrated characters in French dictionaries.The Horse's Branle tradDerek danced a branle to this tune long before he realised it had crossed over into the folk world. It somehow feels weird to be dancing what has become, supposedly, the traditional French dance steps rather than a courtly branle; especially without the aid of doublet and hose.Trotto'd Underfoot Anon, Neithart von Reuenthal, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, arr Derek PaiceThis tune slams two pieces of medieval music together (a heavily squared off Danse Royal/Ductia with von Reuenthal's catchy little number written in the 13th century, "Winder Wie Ist") and mixes the result, quite unfeasibly, with Led Zeppelin's "Trampled Underfoot". If nothing else, it is an interesting exercise in exploring the medieval origins of 70s rock. For those who don't know, a trotto is a medieval dance and we invariably use this tune for the oldest dance in the repertoire, a farandole.Smash the Windows, Cafouillée and Un Pied Dans L'Eau were recorded live in January 2006 and are offered in .mp3 format along with smaller, lower resolution, .wav files of an older, 2004, ceilidh. Hopefully they give you a flavour of what we sound like at some points during an evening! Bearing in mind that many people have broadband and can cope easily with larger soundfiles, the newer Un Pied Dans L'Eau is offered as a full 9-minute MP3. The other soundfiles are from the 2004 ceilidh. Steve is the violinist on the new recordings and Uli on the older one. We've also put some snatches of the cd, NotV, here including The Personal Tragedy, The Devil Amongst the Groceries, A Peck On the Cheek, The Gift of Thora's Grave and Hole in the Sump.
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