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Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales: Piano/Vocal/Guitar
Titles from England: Hares on the Mountain
• Allan Water
• My Boy Willie
• Greensleeves
• The Three Raven
• Early One Morning
• Lavender's Blue and more. Titles from Ireland: Let Erin Remember the Days of Old
• The Rising Moon
• The Road to the Isles
• and more. Titles from Wales: The Bells of Aberdovey (Clychau Aberdyfi)
• The Kind Old Man (Yr Hen Wr Mwyn)
• Over the Stone (Tros y Gareg)
• The Dove (Y Deryn Pur) and more.
243 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1992
About the author
William Cole
255 books4 followersWilliam Rossa Cole (1919-2000) was best known as an editor and anthologist. He was editor or author (or co-editor or co-author) of about 75 books, 50 of them anthologies. Three of his books were honored by the ALA: I Went to the Animal Fair in 1958, Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls in 1964, and The Birds and Beast Were There in 1965. He was an editor for Simon & Schuster and Viking, and a columnist for the Saturday Review. He died in summer 2000, at the age of 80.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 27, 2019
I finished playing through this today on the piano. Lots of lovely songs (the Welsh section is my favorite so far) and a lot that I hadn’t heard before. I am considering buying this once my inter library loan expires. I have the Fireside book of folk songs (two copies, so I can play duets with my mother’s cello!) and the idea of the songs sorted by region appealed to me so I decided to try it. It has a few similar songs (Bendemeer’s Stream, Sky Boat Song, Flow Gently Sweet Afton) but for the most part the music is completely different!
Favorite songs so far: David of the White Rock and Charlie is my Darling and the Ash Grove. Anything by Robert Burns is a plus also. :-). I may have to look for a Robert Burns music compilation book some day.
The music is easy to intermediate. 3 flats/sharps for the most complicated arrangements; left hand is typically arpeggios, or two note intervals (thirds, fifths and octaves usually.). Naturally the patriotic songs are the trickiest. The hardest part for me is timing as always. If you can play Suzuki level 3/4 you can play these pieces.
Favorite songs so far: David of the White Rock and Charlie is my Darling and the Ash Grove. Anything by Robert Burns is a plus also. :-). I may have to look for a Robert Burns music compilation book some day.
The music is easy to intermediate. 3 flats/sharps for the most complicated arrangements; left hand is typically arpeggios, or two note intervals (thirds, fifths and octaves usually.). Naturally the patriotic songs are the trickiest. The hardest part for me is timing as always. If you can play Suzuki level 3/4 you can play these pieces.
March 17, 2011
This is a nice collection of the most famous folk songs of the British Isles. I'm over half English so learning the "songs of my ancestors" on the piano and singing them was a joy. Of course you don't need to have English ancestry to enjoy these ;)
The Irish and Scottish songs are wonderful too and heightened my interest in the Gaelic languages. I liked the Welsh folk songs as well. Welsh songs tend to have rich melodies which can be inspirational.
The Irish and Scottish songs are wonderful too and heightened my interest in the Gaelic languages. I liked the Welsh folk songs as well. Welsh songs tend to have rich melodies which can be inspirational.
September 17, 2023
It was a lot of fun to play through these folk songs.
June 9, 2010
This massive book is like the ultimate reference for Celtic music. Every verse of every random tune is laid out, alongside history and maps. Also worth mentioning: great old photographs, including one of an ancient man who looks like god himself, playing the cello.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews