Giles Farnaby's Dream Band was a collaboration between the early music ensemble St. George’s Canzona, Derby-based folk group The Druids, and Trevor Crozier’s 'Broken Consort'. They were backed by three jazz musicians:

Jeff Clyne Jeffrey Ovid Clyne (29 January 1937 – 16 November 2009) was a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). He worked with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott in their group the Jazz Couriers for a year from 1958, and was part ...

(bass guitar),

Dave MacRae David Scott MacRae (born 2 April 1940, Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand keyboardist, noted for his contributions in jazz and jazz rock, and his collaborations with musicians from the Canterbury scene. Life and career MacRae studied at th ...

(electric piano) and

Trevor Tomkins Trevor Ramsey Tomkins (12 May 1941 – 9 September 2022) was a British jazz drummer best known for his work in a number of British bands in the 1970s, including Gilgamesh. Biography Tomkins was born in London and studied music at the Guildhall ...

(drums). The album title is a pun on the piece ‘Giles Farnabys Dreame’ by the renaissance composer

Giles Farnaby Giles Farnaby (c. 1563 – November 1640) was an English composer and virginalist whose music spans the Transition from Renaissance to Baroque in instrumental music, transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque period. Life Giles Farnaby was ...

. The album largely consists of renaissance dance tunes played on a combination of early and modern instruments. This prefigures some of the work later undertaken by the

Albion Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the mo ...

and

Home Service Home Service is a British folk rock group, formed in late 1980 from a nucleus of musicians who had been playing in Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band. Their career is generally agreed to have peaked with the album ''Alright Jack'', and has had an ...

. It is chiefly notable for its experimental nature, demonstrating some of the diverse attempts at fusion at the time which resulted in subgenres such as

folk jazz Folk jazz is a musical style that combines traditional folk music with elements of jazz, usually featuring richly texturized songs. Its origins can be traced back to the 1950s, when artists like Jimmy Giuffre and Tony Scott pursued distinct appro ...

and medieval folk rock. It is most similar in its sound to medieval folk and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

bands like

Gryphon The griffin, griffon, or gryphon ( Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and ...

and

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

.P. Stump, ''Gentle Giant: Acquiring the Taste'' (SAF Publishing Ltd, 2005), p. 78. The rarity of the album has made it the subject of enthusiasm for some collectors. The song ‘Newcastle Brown’ was subsequently released as a single (Argo, AFW112, 1973). The album was reissued as a CD in 2004 (Walhalla, WH90324, 2004)

Musicians

* St. George’s Canzona *The Druids *Trevor Crozier’s Broken Consort *

(bass guitar) *

(electric piano) *

(drums)

Track listing

# "The Hare's Maggot" # "Rufty Tufty"/"Beau Stratagem"/"Appley House" # "The Hole in the Wall"/"The Chirping of the Nightingale" # "

Pastime with Good Company "Pastime with Good Company", also known as "The King's Ballad" ("The Kynges Balade"), is an English folk song written by King Henry VIII in the beginning of the 16th century, shortly after his coronation. It is regarded as the most famous of ...

" # "Daphne"/"Nonsuch"/"Jack's Maggot"/"Childgrove" # "Shrewsbury Lasses" # "Newcastle Brown" # " Helston Furry Dance"/"Picking of Sticks"/"The Butterfly" # "The Indian Queen" # "The Happy Clown" # "Ratcliffe Highway" # "The Twenty Ninth of May" # "The Black Nag"/"Poor Robins' Maggot"/"

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...

" # "Portabella" # "The Draper's Maggot"/"Tower Hill" # "Mr. Beveridge's Maggot"/"The British Toper"/"London's Glory"

References

{{Authority control 1973 albums Argo Records (UK) albums St George's Canzona albums