Lady Maisery are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

vocal harmony Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chora ...

trio composed of Hannah James (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, piano accordion,

clogs Clogs are a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood. Used in many parts of the world, their forms can vary by culture, but often remained unchanged for centuries within a culture. Traditional clogs remain in use as protective fo ...

, foot percussion), Hazel Askew (vocals, melodeon, concertina,

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, bells) and Rowan Rheingans (vocals,

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, bansitar). Lady Maisery sing traditional and contemporary folk songs as well as exploring the tradition of diddling or tune singing, which has nearly died out in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but is still prevalent in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

and other parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. They released their first album, ''Weave & Spin'' in 2011, and their second, ''Mayday'', in 2013. Their third album, ''Cycle'', was released in October 2016

Name

Lady Maisery's name is based on one that appears in a number of traditional folk songs, most notably the Child Ballads, Child ballad "Lady Maisry", but also "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea, The Laily Worm & The Machrel of The Sea" (the former of these appears on their second album, Mayday).

History

Rowan Rheingans, Lady Maisery (22094231219)

In 2011, Lady Maisery released ''Weave & Spin'' and were subsequently nominated for the Horizon Award in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and for Best Debut in the Spiral Earth, Spiral Awards. The album was also made 'Album of the Week' in The Independent. In 2012 they were featured on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and in 2013 they have twice appeared on BBC Radio 3's classical music programme 'In Tune'. In 2013, they released a charity download single to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March—a version of Kate Bush’s song "This Woman's Work, This Woman’s Work"--with proceeds donated to the charity coalitio
"End Violence Against Women"
This preceded the release of their second album, ''Mayday'', which was launched in both London and Sheffield. During 2013, Lady Maisery also gave a number of performances of "Rest", a secular requiem, composed for them by Emily Hall and Toby Litt as the third in the pair's trilogy of song cycles. Performances included the National Portrait Gallery, London, Spitalfields Summer Festival and Deal Festival. All three members were part of the Songs of Separation project, which won "Best Album" in the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Discography

Albums

:* Weave and Spin, ''Weave & Spin'' (released 21 August 2011) :* ''Mayday'' (released 10 June 2013) :* ''Cycle'' (released 28 October 2016) :* ''Tender'' (released 11 November 2022)

Singles

:* "This Woman's Work" (released as a download single, 8 March 2013)

Reviews

Weave & Spin

* Bright Young Folk * Maverick Magazine * Spiral Earth

Mayday

* Bright Young Folk * Financial Times * Folk Witness * For Folk's Sake * Spiral Earth

References

External links

* {{Authority control English folk musical groups