Holly and Ivy, Boars' Heads and Grete Pies

A History of carols by Kate Witney. Organised by the SLHA in conjunction with Lincoln Central Library Not all carols are Christmas songs, and not all Christmas songs are carols. Confused? Kate Witney's talk, illustrated with her own singing, will shed light on the history of seasonal songs and hymns, from mediaeval times to the Victorian period, taking in, along the way, dance songs from the pilgrim route to Compostela, the Boar’s Head’s entry into an Oxford feast and some rather pagan goings on amid the holly and ivy. The talk will explore the history of carols in general and the background of some familiar and less well-known seasonal examples As a busy and popular performer Kate Witney is equally at home in the folk or the classical world and is a highly experienced singing teacher, teaching both privately and for Lincolnshire Music Service. Kate was born in Louth and studied at Homerton College, Cambridge and The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Most recently she returned to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a performance of songs collected and arranged by Lucy Broadwood and Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, a programme which she and Jonty Nowell will repeat at Gunby Hall in the Spring.