Band Day with Rob Say - 16th October 2022

October’s meeting of the Yorkshire Concertina Club brought another treat in the form of Rob Say and his newly acquired Rook’s Manuscript.

Rob took us through a lovely selection of tunes from the Northeast. After spending time looking at the Cheviot Rant, Cawledge Burn Rant, as well as the more familiar Morpeth Rant and his own tune Corsenside Hall, we looked at various marches and hornpipes. The March of the Grahams in amongst those, for our very own ‘Grahams’, Helen and Phil!

His enthusiasm for the music and the style of playing from the region was infectious and we all have some new ideas on how to approach and bring the tunes to life.

Rob has been researching the life and works of John Rook from his diaries and a photocopy of the manuscript. The hardback book, “The John Rook Manuscript: The Life of John Rook 1806-1872 & A Full Transcription of his Manuscript”, is the result of this work and he has also produced a smaller book with the collection of music in the manuscript, “The Music of John Rook: Player's Manuscript”.

Following publication of this, the actual manuscript has come to light, and it was an absolute privilege to be able to see the beautifully penned work with the illustrations and annotations from John Rook himself.

​A huge thanks to Rob Say for an interesting, informative and extremely enjoyable afternoon.
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