Prelude and Irish Dance on Sussex Carol

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Prelude and Irish Dance on Sussex Carol was composed in 2023 for Bob Powers and the Naples Brass. The Naples Brass has a tradition of performing several annual Christmas concerts in the Naples, FL area. The “Sussex Carol” is a Christmas carol popular in Briton. Both the text and the tune to which it is now sung were discovered and written down by Cecil Sharp and Ralph Vaughan Williams who heard it being sung by a Harriet Verrall of Monk’s Gate, near Horsham, Sussex (hence “Sussex Carol”). The tune to which it is generally sung today is the one Vaughan Williams took down from Mrs. Verrall and published in 1919. This piece calls for a Bodhrán drum, which is a drum that is used in traditional Irish music. If a is not available for performance, a tom-tom from a contemporary drum set or similar may be used.