> Peter Bellamy > Records > The Transports

The Transports
A Ballad Opera by Peter Bellamy

Peter Bellamy: The Transports (Free Reed FRRD 021/022)

The Transports
A Ballad Opera by Peter Bellamy

Free Reed Records FRRD 021/022 (2 LP, UK, November 1977)
Topic Records TSCD459 (CD, UK, 1992)

Peter Bellamy: The Transports (Topic TSCD459)
Peter Bellamy: The Transports (Larrikin D24131)

Larrikin Records D24131 (CD, Australia, 1999)
Free Reed Records FRDCD 2122 (25th year Commemorative Issue) (2CD, UK, March 2004)
Free Reed Records FRRR 11 (CD, UK, 2008)

Peter Bellamy: The Transports (Free Reed FRRR 11)
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Arranged by Dolly Collins, ensemble directed by Rod Skeaping.

This unique project relates the true story of Henry Cabell and Susannah Holmes, convicts transported to Australia on the “First Fleet” in 1787 and the trials and tribulations which culminated in that historic voyage. The tale is presented as a cycle of new compositions in the idiom of traditional English folk song, linked by narrative passages in the style and to the melodies of broadsheet ballads of the time. The orchestral passages and arrangements for the accompanied songs have been conceived in such a way as to underline the overall feeling of “period” and the instruments used are those likely to have been heard in the church bands or “quires” of East Anglian villages in those days. The singers have been chosen from the front rank of the English folk song revival, and the melodies composed to suit their individual style. A detailed account of the historical background to the story by Eric Fowler (the man who originally researched it) is included in the booklet.

This recording was remixed and reissued in 2004 as part of Free Reed’s 2 CD 25th year Commemorative Issue, see below, and in 2008 as part of the 18 CD Revival re:Masters series.

The Cast

Henry Cabell: Mike Waterson
Susannah Holmes: Norma Waterson
The Turnkey: Martin Carthy
The Father: Nic Jones
The Mother: June Tabor
Abe Carman: A.L. Lloyd
The Shantyman: Cyril Tawney
The Convict: Martin Winsor
The Coachman: Vic Legg
The Transport: The Watersons
Street Singer: Peter Bellamy

The Ensemble

Rod Skeaping: director;
Philippa Davies: flute;
Sophia Wilson: oboe;
Keith Thomlinson: whistle, garklein-flötlein;
Felix Warnock: bassoon;
Alan Lumsden: serpent;
Oliver Brookes: cello;
Dave Swarbrick: violin on The Ballad of Henry and Susannah

Tracks

Side 1

  1. Overture (5.39)
  2. The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (1) (1.02)
    Peter Bellamy as Street Singer
  3. Us Poor Fellows (5.15)
    Nic Jones as The Father
  4. The Robber’s Song (2.51)
    A.L. Lloyd as Abe Carman
  5. The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (2) (2.35)
    Peter Bellamy as Street Singer
  6. The Leaves in the Woodland (4.52)
    June Tabor as The Mother

Side 2

  1. The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (3) (2.35)
    Peter Bellamy as Street Singer
  2. I Once Lived in Service (4.52)
    Norma Waterson as Susannah
  3. Norwich Gaol (4.44)
    Martin Winsor as The Convict
  4. Sweet Loving Friendship (3.44)
    Mike and Norma Waterson as Henry and Susannah

Side 3

  1. The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (4) (2.57)
    Peter Bellamy as Street Singer
  2. The Black and Bitter Night (7.10)
    Mike Waterson as Henry
  3. The Humane Turnkey (1) (1.49)
    Martin Carthy as The Turnkey
  4. The Plymouth Mail (4.28)
    Vic Legg as The Coachman
  5. The Humane Turnkey (2) (2.20)
    Martin Carthy as The Turnkey

Side 4

  1. The Green Fields of England (5.32)
    Peter Bellamy and Dolly Collins, with Mike and Norma Waterson singing chorus, as The Transports
  2. Roll Down (4.25)
    Cyril Tawney as The Shantyman
  3. The Still and Silent Ocean (4.25)
    Mike and Norma Waterson as Henry and Susannah
  4. The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (5) (3.24)
    Peter Bellamy as Street Singer
  5. Dance: The Convict’s Wedding (1.08)

Free Reed CD bonus track

  1. Dance: The Convict’s Wedding (2.09)
    Fairport Convention

> Peter Bellamy > Records > The Transports at Whitby

The Transports at Whitby

(RED 011)

The Transports at Whitby
Various Artists

RED 011 (cass, UK, 1993)

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This was a memorable performance of Peter Bellamy’s ballad opera, The Transports, recorded by Dave Howard at Whitby Folk Festival, August 1992.

The Cast

Henry Cabell: Damien Barber
Susannah Holmes: Eliza Carthy
The Turnkey: Mike Bettison
The Father: John O’Hagan
The Mother: Norma Waterson
Abe Carman: Martin Carthy
The Shantymen: John Eaves, Ashley Howard
The Convict: Chris Sugden
The Coachman: Tim Laycock
Street Singer: George Faux (who provided his own fiddle accompaniment)

The Ensemble

John Kirkpatrick
Mike Lynskey
Vince Edwards
Ian Blake

Chorus of 37 persons, including Kate Rusby, Kathryn Roberts and Jenny Bellamy

> Peter Bellamy > Records > The Transports—2004

The Transports—2004

The Transports—2004 (Free Reed FRDCD 2122)

The Transports—2004
Various Artists

Free Reed FRDCD 2122 (25th year Commemorative Issue) (2CD, UK, March 2004)

The Transports (Free Reed FRCD 22)
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In 2004, Free Reed published a 25th year Commemorative Issue of Peter Bellamy’s ballad opera The Transports. This consists of 2 CDs, first a re-mastered version of the original 1977 recording—see above for cast and track list—and a second CD with newly recorded tracks by lots of well known musicians. There is no one cast to a certain role as in the original recording but every song is sung by different singers. Even if I like most of the individual interpretations, I miss the charm and consistency of the original recording.

Tracks

  1. Cockersdale: Black & Bitter Night (4.14)
    From the Cockersdale album Doin’ the Manch
  2. Jim Lawton: Raking the Embers (0.33)
  3. Simon Nicol & Chris Leslie: The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (1) (1.02)
  4. David Jones: Us Poor Fellows (4.12)
    From the album From England’s Shore
  5. Joel Griffiths: The Robber’s Song (3.42)
  6. Simon Nicol & Chris Leslie: The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (2) (2.31)
  7. Grace Notes: The Leaves in the Woodland (4.07)
  8. Simon Nicol & Chris Leslie: The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (3) (1.11)
  9. Witches of Elswick: I Once Lived in Service (4.31)
    From the Witches’ album Out of Bed
  10. Chris Sugden: The Ballad of Norwich Gaol (2.46)
  11. Laura Hockenhull & Pete Morton: Sweet Loving Friendship (3.27)
  12. Simon Nicol & Chris Leslie: The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (4) (1.59)
  13. Damien Barber & John Kirkpatrick with The Wilsons & Grace Notes: The Black and Bitter Night (5.01)
  14. Mal Jardine with Jamie O’Dwyer: The Humane Turnkey (3.56)
  15. John Roberts: The Plymouth Mail (4.14)
  16. Coope Boyes & Simpson: The Green Fields of England (4.56)
  17. Kimber’s Men: Roll Down (4.03)
    From the album See You When the Sun Goes Down
  18. Steve Tilston: The Still and Silent Ocean (5.00)
  19. Simon Nicol & Chris Leslie: The Ballad of Henry and Susannah (5) (2.24)
  20. Fairport Convention: Dance: The Convict’s Wedding (2.09)
  21. Tim Moon: Black Concertina (2.40)
    Live at Bacca Pipes Club, also on the album Anger and Kiss
  22. Peter Bellamy: Roll Down (excerpt) (2.04)
    Live at The Focal Point, St Louis, Missouri, 1991

> Peter Bellamy > Records > The Transports at Sidmouth Folk Week 2011

The Transports at Sidmouth Folk Week 2011

See Sidmouth Folk Week: The Transports

The Cast

Street Singer (Narrator): Martin Carthy
The Father: Damien Barber
Abe Carman: Gavin Davenport
The Mother: Eliza Carthy
Susannah: Jackie Oates
The Convict: Jim Causley
Henry Cabell: Jim Moray
The Humane Turnkey: James Fagan
The Coachman: Jez Lowe
The Shanty Men: The Young’uns

The Ensemble

Jude Kelly, director;
Paul Sartin, oboe;
Sam Sweeney, fiddle;
Paul Hutchinson, piano accordion;
Pete Judge, trumpet
Beth Porter, cello

> Peter Bellamy > Records > The Transports at Norwich 2013

The Transports at Norwich 2013

In February and March 2013 Crude Apache Theatre Company based in Norwich UK presented a theatrical production of Peter Bellamy’s ballad opera The Transports. The venue was Dragon Hall, a medieval trading hall dating back to 1430. The show was filmed by Bert Eke:

> Peter Bellamy > Records > The Transports 2017

The Transports 2017

The Transports (Hudson HUD007CD)

The Transports 2017
A Tale of Exile and Migration

The Transports

Hudson Records HUD007LP/CD (LP/CD, UK, 12 January 2018)

The Transports 2017

Join some of Britain’s leading folk musicians for a timely re-telling of Peter Bellamy’s legendary folk ballads The Transports in January and February 2017, starring BBC Folk Award Winners The Young’uns, Faustus, Nancy Kerr and members of Bellowhead together on stage.

At a time when migration makes headlines daily, this tale of past migration shows how little has changed in the global movement of desperate people. The accompanying project Parallel Lives charts—town by town—those who once left Britain with those who have recently arrived.

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Produced, recorded and mixed by Andy Bell;
Recorded at The Foundry, Sheffield, in March 2017 and Hudson Studio in April 2017;
Mastered by Dean Honer;
Artwork by James Green;
Photos by Elly Lucas;
Design by Robin Beatty

The Cast

Henry Cabell: Sean Cooney, vocals;
Susannah Holmes: Rachael McShane, vocals, cello;
The Father: Paul Sartin, vocals, oboe, cor anglais, fiddle;
The Mother: Nancy Kerr, vocals, fiddle;
The Narrator: Matthew Crampton, narration, vocals;;
The Turnkey: Greg Russell, vocals, guitar;
Abe Carman: David Eagle, vocals;
The Jailer: Benji Kirkpatrick, vocals, guitar, bouzouki;
The Coachman: Michael Hughes, vocals;
The Shantyman: Saul Rose, vocals, melodeon

Tracks

  1. Introduction (2.53)
  2. Us Poor Fellows (4.57)
    Paul Sartin as Abe Carman
  3. Narration 2 (0.27)
  4. The Robber’s Song (2.36)
    David Engle as Abe Carman
  5. Narration 3 (2.43)
  6. The Leaves in the Woodland (4.46)
    Nancy Kerr as The Mother
  7. Narration 4 (1.22)
  8. The Ballad of Norwich Gaol (4.18)
    Benji Kirkpatrick as The Convict
  9. Narration 5 (2.03)
  10. I Once Lived in Service (4.43)
    Rachael McShane as Susannah
  11. Narration 6 (0.33)
  12. Sweet Loving Friendship (3.42)
    Sean Cooney and Rachael McShane as Henry and Susannah
  13. Narration 7 (3.30)
  14. The Black and Bitter Night (5.58)
    Sean Coonec as Henry
  15. Narration 8 (1.28)
  16. Dark Water (5.49)
    Sean Coonec as Henry
  17. Narration 9 (0.52)
  18. The Humane Turnkey 1 (1.07)
    Greg Russell as The Turnkey
  19. Narration 10 (1.27)
  20. The Plymouth Mail (4.08)
    Michael Hughes as The Coachman
  21. Narration 11 (0.28)
  22. The Humane Turnkey 2 (2.05)
    Greg Russell as The Turnkey
  23. Narration 12 (1.20)
  24. The Green Fields of England (5.35)
    Ensemble
  25. Narration 13 (1.12)
  26. The Still and Silent Ocean (1.13)
    Sean Cooney and Rachael McShane as Henry and Susannah
  27. Narration 14 (2.53)
  28. Roll Down (4.50)
    Saul Rose as The Shantyman

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