Heritage Songs Anew

This set of four songs offers today's students and their audiences tunes that were once part of our musical fabric; yet have since, all but disappeared. "Billy Boy", originally an English folk tune, later became a popular one in America's rural South. "Annie Laurie" is a Scottish air first published in 1838, but soon became widely known due to its beguiling tender melody. "Wayfaring Stranger" is a bittersweet American folk song whose lyrics lended itself to be considered a religious ballad and therefore found its way into a number of hymnals. "Polly Wolly Doodle" is an American creation that was first heard in minstrel shows, then college Glee clubs and eventually transformed into a standard children's song where often nonsensical words were applied making it a carefree, silly number. While this is a suite of four songs, a conductor may wish to program just one, two or three of them or even mix up the order.