The Story
I wrote The Folk Mass in 1966 when I was 15
The recording was done in 1967
by
EMI
At No. 3 Studio, Abbey Road, London
At 2.30 pm on Saturday 18th November, 1967
In a 3 hour session
That is the same Abbey Road that The Beatles recorded in.
That year the Beatles produced Sgt Peppers.
They took over 700 hours to record at a cost of about £25,000!
We were a small group of schoolgirls.
Frances Hunter Gordon,
Corinna Liddell, Lucy Fisher,
Linda Magill.
and
Louise Keane (Dillie) , Caroline Greenwood, Caroline Stevens,
Mary Price, Hilary Goodson, Jennifer Smedley,
Georgina Allen, Eugenie Hunter, Kris King, Annabel Ferguson
Loelia Crosthwaite-Eyre, Elizabeth Mould,
Susan Foll, Melony de Burgh, Maya Ligertwood, Ann Pressinger
Those underlined above also played the guitar
Louise Keane, better known as Dillie, is now part of the famous group of singing satirists - Fascinating Aida.
It was a private recording/pressing. The initial order was for a 100 records, but due to demand, an eventual 600 were made.
One record cost 7/4 to make.
Tax of approx. 7/3 had to be paid on each record sold.
They were sold for 27/- each (£1 and 7 shillings) which included a copy of the guitar tabs with words and postage and packing.
Stereo had just become possible, with stereo records being made, but very few people owning a stereo player.
I requested stereo and the use of an echo facility in the recording to make it sound as if we were in a church.
The original pressing was not correct.
EMI thought that the 'Our Father’ - being a very catchy tune - was better at the start.
We had to explain that there is a strict order to The Mass and ask for it to be changed.
The record or vinyl was most unusual – it was only recorded on one side (the other being blank) as there was not enough music to fill 2 sides.
So
Who were we?
I wrote it in 1966 with my friend Corinna Liddell helping with the harmonies.
We were at an RC convent boarding school school called Woldingham.
Initially it was sung by a small group of friends at the school.
After some time it was sung by the whole school and on request the group sang it at other churches too.
The soloists on the recording were
Frances Hunter Gordon, Corinna Liddell and Lucy Fisher
Parts of the Mass such as the Introit, Gradual and Offertory change each day in the catholic calender. The challenge when writing the music for them was to find a tune that could be adapted easily to any words. The words on the recording are those for the Feast of The Sacred Heart - deemed suitably appropriate. It is a moveable feast that depends on the date of Easter Sunday. It is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost Sunday,
which falls on the 50th day of Easter.
Why did we do it?
Well –
Because we could! - It was the swinging 60’s and folk music was in fashion.
But also -
Because the Mass had previously been in Latin. Pope John changed this in 1964. He decreed that there was to be no more Latin.
So - there was no more Latin Mass
and -
There was no music yet written for the new English Mass.
So - I wrote some.
We did it first.
And we sold all round the world from Fiji to Hong Kong, From Illinois to Zambia, from Edinburgh to Australia. Not to mention singing at mass regularly in the school - with even the nuns singing along.
Frances Hunter Gordon
The recording was done in 1967
by
EMI
At No. 3 Studio, Abbey Road, London
At 2.30 pm on Saturday 18th November, 1967
In a 3 hour session
That is the same Abbey Road that The Beatles recorded in.
That year the Beatles produced Sgt Peppers.
They took over 700 hours to record at a cost of about £25,000!
We were a small group of schoolgirls.
Frances Hunter Gordon,
Corinna Liddell, Lucy Fisher,
Linda Magill.
and
Louise Keane (Dillie) , Caroline Greenwood, Caroline Stevens,
Mary Price, Hilary Goodson, Jennifer Smedley,
Georgina Allen, Eugenie Hunter, Kris King, Annabel Ferguson
Loelia Crosthwaite-Eyre, Elizabeth Mould,
Susan Foll, Melony de Burgh, Maya Ligertwood, Ann Pressinger
Those underlined above also played the guitar
Louise Keane, better known as Dillie, is now part of the famous group of singing satirists - Fascinating Aida.
It was a private recording/pressing. The initial order was for a 100 records, but due to demand, an eventual 600 were made.
One record cost 7/4 to make.
Tax of approx. 7/3 had to be paid on each record sold.
They were sold for 27/- each (£1 and 7 shillings) which included a copy of the guitar tabs with words and postage and packing.
Stereo had just become possible, with stereo records being made, but very few people owning a stereo player.
I requested stereo and the use of an echo facility in the recording to make it sound as if we were in a church.
The original pressing was not correct.
EMI thought that the 'Our Father’ - being a very catchy tune - was better at the start.
We had to explain that there is a strict order to The Mass and ask for it to be changed.
The record or vinyl was most unusual – it was only recorded on one side (the other being blank) as there was not enough music to fill 2 sides.
So
Who were we?
I wrote it in 1966 with my friend Corinna Liddell helping with the harmonies.
We were at an RC convent boarding school school called Woldingham.
Initially it was sung by a small group of friends at the school.
After some time it was sung by the whole school and on request the group sang it at other churches too.
The soloists on the recording were
Frances Hunter Gordon, Corinna Liddell and Lucy Fisher
Parts of the Mass such as the Introit, Gradual and Offertory change each day in the catholic calender. The challenge when writing the music for them was to find a tune that could be adapted easily to any words. The words on the recording are those for the Feast of The Sacred Heart - deemed suitably appropriate. It is a moveable feast that depends on the date of Easter Sunday. It is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost Sunday,
which falls on the 50th day of Easter.
Why did we do it?
Well –
Because we could! - It was the swinging 60’s and folk music was in fashion.
But also -
Because the Mass had previously been in Latin. Pope John changed this in 1964. He decreed that there was to be no more Latin.
So - there was no more Latin Mass
and -
There was no music yet written for the new English Mass.
So - I wrote some.
We did it first.
And we sold all round the world from Fiji to Hong Kong, From Illinois to Zambia, from Edinburgh to Australia. Not to mention singing at mass regularly in the school - with even the nuns singing along.
Frances Hunter Gordon