Revels
Encyclopedia
Revels is a contemporary series of American
seasonal stage performances, initially given at Christmas
time as the Christmas Revels at Town Hall in New York City
in 1957, which involve singing, dancing, recitals, theatrics (usually as brief skits, often humorous), and usually some audience participation, all appropriate to the season. Performers are usually local, often non-professional, and frequently young.
The events were founded by John Langstaff
as Christmas entertainments and the present organization, Revels, Inc., produces events in ten cities across the United States
, including many others in the spring and summer in many locations.
Langstaff and his daughter Carol started producing "The Christmas Revels" again in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
in 1971, at Harvard University's Sanders Theater
, where it has frequently played to sold-out houses. Revels troupes are active across the United States, with four in the northeast region of the U.S.
Each year's Christmas Revels draws upon a different era or culture's Christmas and winter solstice traditions. The 2008 Christmas Revels, in Cambridge, were based on music, songs, and dance inspired by writer Thomas Hardy's
beloved Wessex
. The earliest performances drew from medieval English traditions, one of which, the Mummers' Play
is retained (albeit sometimes altered) no matter what time period or culture is being featured. Other traditions include ending every first half of the production with Sydney Carter
's "Lord of the Dance
" hymn. After the last verse, at the Cambridge Revels, the audience is encouraged to dance, along with the cast, into the lobby of Memorial Hall
, the venue of the performances of the Christmas Revels in Cambridge. There is often audience singing in the performance. Author Susan Cooper
wrote a poem for the Christmas Revels production that is recited near the end of each performance.
The annual event has been moved to many other American cities, and there exist songbooks, production guides, and commercial recordings to assist those unfamiliar with ancient folk music and dancing. The recordings often include noted performers in the folk tradition that is being featured, such as appalachian dulcimer
player and singer Jean Ritchie
, who appeared on the Appalachian Revels album.
Until his death in 2005, Langstaff, assisted by members of his family, led or assisted several of the Revels organizations in various cities. Langstaff's ability to "get it done" as well as his teaching and performing style, was admired by children's television producer Jonathan Meath
, who was a tenor on two of their CD albums entitled Welcome Yule and Victorian Revels.
Cambridge Revels: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Revels North: Hanover, New Hampshire
New York Revels: New York, New York
Washington Revels: Washington, DC
Revels Houston: Houston, Texas
Rocky Mountain Revels: Boulder, Colorado
Santa Barbara Revels: Santa Barbara, California
California Revels: Oakland, California
Portland Revels: Portland, Oregon
Puget Sound Revels: Tacoma, Washington
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
seasonal stage performances, initially given at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time as the Christmas Revels at Town Hall in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1957, which involve singing, dancing, recitals, theatrics (usually as brief skits, often humorous), and usually some audience participation, all appropriate to the season. Performers are usually local, often non-professional, and frequently young.
The events were founded by John Langstaff
John Langstaff
John Langstaff , a concert baritone, and early music revivalist was the founder of the Northeast United States tradition of the Christmas Revels, as well as a respected musician and educator. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music as well as Juilliard. In 1943 he married Diane Hamilton...
as Christmas entertainments and the present organization, Revels, Inc., produces events in ten cities across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including many others in the spring and summer in many locations.
Langstaff and his daughter Carol started producing "The Christmas Revels" again in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1971, at Harvard University's Sanders Theater
Sanders Theater
Sanders Theatre or Sanders Theater is the premiere lecture and concert hall at Harvard University. It is internationally known for its superior acoustics, which in New England are only surpassed by Jordan Hall, Mechanics Hall, Worcester, and Boston Symphony Hall.-History:Plans for the theater...
, where it has frequently played to sold-out houses. Revels troupes are active across the United States, with four in the northeast region of the U.S.
Format
The productions echoes English theatrical precedents of the 16th century and earlier. Professional singers, actors and musicians are mixed with talented amateurs and tradition-bearers, often brought in to share a culture's music, dance or ritual in an authentic manner. There is almost always a children's chorus, which performs songs and games from the period or location that the performance is focused on. Reviewers have especially mentioned the dance and the upbeat nature of the performance.Each year's Christmas Revels draws upon a different era or culture's Christmas and winter solstice traditions. The 2008 Christmas Revels, in Cambridge, were based on music, songs, and dance inspired by writer Thomas Hardy's
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
beloved Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
. The earliest performances drew from medieval English traditions, one of which, the Mummers' Play
Mummers Play
Mummers Plays are seasonal folk plays performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers , originally from England , but later in other parts of the world...
is retained (albeit sometimes altered) no matter what time period or culture is being featured. Other traditions include ending every first half of the production with Sydney Carter
Sydney Carter
Sydney Bertram Carter was an English poet, songwriter, folk musician, born in Camden Town, London. He is best known for the song "Lord of the Dance" , set to the tune of the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts", and the song "The Crow on the Cradle", adapted from an old folk song...
's "Lord of the Dance
Lord of the Dance (hymn)
Lord of the Dance is a hymn with words written by English songwriter Sydney Carter in 1967. He adapted the tune from the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts"...
" hymn. After the last verse, at the Cambridge Revels, the audience is encouraged to dance, along with the cast, into the lobby of Memorial Hall
Memorial Hall (Harvard University)
Memorial Hall is an imposing brick building in High Victorian Gothic style, located on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
, the venue of the performances of the Christmas Revels in Cambridge. There is often audience singing in the performance. Author Susan Cooper
Susan Cooper
Susan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
wrote a poem for the Christmas Revels production that is recited near the end of each performance.
The annual event has been moved to many other American cities, and there exist songbooks, production guides, and commercial recordings to assist those unfamiliar with ancient folk music and dancing. The recordings often include noted performers in the folk tradition that is being featured, such as appalachian dulcimer
Appalachian dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
player and singer Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie is an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player.- Out of Kentucky :Abigail and Balis Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky had 14 children, and Jean was the youngest...
, who appeared on the Appalachian Revels album.
Until his death in 2005, Langstaff, assisted by members of his family, led or assisted several of the Revels organizations in various cities. Langstaff's ability to "get it done" as well as his teaching and performing style, was admired by children's television producer Jonathan Meath
Jonathan Meath
Jonathan Meath is an award–winning American TV producer based in Boston who is notable for earning numerous Emmy nominations and the coveted George Foster Peabody Award in 1993. He is known for his commitment to children's educational television...
, who was a tenor on two of their CD albums entitled Welcome Yule and Victorian Revels.
Other Cities
There are now ten independent Revels organizations across the country.Cambridge Revels: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
Revels North: Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
New York Revels: New York, New York
Washington Revels: Washington, DC
Revels Houston: Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
Rocky Mountain Revels: Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
Santa Barbara Revels: Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
California Revels: Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
Portland Revels: Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
Puget Sound Revels: Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
See also
- Renaissance Fair
- Master of the RevelsMaster of the RevelsThe Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...