Mandolins At Settle 2023

The last weekend of September saw the fourth mandolin retreat at the Falcon Manor Hotel. The welcome from all of the staff and the quality of the food was exceptional. These underpinned another successful and enjoyable retreat. The majority of the participants had attended previous retreats and the new members quickly became part of the group. All the music had been suggested by participants as favourites from earlier retreats. Although several of the pieces had challenging sections and/or parts, Simon’s patient and humorous approach, explanations and demonstrations ensured that everyone made progress and successful performances.

As at previous retreats, the mornings were given over to studying and playing the pieces as an orchestra. The afternoons provided the opportunities for invited guests to lead discussions. Mike Vanden again shared his expertise on the different qualities of wood used in mandolin building, with contributions from Peter Barton and Mark Challinor. Simon, Richard Collins and Elias Sibley talked about and illustrated their different styles of mandolin playing. Both sessions also included questions and answers from the whole group.

Following the sumptuous evening meal and enjoyable, if not hilarious, table discussions, there was the usual session in the bar during which a range traditional tunes were shared.

The obvious difference to the usual retreat was the absence of a informal concert by Simon and Hilary. This was replaced by a concert at the oldest music hall in the world, Settle’s Victoria Hall. Simon and Hilary were joined by friends Richard Collins (guitar, mando bass, mandolin and banjo), Elias Sibley (guitar and ukulele) and Florence Petit-Sibley (cello and mandocello). The five friends gave excellent performances, both as a group and as individuals, across a range of genres from classical, jazz, swing and of course not forgetting the duelling banjo and guitar.

As a regular participant, the Falcon Manor is my favourite venue and certainly this retreat was incredibly enjoyable. Many of us are already looking forward to the next retreat, whilst some of us are already working on suggestions for new music!

As ever a huge thank you to Simon, Hilary and all of the other participants (and their partners) for another fantastic week. Hope to see you at Falcon Manor next year, if not before.

Carolan Special March 2023

The weekend of 10 -12 March saw a return to the Kenwood Hall hotel, Sheffield to focus on arrangements of tunes by the Irish harpist and composer Turlough O’Carolan. Despite the appalling local weather conditions (at least 30cm of snow) and subsequent road and traffic conditions, everyone arrived safely. In addition to some reasonably local participants, as well as further away in the UK., we were joined by others from Scotland, America and Israel. The several regular participants were joined by a number of new members, including a mandocellist joining our mandobasses to give further depth to the arrangements.

As ever, the group quickly came together as new friendships were made and old ones rekindled.

Simon’s patient teaching, encouragement and examples of fingering ensured that a everyone enjoyed the arrangements. Everyone successfully tackled some of the more challenging parts of the wonderful tunes. The concentration given by all of the participants is perhaps illustrated by the exhausted chats rather than informal playing at the end of each evening. All came away with a greater knowledge and love of Carolan’s music and regret that the weekend was over so quickly… but there is another next month !!!!

‘Spillover’ Carolan Special April 2023

The second Carolan mandolin retreat at the Kenwood hotel was as enjoyable as the first. Again there was an international flavour with participants from across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland and even one ‘over for the weekend’ from Canada.
In addition to the new members, there were participants from previous workshops, as well as some from the earlier Carolan retreat. Again there were other members of the mandolin family, with the mandocello and octave mandolin supporting Hilary’s mandobass.
As ever the teaching was excellent, with examples, anecdotes and patience from Simon to ensure everyone was fully involved, challenged and encouraged. This allowed participants to develop greater confidence and personal development in their playing. The opportunity for a solo contribution enabled people to play in public for the first time, within a comfortable atmosphere.
Once again another highly successful weekend playing mandolin and sharing the music of Turlough O’ Carolan.
Many of us are looking forward to the now annual four day visit to the Falcon Manor Hotel in Settle, to further explore favourite pieces from previous retreats.

Mandolins At Settle 2022

‘2022 saw a third visit to the Falcon Manor Hotel that has become a favourite venue for Simon’s mandolin retreats. The staff were as ever friendly and welcoming. The accommodation and food excellent.There was a mix of returning and new members who quickly gelled together as a group of friends creating a mandolin orchestra. The mornings sessions were intensive yet relaxed as Simon explained techniques of mandolin playing using a range of musical genres. There was the opportunity for participants to share knowledge and tunes with each other, to ask Simon for individual advice and the challenge of solo playing in front of a group of like minded friends. The retreats have always had an afternoon discussion/performance related to the mandolin and this year was no exception.On Monday Simon talked about the important role of tonic sol-fa in learning to play by ear. Geoff Bowen is a local fiddle player and researcher. He gave a talk and performance focussing on how musical phraseology and tone in baroque dance music encouraged dancers. This style of playing became part of the country dancing and music of the area. Mike Vanden, the well known luthier made a return visit to talk about making a f-style mandolin and to show several examples of his beautifully made instruments.The after dinner sessions in the bar gave the chance to share and learn tunes, as well as for Simon and Hilary to perform an informal concert.

Overall the retreat was another highly successful time. It was enjoyed by both the participants and the several spouses who enjoyed walking in the local area in addition to listening to a mandolin orchestra. Even before the end of the four days many people were looking forward to the next retreat in Sheffield focussing on the music of O’Carolan.’

Mandolins At Settle 2021

‘After two and a half years it was finally time to return to The Falcon Manor Hotel in Settle for a four day mandolin retreat. Once again it did not disappoint as the group were the only residents in the hotel. The staff were extremely welcoming, friendly and hard working. The food was excellent and the wonderful surroundings, including the log fire, enabled regular and new participants to quickly bond into a balanced and supportive group. Although several of the group had met at other weekend retreats, the longer four day meeting enables a less hectic, more relaxed and intimate atmosphere to develop the group socially as well as musically.Morning sessions working through the provided music explored a range of genre and the opportunities to improve technique and play in parts. Afternoon sessions gave time for participants to share ideas and play together as well as benefit from individual sessions with Simon. The illustrated talk by Paul Sparks on ‘The Mandolin in the Eighteenth Century’ was a fascinating insight to the world of the early mandolin. It was enhanced by Paul, on mandolin and John Mackenzie on guitar with examples of music from the period. The informal interview of Chris Newman by Simon gave another opportunity for participants to listen to anecdotes and techniques, as well as hear Simon and Chris play together.

After an enjoyable dinner and lots of table talk, most evenings concluded in the bar where impromptu song and music sessions often carried until late. The informal evening concert by Simon and Hilary was, as ever a joy to be part of, mirroring the range of music we had all been playing.

I have been fortunate to attend and enjoy many of Simon’s workshops over the last few years and I continue to learn ( and hopefully improve!) However I can honestly say I am sure this was the most enjoyable in terms of the music, the hotel and the group dynamics. I already have next year’s retreat in my diary!’

Mandolins At Settle 2019

‘This was my fourth Mandolin Retreat with Simon. The Falcon Manor hotel was a perfect venue, especially as we were able to fill the hotel. The excellent rooms and food were enhanced by the very friendly and helpful staff who made each of us feel so welcome. The group gelled quickly together and old friendships were rekindled and new ones formed. Participants came from across the country as well as visitors from Texas and Spain.

It was centred on the usual mixture of genre and styles fully supported by Simon’s excellent and enjoyable teaching of techniques. However, spending four days rather than the two on previous retreats, created a more relaxed and supportive learning experience. Regardless of the level of the ability of each individual, there was something new to learn every morning. The afternoon sessions with input from Simon and Hilary on song accompaniment, mandolin building from Mike Vanden, and a history of Mandolin orchestras from Paul Sparks added to a deeper understanding of aspects of our favourite instrument.

The opportunity for each individual to contribute a solo piece was a valuable challenge and development of a new skill for some. The evening sessions in the bar were again an opportunity to share and join in, learning tunes and songs from a range of musical genre. In short it was the best retreat so far and I hope to be able to repeat the experience on future retreats.’