Wassail: The word Wassail refers to several related traditions; first and foremost wassailing is an ancient southern English tradition that is performed with the intention of ensuring a good crop of cider apples for the next year's harvest. It also refers to both the salute 'Waes Hail', the term itself is a contraction of the Middle English phrase wæs hæil, meaning literally 'good health' or 'be you healthy' and to the drink of wassail which is a hot mulled cider traditionally drunk as an integral part of the wassail ceremony.
This movement’s primary point of inspiration is the ‘Gloucester Wassail’, a song that is known from the eighteenth century and exists in many transcriptions including versions by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Cecil Sharp. All the material in this composition is generated from the song’s melody. The movement depicts the festive spirit of the Wassail and the ‘Gloucester Wassail’ itself is heard in its original form in the Basses at figure D before it is simply transformed into a Sea Shanty; which both pays Homage to Gloucester’s historical dependence on the river Severn and the sea trade, and also to the intoxicating effects of the Wassail bowl.
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