The 10 bells of St Augustine's Church, Alston

This is a special episode devoted entirely to a performance on the ten bells of St Augustine’s Church in Alston, played on the carillon by Josephine Dickinson.The performance took place on the Saturday morning of the 2025 Alston Live Festival and was free to all who could hear it in and around Alston. It included over 20 classical, traditional and popular tunes chosen by Josephine. The performance lasted an hour – a physically demanding challenge that Josephine met with admirable determination and stamina.Thanks are due to Paul Frear and the organising committee of Alston Live Festival, and Mark Nash-Williams, Vicar of Alston Moor, for their support for the performance; and to the shops and businesses of Alston that helped to promote the concert. And of course thanks are due to Josephine Dickinson, whose commitment to playing the carillon has brought the sound of the bells of St Augustine’s to the people of Alston for many years.The tunes Josephine played were:Cavatina (The Shadows) 4mDo-Re-Me (The Sound of Music) 2mEveryday (Buddy Holly) 3mBelieve me if all those endearing young charms (traditional air) 1mYou Never Can Tell (Chuck Berry) 2.5mStumpie (trad) 1.5mGrádh gan fhios — Love In Secret (Bunting transcript via Simon Chadwick) 2mO’Carolan’s Lament (Turlough O’Carolan) 2.5mRide a Mile slip jig (trad) 1.5mThe Bramble Briar (song collected by RVW) 1mEverlasting Love (Buzz Casson and Mac Gayden) 2mSong for Someone (Bono and The Edge) 3mEdi beo thu (Anonymous English, late 13thC, secular Christmas song in praise of Mary) 1.5mLift Me Up (Rihanna) 3.5mHeman Dubh (trad) 1mFare thee well, my dearest dear (song collected by RVW) 1mSlide Dubh (Peadar Ó Riada) 1.5mSmile (from ‘Modern Times’ by Charles Chaplin) 2mSeikilos Epitaph (trad Greek, oldest known complete song) 1mI Will Have a Wife of My Own (irregular trad English aka JBa.57) 2mA Wife of My Own (trad English regular version) 2mNew Road to Alston (trad from a Northumbrian piper’s MS of c.1816) 2mCarolan’s Farewell to Music (Turlough O’Carolan) 3m This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com