Mendelssohn wrote the melody 'Camberwell Green' for his piano pieces Songs Without Words when staying with friends in Camberwell. The piece became 'Mendelssohn Rag', also known as 'That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune'.
Commissioned for the 2020 Camberwell Arts Festival I have created an animation to celebrate the Camberwell Music Hall connection. This is set to a 4-part choral arrangement written by local composer Jordan Theis, which fits the 1910 Collins and Harlan recording of the song. We invited singers from Camberwell and beyond to create a virtual choir for this animation.
The animation shows all the stars from the music hall from its heyday right down to when it became a strip joint in the 50s before shutting down. The final image is one of the stars of the later days of the Music Hall ‘Peaches Page the singing nude of Camberwell’ winking as the screen closes and we bid farewell to the days of The Camberwell Palace of Varieties.
The singalong event and premier of this animation took place at the opening of Camberwell Arts Week 2020 on Saturday 13th June, thank to everyone who joined in on zoom. Here is a lyrics video I made of the 1910 recording by Collins and Harlan if you would also like to sing along with the tune:
