1. Living in Coventry

This embraces different musical styles from an ‘Irish’ style waltz, through Living in Coventry (LiC) riffs and a 2020:2021 chant, to rapping the places in Coventry to an accompaniment of djembes.

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The choir greets the audience, as if inside the circus tent at the Assembly Festival Garden, with a really bright and breezy, 3 beats-in-a-bar waltzy welcome to the Cultural Cantata. Singing needs to be instantly strong and warm; loud and rhythmic for the C’mon section; accurate for the LiC riffs with precisely pitched choral ‘oohs’.
 
Teach/learn the song in sections:
Figure A     Waltz    KS1    Irish tinged folk dance (repeat).
              B     C’mon    KS1    chant/clap (cumulative rhythms: 1:2:3:4).
              C     LiC/Ooh!
              D     LiC/Godiva.
              E     LiC/Ooh!/Stop your messing around.
              F     2021 chant KS1; Living history counter melody. [repeat]
              G     Back in history.
              H     Coventry place names + djembes.
 
The LiC riffs demand good tuning and the high ‘oohs’ should be sung with a gesture (index finger of one hand pointing upwards).
 
Use untuned percussion to shake/tap the two beats between the 2020/21 chant.
G  Extension of Living history melody and place names.
H  Djembes.
 
 ♫     Listen to other songs by the Specials.
          Which of their songs can you hear in this  arrangement?  
          [Ghost Town and Message to you Rudy]
💡     Identify different areas of the city on a map of Coventry.

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