Ritson's North-Country Chorister , Edited and published by Joseph Ritson, is a revised edition of a book on Durham music, published in 1809.

This section does not cite any sources. (August 2012)

Ritson's North-Country Chorister (or to give it its full title - “The North-Country Chorister; An unparalleled variety of excellent songs. Collected and published together, for general Amusement, by a Bishoprick Ballad-Singer [Edited by the Late Joseph Ritson, Esq.] ---- To drink good ale to clear my throat, To hear the bagpipes sprightly note, This is the life that pleaseth me. To ramble round the North Country, ---- Durham: printed by L. Pennington, Bookseller. MDCCCII Licensed and entered according to Order ---- London: reprinted for Robert Triphook, 37, St. Jame's Street. By Harding and Wright, St. John's-square ---- 1809”) is a book of North Eastern folk songs consisting of 20 pages with 6 works, first published in 1802 and reprinted (this edition) in 1809.

Other books in Ritson’s Garland series were Ritson's Bishopric Garland, The Yorkshire Garland and The Northumberland Garland. A compilation of the whole series, entitled The Northern Garland was published in 1810.^[1]

The “Garland” series were important, not only as important document in their own right, but as one of the main sources of similar successor publications such as John Bell's Rhymes of Northern Bards and Bruce and Stokoe's Northumbrian Minstrelsy.

A set of original documents are held in The Robinson Library of Newcastle University

The front cover of the book was as thus :-

THE
North-Country
CHORISTER;
AN
UNPARALLELED VARIETY
OF
EXCELENT SONGS.
Collected and published together, for
general Amusement,
BY
A BISHOPRICK BALLAD-SINGER
[EDITED BY THE LATE
JOSEPH RITSON, ESQ.]
- - - - - - -
To drink good ale to clear my throat,
To hear the bagpipes sprightly note,
To ramble round the North Country,
This is the life that pleaseth me.
- - - - - - -
DURHAM:
PRINTED BY L. PENNINGTON, BOOKSELLER
. MDCCCII
Licensed and entered according to Order
- - - - - - -
LONDON:
REPRINTED FOR ROBERT TRIPHOOK, 37, ST. JAME'S STREET.
By Harding and Wright, St. John's-square.
- - - - - - -
1809

are as below :-

Geordie dialect words
Joseph Ritson
Ritson's Northern Garlands 1810
Ritson's Bishopric Garland or Durham Minstrel 1792
Ritson's Yorkshire Garland 1809
Ritson's Northumberland Garland or Newcastle Nightingale 1809