Following the success of the Darwin Song Project two years ago, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and EFDSS commissioned a work relevant to the life of Cecil Sharp. The organisers chose an eclectic mix of artists who spent a week sequestered in rural Shropshire, writing new, and reworking old, material.
It was very clear that all eight artists had enjoyed the collaboration and they delivered a stunning performance at the end of the week. No one artist dominated proceedings; instead there was a gentle ebb and flow up and down the group. Not everything worked but there was plenty of strong material showcasing many new songs and excellent musicianship.
The main theme was Sharp’s travels through the Appalachians. This was neatly introduced by Steve Knightly who led an ensemble piece Mining for Songs. Throughout the evening the artists cleverly wove traditional songs and tunes, collected by Sharp, into new offerings. Particularly delightful was Cecil’s Greatest English Hits with Kathryn Robert’s vocals supplemented by Jackie Oates ethereal harmonies.
A lively tune set early in proceedings included tunes written by Andy Cutting (I Like Him He’s Common) and Patsy Reid( When Leonard met Andy met Patsy). Cutting’s playing is always magical and provided the backbone of the whole evening.
Humour was evident in a Jim Moray contribution Dear Kimber which was an imagined letter from Sharp to Kimber of Headington Morris. However, Moray’s finest hour came in the second set with an exquisite version of Lord Douglas.
Canadian Leonard Podolak also provided humour with his hambone audience participation and Groundhog song (you had to be there!). He also sang about the difficulties Sharp faced as a travelling vegetarian in a country where chickens could be considered vegetables. Humour aside, Podolak, is a banjo player who showed off his skills to good effect in a finger-picking version of The Cuckoo.
The discovery of the night, though, was Caroline Herring, a singer-songwriter from Georgia, with a rich, distinctive voice which melded particularly well with Oates and Roberts’ harmonies. She performed a tender and poignant song, Black Mountain Lullaby, a homage to a three year old child killed as a result of mining activities on the mountain tops. One of the most successful songs of the evening was Ghost of Songs sung by Knightly, which imagined Sharp on his deathbed visited by those whose songs he had collected. As he sang, Herring delivered an incantation of their names and the songs they had presented.
The final set concluded with a second ensemble piece The Great Divide providing an opportunity for a sing along and resulting in a standing ovation.
An encore showcased the dancing talents of the group with some energetic Morris dancing followed by Appalachian step, before the evening finally concluded with an interpretation (in the best music hall style!) of Sharp’s relationship with his secretary Maud Karpeles who accompanied him to America. This was another triumph from Shrewsbury Folk Festival - and there will be another opportunity to see the performance (and all the performers separately) at the Festival in August. Be there!
