Spotlight: Cecil Sharp Project

The Project

In March 2009, Shrewsbury Folk Festival directed the Darwin Song Project, a multi-artist project celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin – this project resulted in 17 new songs that were universally well received in the UK and abroad, and featured in newspaper and radio articles around the world.

In November 2009, project director Neil Pearson delivered a session at the AFO (the UK folk industry conference) about the Darwin Project. Katy Spicer, the chief executive of EFDSS, sat in on the talk, and by April 2010, after a meeting between festival director Alan Surtees, Katy Spicer and Neil Pearson, the plans were in place for a the joint commission.
By July 2010 the artists were selected and contracted, the residential house booked, and the funding applications started, completed and submitted.

Between November 2010 and the start of the project in March 2011, the artists will be sent resources relating to Sharp, including copies of existing publications, and they will have access to the diary transcriptions well ahead of official publication.
There are no artistic directions for the artists other that the songs and tunes should have some ‘relevance and resonance’ to Sharp and in particular his Appalachian travels – it’s a blank canvas for the artists to explore as they see fit.


Cecil Sharp


Cecil James Sharp (1859 - 1924) was England's most prolific folk music and dance collector of what is now widely known as the first folk revival.

Between the time of Sharp's first serious collecting experience in a vicarage garden in August, 1903, until his death on Midsummer Eve, 1924, he amassed a total of 4,977 tunes in England and North America, many of which were published in various forms in order to promote and revive what was perceived to be a fading part of traditional culture.

His mission to revive the music placed him very much at the forefront of a movement which has attracted a great deal of attention in recent times.


How on earth did this asthmatic 56 year-old vegetarian survive in the heat and altitudes of North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and West Virginia, along with his young assistant, Maud Karpeles? How did he feel when he heard the news of the death of many of the young men of his English Folk Dance Society demonstration team in the trenches? And what did it mean to collect 1,600 tunes from people he considered direct descendants and carriers of British cultural traditions?
Hopefully the eight artists assembled for the Cecil Sharp Project will shed some light on some of these questions and capture some of the atmosphere, influences and situations that confronted Sharp on his journey.


The Artists


Patsy Reid
Patsy is the fiddle player and singer with celebrated young Scottish band Breabach, and has breadth of knowledge and experience of both folk songs and tunes.
In addition to Breabach, Patsy also has a list of solo and collaborative achievements, including awards as a young fiddler, and a more recent New Voices commission that saw her ’Bridging the Gap’ suite play Celtic Connections and head on a UK tour.


Jim Moray
One of the most consistently inventive musicians working in traditional folk music today, Jim’s take on folk song have made him the single most exciting artist on the English folk scene today.  Happy to stretch the boundaries and convention of the tradition, Jim will bring a contemporary edge to the project and ensure the results cover a broad sonic palette using a unique range of instrumentation.


Jackie Oates
One of the stars of the modern folk revival, over the past two years Jackie’s unique reading of English ballads and songs, alongside some unexpected takes on modern songs have brought her accolades including two BBC Folk Awards, and a top ten place in the Mojo album of the year awards.  Her knowledge of the folk tradition alongside, her singing and fiddle playing and her experience of working with a wide range of musicians make her perfect for the project.


Leonard Podolak
Leonard Podolak's various projects put him the centre of traditional Canadian music, as the founder and leader of The Duhks, he has taken their unique blend of traditionally influenced music to the finest festivals and stages all over the world.  He’s one of the most adventurous Appalachian style clawhammer banjo players in the world, and his knowledge and love of traditional music from the world over brings a unique set of musical skills to the project.


Steve Knightley
Steve is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, and accomplished artist known for both his own songs and inventive arrangements of traditional material.  Hugely celebrated as the singer and writer from Show of Hands, they have been at the top of the British folk scene for the past 5 years and won BBC Folk Awards for best original song and best duo in 2010.


Caroline Herring
Georgia based American folk singer/songwriter with a masters degree in Southern Folklore,  Caroline brings a unique, local flavour to the project due to her academic background and upbringing in areas where Sharp collected songs.   A true storytelling folksinger and her  4 solo albums, released both in the US and Europe are known for songs that capture snapshots of landscapes, character, and events.


Andy Cutting
Andy is one of the world’s finest melodeon players, and while he’s a consistent force on the English music scene, his influences extend way beyond these Isles and he has links to both European and North American traditions.  Known for his work alongside Chris Wood & Martin Simpson, and as part of Blowzabella, his knowledge and understanding of traditional music, along with his skill as an arranger make him the perfect artist for the Cecil Sharp Project


Kathryn Roberts
Kathryn is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter at the heart of the English folk scene, and has been part of some of the most interesting folk collaborations in the UK over the last 15 years or so, from a celebrated duo album with Kate Rusby, to being the front-woman of folk/rock group Equation, right through to the new group with Sean Lakeman, Jackie Oates and Ben Nicholls in 2011.