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Handed Down
Handed Down celebrates traditional songs and the people who sing them. The show is presented by Jenny Shaw, an amateur musician and professional writer. Each episode is full of music, tales and curiosities as we delve into the history a single song, often with the help of a fellow folk musician, to uncover the strange stories and colourful characters that lie beneath.
These are the songs that have been handed down from our ancestors. This podcast and the people involved in it help keep them alive so that we can hand them down in turn to future generations.
Handed Down
Larks! A May Special, with friends from The Barnstoners
It's May. The meadows and hedgerows are in bloom, the sun is ablaze and the lark is on the wing.
Song: The Lark in the Morning - CS
Poem: The Lark Ascending (extract) by George Meredith
Tune: The Lark Ascending by R Vaughan Williams/The Lark in the morning (jig)
Poem: The Green Cornfield by Christina Rosetti
Song: All Things Are Quite Silent - Carys
Poem: Extract from The Night's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer
Song: The Skylark, words by Fredrick Tennyson, tune by Neal Jolly - Neal Jolly
Poem: Extract from Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
Tune: The Chirping of the Lark, from Playford, arr. J Shaw
Letter regarding a lecture given by Cecil Sharp, dated December 23rd, 1931 - Paul Reeve
Song: The Lark in the Morn, as collected by Cecil Sharp
Song: The Lark in the Morn - Paul Reeve
Poem: To a Skylark (1805) (extract) by William Wordsworth
Tune: My Singing Bird
Poem: To a Skylark (extract) by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Song: Kate of Arglyn, collected by Cecil Sharp from John Murphy in Marylebone Workhouse 1909
Poem: The Lark Song by James W Wilt - Diana Whittaker
Song: O Nancy My Heart
Poem: To a Skylark (1825) (extract) by William Wordsworth
Song: Pleasant and Delightful
Poem: To the Lark by Robert Herrick
Song: Lark in the Clear Air - Diana Whittaker
Poem: Lottie Lane (broadside ballad)
Song: Lark in the Park by John Devine - John Devine
Poem: Limerick by Edward Lear
Tune: Lark in the Morn arr Lynne Morley - Lynne Morley
Lark song FX recorded by urupin, from Freesound
Where not attributed, songs and poems performed by Jenny Shaw
Some of the songs were discovered using the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, others came out of our memories or our imaginations.
The Barnstoners is a group of people who have loved their time at Stones Barn and continue to stay in touch. This podcast would never have been born without the support and encouragement of The Barnstoners, and the hugely empowering tuition at Stones Barn from the amazing Rose Ellen Kemp and Maddy Prior.