An illustrated talk by Martin Graebe,
Shortly before his death, the Devonshire-born cleric, writer and antiquarian, Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) wrote: 'To this day I consider that the recovery of our West Country melodies has been the principal achievement of my life.' He inherited the Lew Trenchard estate in Devon to become both squire and parson of this little parish. It was in 1888 that a chance remark at dinner prompted his hunt for old songs in the area around his home. From Lew Trenchard he travelled around Devon and Cornwall to meet the singers in their pubs and their cottages and to coax them to share their old songs. As a leading novelist and writer he brought the folk songs of the West Country to a wider audience through his publications, lectures, costume concerts and the first folk opera, Red Spider, based on one of his novels.
Martin Graebe has been fascinated by Baring-Gould for many years, but the re-discovery of a large quantity of his personal papers in 1992 prompted him to re-evaluate Baring-Gould's work on folk song. He has uncovered a fascinating collaborative project between Baring-Gould and the musicians, singers and ordinary members of the public in Devon and Cornwall. He also looks at his relationships with other folk song collectors such as Lucy Broadwood, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Cecil Sharp.
Tickets £5 each
To purchase tickets please contact Abi Gray on 01548 830832 or office@dra.uk.net.
Payment may be made in cash, by cheque payable to 'The Fenwick Charitable Trust', or by card over the telephone and using our online terminal. When requesting tickets via email, please include your name, your telephone number and the number of tickets you require. You will receive a unique link to the online payment terminal to submit your details.
All lectures are held in the lecture room of the DRA, in the grounds of Shilstone House near Modbury. The car park is accessible from 6:30pm, when doors open, and free refreshments are available in the exhibition gallery. There is ample free parking, and b
Info
