Darwin Song Project
Encyclopedia
Darwin Song Project is a compilation album
, released on September 7, 2009. It features folk artists from the UK and North America, who were tasked with the creation of new songs that had a "resonance and relevance to Charles Darwin
". The artists gathered together for 7 days in a farmhouse in Shropshire to compose the songs. The artists were: Chris Wood
, Karine Polwart
, Jez Lowe
, Mark Erelli
, Emily Smith
, Rachael McShane, Krista Detor
and Stu Hanna
.
and was the feature of a BBC Radio 4
documentary and a feature on Mike Harding
’s BBC Radio 2
show.
On 13th March 2009 eight artists gathered together at Henley Farmhouse in rural Shropshire for a week
long songwriting retreat, to create new works that related to Darwin – who was born in Shrewsbury in 1809.
The eight artists covered a wide range of songwriting experience and styles, from some of the most celebrated writers in the UK through to artists who were relatively unknown in the UK.
The newly formed ‘group’ performed these new songs to a sold out audience
at the brand new Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury on Thursday 19 March, at
the end of the songwriting week.
The CD captures 17 of the songs performed on the night, and features all 8
artists in both lead and supporting roles, culminating in Woods’ ensemble
piece.
In fact 19 songs were written and performed at the original concert, a Chopin piece and reading from Randal Keynes
book Annie's Box was performed by Wood & Detor, and a final encore 'The Darwin Walk' written by Lowe was performed where each artist wrote and sung a verse of an ensemble piece. These are missing from the CD due to space limitations.
The group performed the songs again at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival
on August 29, 2009, the Chopin piece was not played, but the 'Darwin Walk' was.
There is a DVD release of the initial concert with the fully mixed sound from the CD, the DVD includes the Chopin piece and 'The Darwin Walk' as well as extended song introductions. The DVD was never made commercially available and was only ever available at the 2009 Shrewsbury Folk Festival.
The album was mixed by Stu Hanna
, and the overall project directed by Neil Pearson
of the Shrewsbury Folk Festival
called it "an intriguing, impressive album that results from a brave and unlikely collaboration." According to NetRhythms, "[The Project] displays a spirit of genuine artistic collaboration between the contributors."
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, released on September 7, 2009. It features folk artists from the UK and North America, who were tasked with the creation of new songs that had a "resonance and relevance to Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
". The artists gathered together for 7 days in a farmhouse in Shropshire to compose the songs. The artists were: Chris Wood
Chris Wood (folk musician)
Chris Wood is an English folk musician and composer who plays fiddle, viola and guitar, and sings. He is an ardent enthusiast for traditional English dance music , including Morris and other rituals and ceremonies, but his repertoire also includes much French folk music and traditional Québécois...
, Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide...
, Jez Lowe
Jez Lowe
Jez Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a coal mining family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery. He performs both as a...
, Mark Erelli
Mark Erelli
Mark Erelli is an American folk singer/songwriter from Reading, Massachusetts. He currently resides in Massachusetts. Erelli is a 1996 graduate of Bates College, where he majored in Biology, and holds a Master's Degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts...
, Emily Smith
Emily Smith (singer)
Emily Smith is a Scottish folk singer from Dumfries and Galloway. She went to school at Wallace Hall Academy and has a degree in Scottish music from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She is married to New Zealand-born fiddle player Jamie McClennan.Dumfries & Galloway's EMILY SMITH is...
, Rachael McShane, Krista Detor
Krista Detor
Krista Detor is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Indiana whose music has been featured on NPR, and with Mike Harding on the BBC.Detor has worked with Carrie Newcomer and Tim Grimm on the collaborative stage show and CD Wilderness Plots, which is based on the book of the same name by Scott...
and Stu Hanna
Megson (band)
Megson are an English folk duo composed of husband and wife Stu Hanna and Debbie Hanna. The duo have released four albums and one EP under their own label, edj...
.
History
The project was put together and managed by the Shrewsbury Folk FestivalShrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England....
and was the feature of a BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
documentary and a feature on Mike Harding
Mike Harding
Mike Harding is an English singer, songwriter, comedian, author, poet and broadcaster. He is known as 'The Rochdale Cowboy' after one of his hit records...
’s BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
show.
On 13th March 2009 eight artists gathered together at Henley Farmhouse in rural Shropshire for a week
long songwriting retreat, to create new works that related to Darwin – who was born in Shrewsbury in 1809.
The eight artists covered a wide range of songwriting experience and styles, from some of the most celebrated writers in the UK through to artists who were relatively unknown in the UK.
The newly formed ‘group’ performed these new songs to a sold out audience
at the brand new Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury on Thursday 19 March, at
the end of the songwriting week.
The CD captures 17 of the songs performed on the night, and features all 8
artists in both lead and supporting roles, culminating in Woods’ ensemble
piece.
In fact 19 songs were written and performed at the original concert, a Chopin piece and reading from Randal Keynes
Randal Keynes
Randal Hume Keynes, OBE, FLS is a British conservationist, author and great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin. He is the author of the intimate exploration of his famous ancestry, Annie's Box, subtitled Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution , a book about the relationship between Darwin and his...
book Annie's Box was performed by Wood & Detor, and a final encore 'The Darwin Walk' written by Lowe was performed where each artist wrote and sung a verse of an ensemble piece. These are missing from the CD due to space limitations.
The group performed the songs again at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England....
on August 29, 2009, the Chopin piece was not played, but the 'Darwin Walk' was.
There is a DVD release of the initial concert with the fully mixed sound from the CD, the DVD includes the Chopin piece and 'The Darwin Walk' as well as extended song introductions. The DVD was never made commercially available and was only ever available at the 2009 Shrewsbury Folk Festival.
The album was mixed by Stu Hanna
Megson (band)
Megson are an English folk duo composed of husband and wife Stu Hanna and Debbie Hanna. The duo have released four albums and one EP under their own label, edj...
, and the overall project directed by Neil Pearson
Neil Pearson
Neil Joshua Pearson is a British actor best known for his work on television.-Biography:Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first...
of the Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England....
Reception
The project has been reviewed favorably. The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called it "an intriguing, impressive album that results from a brave and unlikely collaboration." According to NetRhythms, "[The Project] displays a spirit of genuine artistic collaboration between the contributors."
Track listing
- "Trust in the Rolling Ocean"
- "Heavy in My Hand"
- "Turtle Soup"
- "Kingdom Come"
- "The Merchant’s Question"
- "Thinking Path"
- "Jemmy Button"
- "From Miss Emma Brawley"
- "The Earl of Darwin’s Farewell / Save A Place"
- "Emma’s Lullaby"
- "We’re All Leaving"
- "Mother of Mysteries"
- "Will You be Waiting?"
- "Mother of My Soul"
- "Clock of the World"
- "We’ll Hunt Him Down"
- "You May Stand Mute"