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A beautifully written exploration of the world of Edwardian folk
music, and its influence on the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams In
January 1905 the young Vaughan Williams, not yet one of England's
most famous composers, visited Norfolk to find folk songs 'from the
mouths of the singers'. An old fisherman, James 'Duggie' Carter,
performed 'The Captain's Apprentice', a brutal tale of torture sung
to the most beautiful tune the young composer had ever heard. With
this transformational moment at its heart, the book traces the
contrasting lives of the well-to-do composer and a forgotten cabin
boy who died at sea, and brings fresh perspectives on folk-song
collectors, the singers and their songs. ***AS READ ON BBC RADIO
4*** 'A quirky, fascinating read. Davison excels in evoking English
landscapes' Sunday Times 'Animated, entertaining... Presenting a
richly complex picture of a subject that can all too easily be
shrouded in a sentimental haze' Daily Telegraph
***AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4*** A beautifully written exploration of
the world of Edwardian folk music, and its influence on the
composer Ralph Vaughan Williams In January 1905 the young Vaughan
Williams, not yet one of England's most famous composers, visited
King's Lynn, Norfolk, to find folk songs 'from the mouths of the
singers'. He had started collecting in earnest little more than a
year before but was now obsessed with saving these indigenous tunes
before they were lost forever. An old fisherman, James 'Duggie'
Carter, performed 'The Captain's Apprentice', a brutal tale of
torture sung to the most beautiful tune the young composer had ever
heard. The Captain's Apprentice is the story of how this mysterious
song 'opened the door to an entirely new world of melody, harmony
and feeling' for Vaughan Williams. With this transformational
moment at its heart, the book traces the contrasting lives of the
well-to-do composer and a forgotten King's Lynn cabin boy who died
at sea, and brings fresh perspectives on Edwardian folk-song
collectors, the singers and their songs. While exploring her own
connections to folk song, via a Hebridean ancestor, a Scottish
ballad learnt as a child and memories of family sing-songs, the
author makes the unexpected discovery that Vaughan Williams has
been a hidden influence on her musical life from the beginning - an
experience she shares with generations of twentieth-century British
schoolchildren. Published for Vaughan Williams's 150th birthday in
August, this evocative, sensitive look at the great composer will
also be read on BBC Radio 4. 'Her gift is a work of love and
infinite care' KEGGIE CAREW, author of Dadland 'I thoroughly
enjoyed this book, and its weaving of biography, social history and
folk song' STEVE ROUD, author of Folk Song in England
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