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Shirley Collins

Folk singer Shirley Collins talks to Michael Berkeley about her musical passions and her 60-year career in folk music. Her musical choices include Handel, Boyce and Praetorius.

Shirley Collins talks to Michael Berkeley about her musical passions and her sixty-year career in folk music. Much praised for her clear, unaffected singing voice, she has won worldwide acclaim as a pivotal figure in the English folk revival of the 1960s and 70s, not only as a performer, but also as a curator, a saviour of a rich tradition of music which might otherwise have been lost. She tells Michael about her Sussex childhood, her passion for Baroque music, and the pleasure she?s finding in singing again after a gap of more than thirty years. And we hear Shirley singing with her late sister and collaborator Dolly. Her musical choices include Handel, Boyce, Praetorius and two moving field recordings she helped to make - songs from Mississippi Fred McDowell and a gypsy child in 1960s Sussex. Producer: Jane Greenwood A Loftus Media production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3

Produced by Elizabeth Burke
A Loftus Production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3

First broadcast in January 2016.

Available now

35 minutes

Last on

Sun 11 Dec 2016 12:00

Music Played

  • Trad.

    Newcastle

    Ensemble: The Broadside Band. Conductor: Jeremy Barlow.
  • Traditional

    A Denying (The Blacksmith)

    Ensemble: Early Music Consort of London. Conductor: David Munrow. Singer: Shirley Collins. Singer: Shirley & Dolly Collins.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Lascia ch'io pianga (Rinaldo)

    Singer: Ewa Małas-Godlewska. Singer: Derek Lee Ragin.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Silent worship (Tolomeo)

    Singer: Barry Dransfield.
  • Mississippi Fred McDowell

    61 Highway

    Performer: Mississippi Fred McDowell.
  • George Butterworth

    The Banks of Green Willow

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
  • William Boyce

    Symphony no.1 in D major

    Orchestra: The English Concert. Conductor: Trevor Pinnock.
  • Trad.

    Dear Father, Pray Build me a Boat

    Singer: Sheila Smith.
  • Michael Praetorius

    In Dulce Jubilo (Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning)

    Ensemble: Gabrieli Consort & Players. Conductor: Paul McCreesh.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 31 Jan 2016 12:00
  • Sun 11 Dec 2016 12:00

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