Our Song of the Day is from The Elizabethan Session project for which we recently showed an exclusive behind-the-scenes video (also below). The project was commissioned by Folk by the Oak and the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS). Much in a similar vein to the previously adventurous Darwin Song Project and the Cecil Sharp Project, a number of artists were chosen to take part with the aim of creating new music that has a resonance and relevance to a central theme which in this case was Queen Elizabeth I.
Martin Simpson, Nancy Kerr, Folk by the Oak patron Jim Moray, Bella Hardy, John Smith, Hannah James, Rachel Newton and early music specialist Emily Askew were selected to live and work together for a week in Hatfield House. Here they are performing Shores of Hispaniola with Nancy Kerr on vocals:
Shores of Hispaniola
Behind the Scenes
The Elizabethan Session will be performing at Folk by the Oak, 20 July 2014. CD on general release from 8 September 2014.