The Bishoprick Garland, or to give it its full name The Bishoprick Garland, Or a collection of Legends, Songs, Ballads, &c. Belonging to the County of Durham, is a book by Sir Cuthbert Sharpe, an antiquarian and historian born in Hartlepool, which was published in 1834.
It contains Geordie folk songs, over 150 such song/poem lyric extracts on over 80 pages, “From beasties like the Lambton Worm (as depicted in this Victorian account – Young Lambton, on his return from the Crusades consulted a witch about defeating the Worm and wore a coat of mail studded with razor blades) to ghosts and hobs, through to local characters like Elsie Marley and songs including the Keel Row, the Collier’s Rant and Sair Fail’d Hinney, Sharp painted a picture of the county’s unique character – he even collected a sword dance, with its calling-on song and play, 80 years before that other, more famous Mr Sharp began his research!”
This year, as part of a special commission, Hartlepool Folk Festival (19-21 October) will bring the book to life “through stories, songs, music and dance, with a superb cast of performers including Kathryn Tickell, Jim Moray, the Wilsons, Julie Murphy, Alistair Anderson, Benny Graham, Johnny Handle, Harri Endersby, the Redcar Sword Dancers, and storyteller Ursula Holden Gill.”
Brian Peter‘s will also be performing Sharp’s Appalachian Harvest. When emigrants left 18th century Britain and settled in the New World, they took with them their songs, which survived tenaciously in remote mountain communities. One hundred years ago English songhunters Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles ventured into the heart of the Southern Appalachians, and there noted down sixteen hundred old ballads, ditties and fiddle tunes – one of the greatest folk collections ever made.
Brian Peters tells the story of the hardships and the triumphs of their heroic quest in music, song, words and images – the photographs of singers Sharp himself took. Brian accompanies himself on guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin.
As well as number of other special events the festival boasts a fantastic lineup – a proper Folk Festival – including many of our favouriets Lankum, Blazin’ Fiddles, False Lights, Kathryn Tickell and Amy Thatcher, Elephant Sessions, The Wilsons, Melrose Quartet, The Melsons (Wilsons/Melrose join forces), Edgelarks, Tim Edey, Roy Bailey, Jim Moray, Sam Carter, Julie Murphy, Rob Hebron and the Teapad Orchestra, Mairearad and Anna, The Arrowsmiths (Jess and Richard), Thomas McCarthy, The Orchard Family (English gypsy musicians from N. Devon), Sandra Kerr, Alistair Anderson, Benny Graham, Johnny Handle, Brian Peters, The Doyle Family, Alden Patterson & Dashwood, Tom Moore and Archie Churchill-Moss, Kitty Macfarlane, Pete Moreton, Avital Raz, Nick Hart, Harri Endersby, Werca’s Folk, Landless, Bob Knight, Redcar Sword Dancers, and Windjammer.
Find out more http://hartlepoolfolkfest.co.uk/