About

The revival of English folk music around the beginning of the 20th century was led by a number of figures, prominent among them Cecil Sharp and the composers Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth and Percy Grainger. In its wake, both before and after the First World War, came an outpouring of English art song by a diverse but enormously gifted group of composers – a small selection would include Vaughan Williams, Ivor Gurney, Rebecca Clarke, Peter Warlock, George Butterworth, Roger Quilter, Frank Bridge, Armstrong Gibbs, Gerald Finzi, John Ireland and Benjamin Britten, but there are many others.

This recital by the rising young tenor Ben Hancox-Lachman and his father, pianist William Hancox includes works by many of these composers, with well-known songs alongside lesser-known gems and spoken introductions to help place the songs in context.

The setting for the concert is Hellingly Church, a beautiful, atmospheric building, parts of which date back to the 12th century or earlier.