Key folk role to be celebrated

The concert on Saturday, September 20 in St Mary's Parish Church, Horsham, will see classical music meet folk, courtesy of the Horsham Folk Club.

International musicians will share the platform with Horsham-area folk singers and aspiring young instrumentalists.

David Roberts, from the club, said: "The concert will celebrate the work of the great English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and his connection with the Horsham area.

"The 40-strong Bernardi Chamber Orchestra and String Academy will consist of 20 top professional musicians and 20 young, local musicians. The orchestra is directed by Andrew Bernardi, the founder and director of the Shipley Arts Festival."

Roberts added: "Popular music in this country owes a great deal to Vaughan Williams as much of it developed out of traditional folk music, which he and others rescued around the start of the last century.

"This made possible the folk revival of the '60s, which led to folk-rock and the current revival of folk music and folk-influenced music of today.

"Vaughan Williams recognised the quality and value of the songs made up and sung by the ordinary people of England. In 1903/4 he was collecting and recording the traditional songs of this area. Eventually he recorded some 800 songs."

Roberts said: "In particular he worked with the leading song collector of the time, Lucy Broadwood of Rusper, and an amazing local man, a shoe repairer called Henry Burstow who could sing 420 local songs from memory.

"One song Vaughan Williams collected was to make the name of a small Horsham village known around the world.

"He used the tune from a song he collected from Harriet Verrall of Monks Gate with words from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress to create the hymn Who Would True Valour See.

"He also made it into a very well-known orchestral piece he called Monks Gate and which will also feature in the September 20 concert."

Tickets: 01403 211661