Maddy Prior and Rose-Ellen Kemp at Stones Barn in Cumbria

Folk on Foot

Matthew Bannister

Music Interviews, Performing Arts, Music, Nature, Arts, Science

4.8 • 526 Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2023

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“The snow it is lying on Bewcastle Fell
And the wind strips the skin from my face.
The bare bones of a tree give some shelter to me
But still it’s a draughty old place.”

Come to “the least populated area of the least populated county in England” and take shelter from the elements in the warm welcome of Stones Barn where Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span and her daughter Rose-Ellen Kemp are hosting one of their acclaimed singing weekends. Guest tutor Martin Carthy reveals how he discovered the joys of traditional singing when he was just seventeen years old – and Maddy and Rose-Ellen take us to Bewcastle Church to see the 6th Century cross commemorating St Cuthbert and sing in its glorious acoustic.

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Find out more about Stones Barn at https://stonesbarn.co.uk/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	We're north of Carlisle, not far from the Scottish borders, in a remote part of Cumbria,
0:11.6	surrounded by green fields and sheep, and we're hoping for a very special experience because we're
0:17.4	heading to Stone's Barn, which is home to Maddie Pryor and her daughter, Rose Ellen Kemp,
0:24.1	and they run these singing weekends here to pass on the folk tradition.
0:30.0	And we're especially lucky this time because one of the guest tutors on the course is none other than the great Martin Carthy,
0:37.8	and we're hoping to eavesdrop on one of his sessions.
0:41.2	So what more could you ask for?
0:43.7	Maddie Pryor, who sung with Steel Eyespan since 1970, that's for 52 years.
0:49.6	We're going to see her daughter, who is a brilliant singing coach,
0:52.9	and the great Martin Carthy in full flow.
0:56.1	What a bumper edition of Folk on Foot this is going to be.
1:47.0	Music I'm Oh, the to be the uh the I'm and Uh, Uh, uh, Uh, and Uh, and. The I'm Pseye Pse Psyr The Maddie and Rose-Ellen, it's wonderful to see you
2:36.0	and thank you for welcoming us here at Stone's Barn.
2:38.8	Very welcome to be here.
2:40.3	It's been fantastically sunny until today.
2:43.2	There's a bit of a drizzle going on, but we're out here in the yard.
2:46.5	It is known for races.
2:47.5	Yeah.
2:47.9	So tell us about what you've got here.
2:49.3	How many buildings have you got?
2:50.4	Well, there's a house and I live in it. We have a little cottage over there and this is the barn that we
2:56.0	do our courses in. I can hear some singing going on in there. So what sort of things happen on these
	...

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