The Parson & the Songmen
The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould was an exceptional parson and squire from Devonshire, England.
He is probably best remembered as the composer of the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers'.
Born in Exeter in 1834, he died at his estate, Lewtrenchard Manor in West Devon, in 1924.
As 2024 is the centenary of his death it gives me the opportunity to spotlight what he considered to be the most important achievement of his life, that of collecting the old folk songs of Devonshire, and later Cornwall, as he termed it, 'from the mouths of the people'.
Join me as I tell stories about, and sing songs from, this far from ordinary Victorian country parson as he travelled by pony and trap across his native Devonshire seeking out songs that now form a major part of the English folk song tradition.
Episodes
65 episodes
S4 4 Oss Oss Wee Oss! For Summer Is A-Coming Today!
Hi Folks, and a Merry May Day to One And All!In a fit of May Day frivolity, we thought it would be fitting to revisit S2 1, released on May 1st 2024, which took us to the Padstow May Day celebration, tells winter that enough is eno...
S4 3 A Foolish Man Builds His House On Sand
...Or does he?Visit The Castle in Bude, on the North Cornish coast, and you will see a substantial building that has been resting happily on sand dunes for nearly 200 years!Mike has been a volunteer at The Castle Museum and Herita...
S4 2 Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long Leggedy Beasties...
Well here we are, it's been a while, but here is the second episode in the fourth series of The Parson and the Songmen!One of the themes for this series will be to explore Sabine Baring-Gould's other interests, apart from folk song colle...
S4 1 I Can't Stop!
Welcome to this first episode in the fourth series of The Parson and the Songmen!We kick the series off in fine style by meeting Cornwall-based singer/songwriter Chris Hytch and hearing some of the songs from his band Annown's CD 'A Half...
S3 15 Songs from Series Three
A Happy New Year to you and welcome to this third compilation of songs (and tunes) from the shows!We have a varied selection for you, some reminding you of spring, the festive season and, as always, a fair dollop of the Reverend Sabine B...
S3 14 Return of the Return Of The Bumper Festive Edition
Season's Greetings One And All!Welcome to the festive sixtieth edition of The Parson and the Songmen!In this episode we tell the story of a special carol service that takes place every year in the Stratton/Bude area of North Cornw...
S3 13 As Is The Custom
If you do celebrate, you may well have noticed that Yuletide is nearly upon us... But, if you did need reminding, then this episode of The Parson and the Songmen will do just that for you!There are plenty of Christmas and Winter Solstice...
S3 12 I Want To Ride My Bicycle...
Welcome to Series Three, Episode Twelve. All we will say about this episode is that it involves some early Twentieth Century song collecting, a very enigmatic song collector and two wheeled transport. Listen on...(By the way, and still t...
S3 11 Songs Of War
At this time in November we remember the sacrifice that hundreds of thousands of British soldiers made with their lives as they fought in the First World War (and remember that millions died overall). Many songs are associated with this war, bu...
S3 10 One Day In October
In this episode of The Parson and the Songmen we join Mike at Ashwater Church, in the far west of Devon, for a day of 'ringing and singing'.One Day In October are the first four words of a very special song that the Reverend Sabine Barin...
S3 9 Harvest Home
The poet John Keats called Autumn the 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness'. A time for reflection and also a time when 'all is safely gathered in' before the onset of winter.Those words, of course, come from the harvest hymn We Plou...
.jpg)
S3 8 Catch Me If You Can
'Catch Me If You Can' is the title of a cassette tape, (originally released in 1978 and please search the interweb if you're too young to know what a cassette tape is) released by Pete Coe who spent a week in the company of a Cornish t...
S3 7 The Dartmoor Fiddler
Hello and welcome back after our summer break!In this episode we focus on William Andrews, a shy farmer from Sheepstor, in a remote part of Dartmoor, Devon. Andrews was not only a farmer though, he was a skilled fiddle player, and was vi...
S3 6 Mandolin, Maestro, Please
Join Mike for a very special 'Parson and the Songmen' this time around! It's not every day that you happen to get to the chance to have a chat with one of the world's leading mandolinists, composers and all round wit, but this is just what Mike...
S3 5 Further Reminiscences
In this fifth episode of the third series of The Parson and the Songmen, Mike explores Sabine's second autobiography 'Further Reminiscences'. In the book he discovers a song that seems to have , astonishingly, escaped Baring-Gould's keen censor...
S3 4 Poptastic!
Firstly, Many Happy Returns to The Parson And The Songmen as it celebrates its Second Birthday with its Fiftieth Episode!In this special episode Mike tells the story of how a song collected by The Reverend Sab...
S3 3 A Garland Of Country Song
The songs published in Songs From The West by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould were wholly collected, or particular to, Devon and Cornwall. But what to do with the songs sent to him from other parts of England and beyond?Sabine never dis...
S3 2 No Sleep 'Til....Barnstaple
The publication of folk songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould in Devon and Cornwall made them accessible to the general public, but left Sabine wondering just how he could reach an even wider audience?His answer was to get ...
S3 1 Spring Is In The Air!
Spring has arrived here in North Devon, and it would seem to have had quite an effect on Mike who is full of vim and vigour ( or possibly something stronger...)In this first episode of the the third series of The Parson and the Songmen w...
S2 25 Songs From Series Two
Hardly seems a year since the last compilation of music from the first series. But yer us be! Season Two is now complete and we'll finish off in viddy style with the now customary(!) selection of songs from the shows. Geddon Boy!Here is ...
S2 24 April Fool (Far From It Actually!)
Well, we've missed All Fool's Day by a day, but let's celebrate this custom anyway. In this podcast Mike takes a look into its origins and tells some stories about one of Cornwall's great historical pranksters, as recorded by The Reverend Sabin...
S2 23 One Of A Kind!
Recently, Mike went to visit the force of nature that is Moe Keast at her home in Bodmin, Cornwall. Moe is a traditional singer and storyteller and has been a regular at Bodmin Folk Club, with a short break for bringing up children, almost sinc...
S2 22 Gool Peran Lowen!
Gool Peran Lowen! Or for those whose Cornish may be a little rusty, Happy St Piran's Day!St Piran is generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall and the 5th March is St Piran's Day which is celebrated in Cornwall in much the same ...
S2 21 John Wesley Gave Us A Voice
In this episode of The Parson and the Songmen, Mike investigates the possibility of missing Cornish folk songs. Is there a religious connection and will he solve the case?
S2 20 The Children of Arganteilin (The Story Of The Harp In Cornwall)
Recently, Mike went to visit Barbara Griggs for a chat about the place of the harp in Cornish music. What you are about to listen to is a fascinating podcast, brought to life by the engaging, informative, and witty explanations from Barbara.
