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
44 episodes
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...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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15:19
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 ...
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15:27
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?
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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12:41
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.
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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36:52
S2 19 Another Round In The Falcon Inn
In this episode of The Parson and the Songmen we join The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould and Freddie Bussell for two songs they collected from Samuel Gilbert, landlord of the Falcon Inn at St Mawgan (or Lanherne in the Cornish language). The two ...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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13:12
S2 18 Our Jolly Wassail!
A Happy New Year To You All! Join Mike in this first podcast of 2025 for the 18th episode of the second series of The Parson and the Songmen. This time around Mr Bosworth looks into the tradition of wassailing, which can involve drinki...
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12:52
S2 17 (Return Of The) Bumper Festive Edition
Happy Christmas! In this episode we join Mike on a road trip around Cornwall to look into the surprising history of carols and their place in the church. If that wasn't enough Mike also delves into the mysterious world of 'the little folk' or p...
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21:48
S2 16 Retying The Celtic Knot
As we near the end of the centenary year of the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould's death, Mike ponders why the folksong collectors who came after him did not pursue the idea that many of the songs and tunes of Devon and Cornwall had celtic roots? W...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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18:41
S2 15 A Little Trip To Northern Ireland
Sam Henry was a folk song collector in Northern Ireland who Mike discovered after researching a song from Cornwall for this latest podcast. Digging deeper, Mike wondered if Sam had read Sabine's 'Songs From The West' and taken inspiration?F...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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14:11
S2 14 Flora, Lily Of The West
But, we ask ourselves - Who is Flora and where exactly does she come from? Could she be from Cornwall? Is she from Devon? And where exactly is West? Confused? Well you had better listen in to this latest edition of The Parson ...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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12:57
S2 13 You Shall Not Pass
In this episode we continue to explore the idea that the music of Cornwall and Devon came from a common source, and that the arrival of the Saxons did not mean that the link between the two areas, and their shared celtic connections, were sever...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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10:01
S2 12 Wherever Celtic Blood Flows: Extended Edition
If you would like to find out more about the history of music and culture in Cornwall and Devon then this extended edition allows Mike O'Connor the opportunity to expand on the ideas that he put forward in the S2 11 podcast.***Please No...
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24:45
S2 11 Wherever Celtic Blood Flows
Back in Series One in episodes 11 and 12 we explored Baring-Gould's idea that some of the songs and tunes from Devon and Cornwall were somehow different from those found to the east and whether the Celtic blood of the area had had an i...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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16:26
S2 10 Streams and Rivers
In this episode we link an old Cornish song with a legend that tells of how three of our local rivers might have come into being! Intrigued? Well find out more now in the latest podcast of The Parson and the Songmen.
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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14:58
S2 9 Two Widows, Three Knights, Nine Brave Boys
In musical circles in late Victorian times the question was often asked as to whether England had any traditional folk songs? The answer, thankfully, was "Yes!" But, it took Sabine Baring-Gould and other folk song collectors of that era to real...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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11:50
S2 8 The Parson's Apprentice
In the very early 1900s someone 'knocked on the door' of Lew Trenchard Manor to ask The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould for advice as to how to go about collecting folk songs. This gentleman was taken under the Parson's wing, and later would becom...
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16:15
S2 7 Drinking Songs Are Not Folk Songs... Discuss.
In this episode we explore the origins of two songs from Cornish songmen which have a common theme... drink! These were destined for Sabine's 'Songs Of The West', but were dropped by another well-known folk song collector who had been given edi...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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16:11
S2 6 Mr Edmund Fry: Thatcher, Singer, Songman.
This episode brings you the story of Edmund Fry, who moved from Cornwall to Lydford in Devon, just six miles from Sabine Baring-Gould's home. Edmund provided Sabine with several songs that he may never have collected on his song collecting trip...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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16:32
S2 5 Where There's A Mine...
Join us in this latest episode of The Parson And The Songmen as we explore Cornwall's mining heritage and how some of the songs collected by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould could may well have made it into Cornwall with miners returning to The...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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14:58
S2 4 Travelling By Steam
We join Sabine and Freddie Bussell as they take a train trip to Fowey, situated on the South Cornish coast. But will their song-collecting excursion be profitable? Find out now in the fourth episode in the second series of The Parson And The So...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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16:15
S2 3 From The Manor House To The Pub
In this episode we join Sabine on a further song collecting trip into Cornwall, this time to St Mawgan, situated a few miles south of Padstow on the North Coast of the County. Here he visited a pub with a reputation for hosting singers, The Fal...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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17:02
S2 2 Flora Day
Welcome to the second episode of the second series of The Parson and the Songmen. In this series we follow the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould on further folk song collecting trips, not this time in Devon, but in neighbouring Cornwall. In this epi...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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11:34
S2 1 Oss Oss Wee Oss!
Welcome to Series Two of the Parson and the Songmen where we will follow the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould into Cornwall on a new series of folksong collecting trips. This episode focuses on the age-old tradition of welcoming in the spring...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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19:08
