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DARWIN SONGS March 27th 2009 BBC Radio 4
Eight top folk singers from Britain and the USA are holed up for 7 days in a remote Shropshire farmhouse at the invitation of the Shrewsbury Folk Festival. Their task: to write new songs inspired by the life and work of the eminent naturalist Charles Darwin in time for a public concert at the new Theatre Severn, just a stone's throw from where Darwin was born 200 years ago. Chris Eldon Lee follows the evolution of the Darwin Songs from origination to fruition.
Contributors include musicians: Rachel MacShane of Bellowhead, Stu Hanna of Megson, Emily Smith, Chris Wood, Mark Erelli, Krista Detor, Karine Polwart and Jez Lowe.
Randall Keynes - great, great, grandson of Charles Darwin
Jon King - director, Shrewsbury Darwin Festival
Producer Chris Eldon Lee
Executive Producer Mukti Jain Campion
Radio choice: The Daily Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian
A CD of the Darwin Songs is now available