23 - 29 June 2025 - Broad Chalke, Salisbury
Included
Murder ballads have been around since at least the Middle Ages. Used to transmit news, offer cautionary tales, or sate the human appetite for grisly deeds, they offer a fascinating look into shifting attitudes towards crime, punishment and retribution. Join historical novelist Lucy Ribchester, author of the 18th century-set novel Murder Ballad, and storyteller and folk musician Ailsa Dixon, for a dark and winding tour through the history of British murder ballads, using music and words to bring to life some of the most notable and notorious examples of the genre. From ancient, shape-shifting oral tales, such as The Twa Sisters, with its many variants, to Edinburgh’s 18th-century execution ballads, come and celebrate and shudder at this macabre form of musical memento mori.
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