This is the second in a series of four albums recording all 80 of the folk songs in English that Ralph Vaughan Williams arranged for voice and piano or violin.  57 of the 80 songs have not previously been recorded in these arrangements.

This second album has 19 tracks including 15 world premières. It includes Folk Songs collected from the Southern Appalachian Mountains by Maud Karpeles and Cecil Sharp in 1916-1918, arranged by Vaughan Williams with piano accompaniment in about 1938.  Additionally, there are two English Folk Songs for Voice and Violin. A miscellany of English folk songs includes ‘I Will Give my Love an Apple’ and concludes with a 'Farmyard Song' which is difficult to perform without collapsing in laughter. Once again, though Vaughan Williams is well known as a collector of folk songs, his own collection by no means predominates.

Praised by Opera for her "dramatic wit and vocal control", British soprano Mary Bevan is internationally renowned in baroque, classical and contemporary repertoire, and appears regularly with leading conductors, orchestras and ensembles around the world.

Opera singer Nicky Spence is one of Scotland's proudest sons and his unique skills as a singing actor and the rare honesty of his musicianship are steadfastly earning him a place at the top of the classical music profession.

Roderick Williams is one of this country's most sought after baritones and is constantly in demand, encompassing a repertoire from the baroque to world premières. In 2016 he won the Royal Philharmonic Society's Singer of the Year award.

Violinist Thomas Gould (leader of Britten Sinfonia) has fast established for himself a reputation as one of Britain’s foremost interpreters of contemporary music whilst also remaining dedicated to the core classical repertoire.

A multiple-prize winning and critically acclaimed conductor and accompanist, William Vann is equally at home on the podium or at the piano and is the founder and Artistic Director of the London English Song Festival.

Tracklisting:
1. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: The Rich Old Lady
2. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: The Tree in the Wood
3. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor
4. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: The Lovers’ Tasks
5. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: John Randolph
6. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: Fair Margaret and Sweet William
7. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: Barbara Ellen
8. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: The House Carpenter
9. Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains: The Twelve Apostles
10. Two English Folk Songs for Voice and Violin: Searching for Lambs
11. Two English Folk Songs for Voice and Violin: The Lawyer
12. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: Down by the Riverside
13. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: I will give my Love an Apple
14. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: The Carter
15. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: The Painful Plough
16. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: My Boy Billy
17. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: The Fox
18. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: The Female Highwayman
19. A Selection of Collected Folk Songs Volume 1: Farmyard Song