Here be Dragons presents Folk 201: Landings, the next instalment in its musical journey through world cultures following the hugely successful Folk 101.

Centred on the Age of Exploration, this programme follows Scandinavian voyagers toward Iceland and beyond, Spanish adventurers into the New World, Portuguese sailors crossing to Brazil, English settlers establishing communities in North America, and French explorers pushing into the continent’s northern frontiers. The music walks a conceptual tightrope between origin and destination, tradition and transformation, exploring where these melodies came from, where they travelled, and the cultural encounters that shaped them.

Performed on period instruments, this repertoire finds new context within a narrative woven from history, imagination, and re-creation. The ensemble features Joshua Frank (recorders, guitar), Annien Shaw (violin), Jan-Hendrik Harley (viola, mandolin, director), Rosamund Ender (cello, viola da gamba), and John Pringle (percussion).

The evening begins with a fair warning:
“To all lovers of music – there will be no dainty music played in this house. Here we draw our passions from soiled strings with lice-infested bows.”