Hyperion Records

Nothing is known of the origins of the Three Folk Dances, which Boughton composed in 1911. The likelihood is that they were written at the suggestion of John Curwen, who published the full score and parts the following year. They thus anticipate Holst’s St Paul’s Suite by two years and Warlock’s Capriol Suite by sixteen – with both of which they have much in common.

Boughton’s interest in folk music had first found an outlet in 1905 in a series of elaborate Choral Variations where his approach had been less that of a musical archaeologist than a believer in the authority of pure melody. That faith underpinned all his music, however complex its form and expression. Accordingly, the melodies of the Folk Dances are allowed to speak for themselves, even though the settings are subtle and imaginative. No actual ‘first’ performance has been recorded – unobtrusively, the work simply entered the repertoire of string orchestras, professional and amateur alike.

from notes by Michael Hurd © 2000