Francis James Child (1825-1896) was Harvard's first professor of English. After Chaucer and the Elizabethan playwrights, he turned his attention to folk song, with the intention of seeking out "every valuable copy of every known ballad." The result was the five volumes of English and Scottish Popular Song published between 1882 and 1898. Child traced down songs and variants organized them by subject and researched parallel songs in many languages from all over Europe. His numbering system has been used by collectors and commentators on both sides of the pond ever since and the 300-plus songs are the basic repertoire of English and American narrative song. Some of the songs are as old as pre-Christian Europe, and they remain contemporary, as versions by Joan Baez, Paul Simon, Fairport Convention and countless others have shown. Magic, murder, passion and great poetry abound in these timeless songs. Join Chico Schwall and friends for new interpretations of some eternal classics.

Join us for Dinners At Six before the show!

Thank you to our sponsors, The Eye Center and King Estate for this concert.