Song Cycle 2018

A thousand-mile musical journey

First dreamed up by baritone David Jones while still a student, cycling through the streets of London, Song Cycle 2018 was a musical pilgrimage that marked the sixtieth anniversary of the death of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Travelling a thousand miles from John O' Groats to Land's End on his Brompton folding bike, David Jones gave performances of Vaughan Williams's Songs of Travel along the way, building an ever deeper connection with these timeless songs.

He passed through the Scottish landscapes that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson, the poet of Songs of Travel, as well as the English ones that were so dear to Vaughan Williams himself. In homage to the composer's expeditions into the countryside to collect folksongs, David paired the Songs of Travel with a selection of folksongs from along his chosen route.

Song Cycle raised awareness of the vital work of Yehudi Menuhin's charity Live Music Now, which works to bring live music to people that otherwise would not have access to it. A significant proportion of Live Music Now’s work is with older people in residential homes and those living with dementia, and David gave half of his Song Cycle performances in care homes. A collection for Live Music Now was made at all Song Cycle concerts, raising over £1000 for this life-changing work.

See video and photos from Song Cycle 2018