about this event
The English composer, folk song collector and country dancer George Butterworth – composer of On The Banks Of Green Willow – was killed in 1916 at Pozières, France during the Battle of the Somme aged just 31. In the chaos of war Butterworth was buried where he fell and his remains were never subsequently identified.
This super film takes in Butterworth's involvement in the pre-World War One folk revival, in which he worked closely with his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams who features throughout the film via his letters and diaries. Butterworth collected many folk songs around Godalming, Billingshurst and Horsham in the years before 1914, and this vital phase of his life is covered in depth. It follows Butterworth's rise as the most promising young composer of his generation all the way to his tragic early demise on the frontline of the Somme in a moving finale.
Included are exclusive new live performances of Butterworth's A.E. Housman song settings by star vocalist Roderick Williams. Many traditional singers and musicians are also featured in the film including Peta Webb, Fay Hield, Laura Smyth and Ted Kemp, Walter Pardon, The Coppers, The Wilsons, May Bradley, William Kimber and Horsham's own Gordon Hall.
Director Stewart Morgan Hajdukiewicz will be here to introduce the screening and hold a Q&A afterwards.