A Dales Chorus

John Dawson’s family have farmed sheep and cattle at Bleak Bank Farm in the Yorkshire Dales for more than a hundred years. They’re at the heart of a very strong farming culture that spreads right across the Dales and when a local choir wanted to commission a new piece of music to mark their 40th anniversary, they decided it was a no-brainer that it should be about the area’s farming heritage and, just as important, future.

Caz Graham visits John’s upland farm, below Ingleborough, one of Yorkshire’s three peaks, to hear the story behind A Shepherd’s Year, a new three-part choral work celebrating sheep farming in the Dales.

They’re joined by Margaret Coleman from Langcliffe Singers who commissioned the piece and recently performed it to a packed house accompanied by Settle Orchestra, and composer Vahan Salorian who grew up in the Dales before moving to London and pursuing a successful career composing opera, operetta and orchestral pieces. As research for the music, he visited the autumn sheep sales at Skipton Auction mart, chatted with John and his farming friends at Bleak Bank Farm and picked the brains of local school children.

The result is a joyous and moving piece of music that’s galvanised a community and leaves a permanent legacy to this rich farming culture.

Produced and presented by Caz Graham.

Concert recording by Janine Bebbington, Gorgeous Media