now playing: horn of the hunter

A series of songs and stories about fox hunting in contemporary England doesn't at first seem as though it'd really hold much of interest outside the dedicated worlds of hunting, animal rights, and ethnomusicology. And maybe British history.

As one listens to this recording, though, which is part of the BBC2 Radio Ballads series, it slowly becomes apparent that there's a broader possibility here. Horn of the Hunter is a way of looking at people facing the unsettling nature of change, of facing many viewpoints on one subject, all of which make some sort of sense, depending on where you stand, and what you understand.

Martin Simpson, Jez Lowe, John Tams, and Bob Fox are among the musicians involved in this episode of the series. There'll be more on other aspects of the series here later, and there's a bit about one of the other programs below in a post about Northern Ireland, as well.