Shipwrecks and Sea Shanties

The 2022 discovery of the HMS Gloucester (which sank in 1682, with James II among its few survivors), along with recent virality of sea shanties across the internet, inspires Repast’s homage to the music of the high seas. Sea shanties were a part of the everyday life for sailors and seafarers; they were as entertaining as they were practical, designed to help coordinate the crew as they performed everyday tasks such as hoisting sails, hauling anchor, and manning the pumps. On the other hand, naval songs celebrating the bravery of naval triumphs and romanticizing the mariner’s life, were as popular on land as at sea. Singing songs of jolly old England’s naval prowess, bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton joins Repast for a program of music by Locke, Purcell, Arne, and Dibdin.