Josienne Clarke has been hailed as the songwriter-poet of melancholy, as well as a thrilling interpreter of traditional song. In the wake of her acclaimed new album, Parenthesis, I, she is now stepping up to honour Sandy Denny – a singer with whom she has been compared – with a show that brings Denny’s music to a new generation.
“If I can take one young fan of mine and introduce them to Sandy, in a context that they can grab hold of,” she says. “If they like my music they will love Sandy. And that would be the whole concept sorted. To pass it on, so that these songs can go on forever.”
Songs like ‘An Old-Fashioned Waltz’, ‘Reynardine’, ‘Fotheringay’ and ‘The Sea’. “You’d be shot for not including ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’,” she adds. “And ‘Solo’ is a beautiful song, one that has personal resonance for me.”
Rather than a solo show, audiences can expect a folk-rock set-up of guitar, piano, bass and drums. “I want to be free to sing,” says Clarke, who usually accompanies herself on guitar. “It’ll be an ensemble to get all the textures and tones that you can get out of her music.”
Clarke describes Denny’s songs as her north star – a constant guiding light. “Look at how brilliant they are – and there are so many of them. And each one has gold in it.”
If any contemporary performer is set to extract that gold and fashion it anew, it is Josienne Clarke.
