Sedbergh Town Twinning
Slovenian singing group visits Sedbergh, May 2005

For weeks everyone had been asking “When are the Slovenians coming to Sedbergh?” But after the Slovene-Sedbergh Singing Weekend in the middle of May, most people knew the answer - they've already arrived.

The “Ljudski Pevci iz Stranic” prepare to deliver a song at Oakdene.

And in case you hadn't realised, the four burly farmers in rabbit skin hats and immaculate suits walking the streets of Sedbergh were singers from our twin town of Zreče - a folk group called Ljudski Pevci iz Stranic, which every Slovene scholar knows translates as "Folk Singers from Stranic" - a small hamlet just outside Zreče town. None of them spoke English - but they were accompanied by Igor Cvetko, an ethnomusicologist from Ljubljana who used to teach at a special school in England.

I met Igor when I was in Ljubljana researching arrangements of folk songs to teach to my Sedbergh singing group. When I asked him if he had any songs from the Zreče region, he not only showed me the book - he gave it to me to keep! So on his reccommendation I went back to Zreče , and invited singers he had collected songs from to come to Sedbergh and sing them for us.

The Ljudski Pevci iz Stranic have been singing all their lives - in Anton Roser's case: 75 years. They specialise in the songs of Juri Vodovnik, the celebrated bard of Zreče whose grave is a famous attraction in Skomarje, where the Cautley Carollers sang at Easter. Not speaking English could have been a problem in many other parts of the world.

But not for the good hearted people of Sedbergh. On their visit to buy souvenirs from This and That in Sedbergh High Street, Ivan got into conversation with Vivian who owns the shop. They talked at length for about 15 minutes, and afterwards parted as great friends. The extraordinary thing when watching them was that niether of them spoke the other's language but it didn't seem to stop them having a fine old natter anyway!

Other visits included singing to the boys and girls at Sedbergh Primary school - and then the children singing to them, and the whole school joining in a short song in Slovene, Mojsta Jaka. The Ljudski Pevci were particularly impressed with how well behaved the children were - though I suspect that some of it was just sheer astonishment!

Having led the primary school boys in a singing group for some months now in a project designed to get more men singing in furture years, these Slovene male voice singers made a good role model. At last Thursday's class there was a noticeable difference - the boys were able to sing in harmony with each other without it dissolving into a rugby scrum.

The Ljudski Pevci also had a nice encounter with Dennis Whicker, who roared up in his squad car and leapt out in full uniform to greet them. The lads were so terrified the fear was almost palpable. I had to repeat one of the few Slovene words I know (Prijatelj - friend) several times before they calmed down enough to recognise this was a welcome, not an arrest!

The “Ljudski Pevci iz Stranic” outside the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, in the Langdale Valley in the Lake District.

Then it was down to the folk session at the Middleton Head pub where they sang alongside the assembled folk musicians - with only a mild disturbance when the Slovene Ambassador and his entourage walked in and greeted his fellow countrymen with great excitement. But the abundance of spoken Slovene didn't trouble the singing of Ken Pope. Afterwards he said: "Oh it wasn't a problem, they all talk like that in Dentdale."

Many people in Sedbergh showed enormous kindness to them. George Handley opened half his home to them providing them with somewhere to stay during their visit. And as they wouldnt all fit in one car, David Collier drove down with me in his car to collect them from Liverpool airport - and return them for the early morning Monday flight. Sandra showed them round her chair repair shop and showed them the old clogs of Sedbergh - which inspired some songs about clogs from Zreče - and others drove them to singing venues.

I am sure most people feel the same way about visitors - that they help you appreciate what is familiar. So it was with our visiting Slovenes - everywhere I became aware of archetypes of English country life as if it had been laid on by the tourist board: cricket on the green, bell ringers in the bellfry, roast beef and yorkshire pudding for Sunday lunch.

Invited by Deryck Cox, they sang at the Sunday morning service at the Church with the Christians, and afterwards were greeted by the congegation who surprised them by having members who spoke both German and Slovene.

Other venues included a singing supper at Oakdene House, where Hillary Collier had kindly offered to host a Slovene meal with singing fromour friends, as part of the Cautley Flower festival concert organised by Judith Bush, and after teaching some of their songs to a group of about 30 singers: on a singing walk with stops for singing amongst the bluebells in the Elyssian Shades, on the banks of the rivers Rawthey and Dee, beside a waterfall, over Frostrow Fell, and outside the cottages of Millthrop where people sat on their doorsteps to hear them.

The weekend finsihed with the Slovenes singing alongside the Sedbergh Summers Singers and soloist Caroline Smith in a celebration of singing, international harmony and ... afternoon tea!

Igor Cvetko (ethnocologist from Ljubljana's Ethnographic Museum, Alan Pratt (Chairman of the Sedbergh Parish Council), Mrs.Dorothy Pratt, Alan's son Andrew and daugter in law Dorthe Pratt, Anton Roser (presenting a gift from Zreče and the three other “Ljudski Pevci iz Stranic”, Ivan, Dusan and Jose.

When Alan Pratt, as the chariman of the Parish Council, made a fine speech praising their singing and expressing his connection with them as a fellow farmer, they asked if they could see his farm - an experience which they talked about at great length afterwards.

People often say there is not just one, but several Sedberghs - referring to the different cultures who live alongside each other in our town. My experience is that as we find bridges between the differences with our Slovene friends, we also find bridges between the differences within our own society

And all of that helped by the metaphor of harmony singing - different voices coming together to celebrate diversity and create a whole which is richer than the sum of its parts.

lep pozdrav iz Sedbergh

David Burbidge