Songs of Guernsey, Ancient and Authentic

NPR | By Sheilah Kast

Published July 10, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

Eight centuries ago, the residents of an island just off the Normandy coast of France pledged their allegiance to the British Crown.

But for the people of Guernsey, "allegiance" certainly didn't mean giving up a colorful and vivid cultural identity.

To this day, islanders remain proud and fiercely independent, and they have kept alive a unique local language, Guernesiais.

A new CD of ancient songs from the Isle of Guernsey has been released by the Harp Consort: Les Travailleurs de la Mer. Director Andrew Lawrence-King, a native of Guernsey, talks about the project, subtitled "Ancient Songs from a Small Island."

Sheilah Kast

Sheilah Kast joined NPR in November 2003 as the weekend newscaster for "PBS/NPR Newsbrief," the hourly 30-second television news reports produced by NPR for PBS stations.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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