International Women’s Day (IWD)

Friday brings a fast folk song arranged by Imogen Holst. She spent a lot of time during WW2 cycling round the countryside encouraging people to sing to keep morale up. This would certainly have done that!

“My father gave me an acre of Land” arranged by Imogen Holst (1907 – 1984) from Twenty Traditional British Folk Songs 1968 for three unaccompanied equal voices. Rolf Gardiner gave Holst permission to reproduce the traditional tune and words, collected by H. Balfour Gardiner as sung by Mr. William Mason at Easton, near Winchester, in 1906.

You can find more information, music and a podcast about Imogen Holst here 

Electric Voice Theatre recorded this as part of our Winter Carols by Candlelight performance at Conway Hall, London. The voices are meant to be equal but with a bit of part sharing we felt it worked with one male and 2 female voices.

Winter Carols by Candlelight, Conway Hall, Dec 2026. Electric Voice Theatre Trio – Frances M Lynch, soprano; Amy Kearsley, mezzo; Gwion Thomas, baritone and BSL Interpreter Lauren Lister. Dan Evans Photography

My father gave me an acre of land,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
A bunch of green holly and ivy

I harrow’d it with a bramble bush

I sowed it with two prepping corns

I roll’d it with a rolling pin

I reap’d it with my little penknife

I stow’d it in a mouse’s hole

I thrash’d it out with two beanstalks

I sent my rats to market with that

My team o’ rats came rattling back,
With fifty bright guineas and an empty sack,
A bunch of green holly and ivy

 ELECTRIC VOICE THEATRE and all our partners and friends are celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) all week

Music & Science by Women
8th – 14th March 2026

New projects and recordings
and more
released online
on each day this week

 Start your day the EVT way!

Click here to go back to the calendar