A six-musician ensemble from the Abolition Song and Its Legacies project brings to life rarely heard British anti-slavery songs from 1787 to the 1830s, interwoven with readings from eighteenth-century Black writers.
Alongside works by Ignatius Sancho and modern arrangements of 18th-century pieces, this repertoire also reflects the often-overlooked influence of the women who were vital as composers, writers, organisers, and cultural leaders within abolitionist networks.
Through music and words, audiences encounter histories of protest and collaboration, culminating in an open discussion inviting reflection on legacy, memory, and the enduring struggle for justice today.
This concert will last around an hour and a half. A bar will be available.
The ASaiL Collective was formed in late 2024 by researchers at the Guildhall School through an open call. Participants were chosen by Principal Investigator Dr Berta Joncus, Artistic Director Joseph McHardy, and Workshop Lead Tim Parker-Langston. Three of the Collective’s members (Daniel Lee Chappell, Nathaniel Mander, Yihan Zhao) are mainly keyboardists, and three (Biraj Barkakaty, Shafali Jalota, El Rashid) are mainly vocalists. Daniel, Nathaniel, and El are also composers.
Having performed together at last year’s three ASaiL concerts at Handel Hendrix House, the members of the Collective are well-acquainted with both the repertoire and each other. Diverse in background and artistic direction, these musicians work together with a strong mutual respect, a lively exchange of ideas, and a shared excitement in discovery.
Abrams, Harriet, ‘The White Man’; words by Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, from a Bambara women’s spinning song, trans. Mungo Park (1799)
Arnold, Samuel, ‘Ah, will no change of clime’, from Inkle and Yarico; words by George Colman the Younger (1787); ‘Simplicity, thou fav’rite Child’, from Inkle and Yarico; words by George Colman the Younger (1787)
Billings, William, ‘Africa’, with melodies by Sawney Freeman; words by Isaac Watts Butler, Thomas Hamly, arranged Daniel Lee Chappell (2025); ‘The Hapless Negro Boy’; words by ‘Meddyg Du’ [‘Black Doctor’, Welsh pseud. David Samwell] (c.1792)
Dibdin, Charles, ‘The African’; words by James Currie and William Roscoe (1788)
Ferrari, Giacomo Gotifredo, ‘African Song’; words by Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, after Mandinka-language verse (1799)
Freeman, Sawney, ‘Solemnity’; words by Sarah Louisa Forten, arranged Daniel Lee Chappell (2025)
Mazzinghi, Joseph (attrib.), ‘Forc’d from home’; words by William Cowper
Miller, Edward, ‘The Negro Boy, Who was Sold by an African Prince for a Metal Watch’; words by ‘Meddyg Du’ (c1792)
Montagu, Laura, ‘The Poor White Man’; words by Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, after Mandinka-language verse (1806)
Ross, John, ‘The Mother‘ (1802)
Sancho, Ignatius, ‘Anacreon Ode XXIII’; words by Francis Fawkes; ‘How Dear is my Jenny to Me’ (1770)
Keyboard Music
Bologne, Joseph (Chevalier de Saint-Georges), Lamento in F minor; Sonata in G minor
Mander, Nathaniel, Variations on ‘Aria dell’ Affrica’, from an eighteenth-century manuscript in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek(2025)
Sancho, Ignatius, ‘Lady Mary Montagus Reel’, ‘The Royal Bishop’, ‘Lord Dalkeith’s Reel’ ‘Mungo’s Delight’ (all 1779)
Scarlatti, Domenico, Sonata in D major K.119 (1771)
Young, Philip, ‘Pepper-Pot’, ‘Massa Tommy’, ‘Guinea-Corn’, ‘Mate-O’, ‘Dolly Caboca’, ‘Jamaica Waltz’
Contrafacta
‘Forc’d from Home’, to the tune ‘Hosier’s Ghost’ [HWV 2286, erroneously attributed to Handel since 1754]; words by William Cowper, arranged Daniel Lee Chappell (2025)
‘Gramachree Molly with Variations for the Harpsichord’ (1787)
‘The Maid in Bedlam’ (arr. Joseph Haydn), to the tune ‘Gramachree’; words attributed to George Syron [‘an African in Bedlam’] (1787)
‘The Slave’s Lament’, to the c1710 playhouse tune ‘Ianthe’ [NB: tune source first identifiedby this project]; words by Robert Burns (1792), arranged El Rashid (2024)
‘ The Sorrows of Yamba’, to the tune ‘Hosier’s Ghost’; words by Hannah More, arranged Daniel Lee Chappell (2025)
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