I think Dave Hanson is being a bit unfair to Kathleen Ferrier. I just heard her version again last week, part of a film soundtrack. Neither the accompaniment nor the trained, operatic voice take away in the least from the clarity of the words and the expression of the sentiments of the lyrics. If half the singers in folk clubs could deliver a song like this (and I'm not talking about voice quality), life would be a lot richer!

Ross