Paul Sartin (20 February 1971 – 14 September 2022) was an English singer, instrumentalist, composer and arranger, specialising in

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

. He was best known for his work with the folk band

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical styl ...

, but also played with three-piece Faustus and the folk/comedy duo

Belshazzar's Feast Belshazzar's feast, or the story of the writing on the wall (chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel), tells how Belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the First Temple. A hand appears and ...

Early life

Sartin was brought up in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

, London. He was educated at Anson Primary School,

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...

, on an assisted place, and subsequently moved to the

Purcell School The Purcell School for Young Musicians is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal i ...

for Young Musicians, again on an assisted place from Brent music service. Between school and university, he played oboe with a musical theatre troupe called Gloria, and the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

's Baylis project. He then took up a choral scholarship at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

, where he gained a 2:1 in music.

Career

Upon leaving Oxford University, Sartin sang as a

lay clerk A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in an Anglican cathedral and often Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK, or (occasionally) collegiate choir in Britain and Ireland. The vicars chora ...

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dual r ...

, a post he held for five years. During that period, he gained a diploma – Licentiate of the

Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

– and was invited to join the band Life Of Reilly, which at that time also included his future collaborator Paul Hutchinson. However, in 1995 they left to form the duo

The duo began performing for ceilidhs and

social dance Social dances are dances that have a social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, competiti ...

s, but grew a concert repertoire and a reputation for musical comedy. In 1998, he formed the folk band Dr Faustus, with

Tim van Eyken Tim van Eyken (born 7 March 1978) is an English guitarist and melodeon player of Belgian descent. Career Van Eyken first started playing penny whistle after seeing James Galway on television. He graduated to playing for his mother, then a memb ...

Benji Kirkpatrick Benji Kirkpatrick (born 1976) is an English folk singer and musician, who plays guitar, bouzouki, mandolin and tenor banjo. A son of folk musicians John Kirkpatrick and Sue Harris, he was brought up in Shropshire. Previously a member of Bello ...

and Robert Harbron, with the intention of playing English folk music. The band undertook outreach work with charities

Superact Superact is a not for profit arts organization based in Taunton, Somerset. Formed in 2006, Superact runs a number of community orientated projects focused on art, music and innovation. Superact is responsible for the running of the nationwide pro ...

and

Live Music Now Live Music Now is a charity working and campaigning to create inclusive, measurable social impact through music. Live Music Now works with special educational needs providers and care homes to provide live music participation to those living in ...

, and produced two albums – ''The First Cut'' and ''Wager'' – before splitting in 2005. He took up a position as vocal tutor at

St Edward's School, Oxford St Edward's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'. Approximately sixty pupils live in each of its thirteen houses. The school is a member of the Rugby G ...

in 1999, commenced singing as deputy lay clerk in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

choir in 2000, and began directing the Andover Museum Loft Singers, a non-auditioning community choir based in

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basi ...

, in 2001. In 2004 John Spiers and

Jon Boden Jon Boden (born 17 March 1977) is a singer, composer and musician, best known as lead singer and main arranger of Bellowhead. His first instrument is the fiddle and he is a proponent of "English traditional fiddle style" and also of "fiddle s ...

invited Sartin and Kirkpatrick to join their new 11-piece band

. The band, with Sartin on

and backing vocals, released one EP and five studio albums over their 12-year duration. Two of those albums went silver. They were nominated and won many

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British ra ...

over the years, including Best Live Act on five occasions. Their music was playlisted on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, they made appearances on '' Later... with Jools Holland'' on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

, and appeared at festivals all around the UK, continental Europe and Canada, as well as touring regularly. Bellowhead ended in Spring 2016. Sartin achieved a distinction in his master's degree in Traditional Music in 2005, from

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...

, where he became a visiting tutor. Faustus, a continuation of Dr Faustus which combined Sartin and Kirkpatrick with

Saul Rose Saul Rose (born 1973) is an English folk melodeon player and singer. Biography Born in Harrow, he first picked up the melodeon after breaking his leg at the age of eleven and was taught his first tunes by his father. After entering the BBC ...

, was formed in 2006. The band produced an album, ''Faustus'' in 2008, had a hiatus during 2010–11, and made their second album ''Broken Down Gentlemen'' in 2013. In Faustus Sartin shared lead vocals alongside his oboe, cor anglais, and violin duties. All three members received

English Folk Dance and Song Society The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...

75th anniversary awards in 2007, to commemorate their significant contributions to the development and continuity of traditional English folk music, song and dance. Faustus were nominated for Best Group at the 2009

. In 2010 Sartin joined

and the Remnant Kings, with whom he toured occasionally. Belshazzar's Feast also received a nomination for Best Duo at the 2010

. ''The Bellowhead Songbook'', edited by Sartin, was published by

Faber Music Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications. Faber Music has close relations to ...

and issued in 2014. ''Made In The Great War'', a piece devised around the history of a pre-war violin in Sam Sweeney's possession, toured annually for several years from 2014. Sartin played oboe, cor anglais and violin in the work. He also composed, notably numerous works for theatre. Works include ''The Hartlepool Monkey'' for Streetwise Opera, nominated for a BASCA award; a revamp of Peter Bellamy's ''The Transports'' for

Sidmouth Folk Festival There has been a folk festival in the coastal town of Sidmouth in South West England in the first week of August every year since 1955, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to over 700 diverse events. Sidmouth Folk Festival offers a wide r ...

in 2011; ''Changing Places… or What Dobbin Saw'' for Broadstairs Folk Festival; and ''The Seven Joys of Mary'' for the Choir of Somerville College, Oxford.

Post-Bellowhead

Sartin compiled, composed and produced ''Community Choirs: Folk'' for Faber Music in 2016. Faustus released a third album, ''Death and Other Animals'', in Autumn 2016. He was musical director, arranger and performer in a revised production of ''

The Transports ''The Transports'' is a folk ballad opera written by Peter Bellamy released by Free Reed Records in 1977. It is often cited as Bellamy's greatest achievement. It featured many artists from the 1970s English folk revival, including The Waterso ...

'', which toured in 2017. He was the co-founder of the Whitchurch Folk Club where he helped to further knowledge of the songs of Henry Lee, collected by George Gardiner. Sartin died suddenly of a heart attack on 14 September 2022 at the age of 51, as confirmed by a statement put out by his family on 15 September. A subsequent statement, on 18 September, stated that he collapsed suddenly prior to taking the stage at an engagement in Oxford. He was in the company of his bandmate,

, at the time.

Broadcasting

Sartin hosted

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

's Christmas session, broadcast in 2009, which featured Bellowhead and Belshazzar's Feast alongside

Jim Moray Jim Moray (born 1981) is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Recording artist While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded ''I Am Jim Moray'' EP. During ...

, The Unthanks,

Thea Gilmore Thea Eve Gilmore (born 25 November 1979), also known as Afterlight, is an English singer-songwriter. She has released more than twenty albums since her 1998 debut '' Burning Dorothy''. She has had three Top 40 entries on the UK Albums Chart and ...

and

Lisa Knapp Lisa Knapp (born 1974 in Balham), is an English folk singer, songwriter, fiddle player and multi-instrumentalist. Her singing voice has been described as "crystal clear" and reminiscent of Anne Briggs or Jeannie Robertson. Two of her three album ...

. He has also appeared on

's ''

Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, is the current president of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and formerly presented the ...

Show'' and

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...

's ''In Tune'' and ''The Choir''. In 2016 he appeared on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

's ''Playing The Skyline'', composing and playing music based on a view of Oxfordshire. In August 2022 he talked about Vaughan Williams's relationship to English folk music on BBC Radio 4's Front Row.

Awards and nominations

At BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

The

are an annual awards ceremony held to celebrate achievement among folk artists that year. , - , rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;", 2014 , rowspan="1", as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2013 , rowspan="1", as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , rowspan="1", Broadside (as part of Bellowhead) , Best Album , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2012 , rowspan="2", as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;", 2011 , - , rowspan="2", as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , Hedonism (as part of Bellowhead) , Best Album , , - , New York Girls (as part of Bellowhead) , Best Traditional Track , , - , rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;", 2010 , rowspan="2" , as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , rowspan="1", as Belshazzar's Feast , Best Duo , , - , rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;", 2009 , rowspan="2", as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , Fakenham Fair (as part of Bellowhead) , Best Traditional Track , , - , rowspan="1", as Faustus , Best Group , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2008 , rowspan="2", as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2007 , rowspan="2" , as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2006 , rowspan="2" , as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2005 , rowspan="2" , as part of Bellowhead , Best Group , , - , Best Live Act , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2004 , rowspan="2" , as part of Dr Faustus , Horizon Award for Best New Act , , -

Other awards

In 2007 Sartin, as part of Faustus, received an

75th anniversary award to commemorate a significant contribution to the development and continuity of traditional English folk music, song and dance. Bellowhead's Hedonism, featuring Sartin, won Best Album in the FRoots Magazine Critic's Poll in 2010. In 2011 Sartin's composition The Hartlepool Monkey for Streetwise Opera was nominated for a BASCA award. 2022 Paul Sartin was awarded the Fatea Lifetime Achievement Award.

Selected discography

2019 ''Cotton Lords EP'' Faustus (Westpark 87381)
2016 ''Death and Other Animals'' Faustus (Westpark B01KYUOR3G)
2016 ''Live: The Farewell Tour'' Bellowhead (Navigator B01BILZ0G8)
2014 ''Revival'' Bellowhead (Universal/Island B00JSHKGOG)
2014 ''The Whiting's On The Wall'' Belshazzar's Feast (Unearthed B00ISKT5NM)
2013 ''Broken Down Gentlemen'' Faustus (Navigator B00AWKW13C)
2012 ''Broadside'' Bellowhead, (Navigator B0085KAMOQ)
2012 ''Stocking Fillers'' Belshazzar's Feast, (Unearthed B008YBADAO)
2010 ''Hedonism'' Bellowhead, (Navigator 042)
2010 ''Find the Lady'' Belshazzar's Feast, (Unearthed TPLP1080CD)
2009 ''Frost Bites'' Belshazzar's Feast (WildGoose 366 CD)
2008 ''The Food of Love'' Belshazzar's Feast, (WildGoose 353CD)
2007 ''Faustus'' Faustus, (Navigator 5)
2007 ''Matachin'' Bellowhead, (Navigator 17X)
2006 ''Live at Christ Church'' Dublin Cathedral Choir
2006 ''Burlesque'' Bellowhead, (Westpark 87132)
2005 ''Wager'' Dr Faustus, (Fellside FTCD189)
2004 ''Eponymous'' Bellowhead, (Megaphone 111)
2004 ''Waiting for Angels'' Martin Carthy, (Topic TSCD527)
2003 ''The First Cut'' Dr Faustus (Fellside B0000C666X) 1998 ''Foot and Mouth'' Dansaul (Dansaul ds01)

Notable publications

*2016 ''Community Choirs Folk'' (Faber Music, ) *2014 ''Bellowhead songbook'' (Faber Music, ) *2006 ''Hampshire Dance Tunes'' (Hobgoblin, ) *2001 ''Mr Kynaston's Famous Dance'' (Wild Goose, , )

References

External links

Paul Sartin websiteOfficial Faustus websiteOfficial Belshazzar's Feast website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sartin, Paul 1971 births 2022 deaths English folk musicians English composers People educated at Highgate School People educated at Purcell School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford People from Willesden English oboists Male oboists English violinists English folk singers 21st-century British singers 21st-century violinists 21st-century British male singers Bellowhead members Faustus (band) members