Saffron Walden Arts Trust (SWAT) will host a talk by Edward Gildea this weekend on William Blake's 'Jerusalem'.
The talk, 'Why the music to "Jerusalem" is wrong', will take place at 7pm on Sunday, February 18 at Fairycroft House.
Edward will explore the background and significance of Blake's visionary poem, which was written in 1808, and how the music of Sir Hubert Parry in 1916 transformed it into a patriotic anthem.
The talk will include other extracts from Blake's poetry - taking the audience from disease-ridden 18th century London to the outer reaches of the universe.
William Blake (1757 - 1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker, whose work went largely unrecognised during his lifetime.
He is now considered a seminal figure in the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age.
Edward Gildea is a former teacher and now Essex-based adventurer, who became a passionate environmental activist as a result of sailing around the world and mountaineering.
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In addition to being a 'guerrilla planter' of snowdrops, primroses and daffodils, he is now standing as the Green Party parliamentary candidate.
The talk is free for SWAT members and £5 for non-members, and tickets will be available on the door.
Saffron Walden Arts Trust is an umbrella organisation which coordinates and promotes artistic enterprises of all kinds in the area.
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