Ken Russell’s knowledge of English folk music is rooted in music written by some of his favorite composers. The melodies of Ralph Vaughn Williams, Percy Grainger and Frederick Delius all owe a debt to the folk tradition. And recently, after decades of suppressed existence in the form of re-imported ‘Country and Western,’ the New Age has brought a renaissance to the folk culture of England.

That nation’s authentic music is once again making its mark in a more eco-conscious and irreverent generation. Russell’s turns out to be a mystic journey: from a village in the New Forest, Hampshire, to Fairport Convention’s festival at Cropredy and on to Glastonbury, taking in a colorful collection of musicians and enthusiasts in an attempt to extract the essence of England’s music from its more popular fusion with the spirit of the Celtic and New Worlds.

Written, Presented and Directed by Ken Russell