FOLK group Boldwood turned to Oxford’s world-famous Bodleian Library and Ashmolean Museum in their hunt for new music to perform.

The four-piece band is renowned for reviving neglected musical gems from hand-written manuscripts and little-known publications from the 17th and 18th centuries.

And their work over the summer on new material brought them to Oxford for tunes from a book held in the Bodleian and a fan in the Ashmolean inscribed with music and dance steps.

Their arrangements of the pieces has been winning them rave reviews nationwide on their autumn tour and now Oxfordshire music lovers have the chance to see them perform when they open the new season of Folk at the Unicorn concerts at the Unicorn Theatre, Checker Walk, Abingdon, on Saturday, November 2.

All classically trained, the group is made up of Becky Price on accordion, Daniel Wolverson playing fiddle and viola, Matthew Coatsworth on fiddle, viola, English concertina and Kate Moran on fiddle and viola.

Matthew, one of the three fiddle players in the group, said: “Folk at the Unicorn has a great reputation for putting on some of the most exciting folk music around, and we are honoured to have been asked to open their latest season.

“Boldwood has been working on new material over the summer, including some fabulous tunes from a tiny book published in 1813, and held in the Bodleian Library.

“We will also be performing material from a fan held in the Ashmolean Museum — the fan includes the music and dance steps for the most popular dances of the year 1789.

“As well as being a beautiful object, it is a fascinating snapshot of society life. We like to think of the fans as being the Now That's What I Call Music collections of the 18th century.'

Folk at the Unicorn promoter Jenny Semmence said: “We first met Boldwood at the first Folk Weekend: Oxford and were totally blown away by their spellbinding performance. We're very excited to be welcoming them as the opening act to our third year season.”

In 18th-century England, the worlds of folk and classical music happily co-existed, inspiring each other to produce rich and fascinating instrumental music, and providing Boldwood with the core of its repertoire.

Jenny said: “Much of Boldwood's material is taken from little-known publications and handwritten manuscripts, all of which could end up sounding rather dry and academic.

Boldwood, however, is anything but, being described by Blast from the Past as ‘the most exciting band playing English music at the moment’.

“All the members of Boldwood are classically trained, with an additional grounding in traditional music and, since much of this material was originally intended for dancing, they bring these neglected musical gems to life with a tremendous energy and drive.

“Their debut album, Feet, Don’t Fail Me Now, which was released in 2007 to great acclaim, includes many previously unrecorded tunes.”

Boldwood is well known for leading workshops with musicians and dancers. The group is involved in the Playford Liberation Front project with Paul Hutchinson and Paul James, including weekends at Halsway Manor, the National Centre for Folk Arts in Somerset.

Tickets are £10 in advance from the Folk at the Unicorn box office: www.folkattheunicorn.co.uk/box_ office_10.html, Remade Guitars, Coxeter House, Abingdon, WeGotTickets or SeeTickets and £12 on the door. The doors for the gig open at 7.30pm. The performance runs from 8pm to 10pm with an interval.