|
|
Latest News and Comment |
contributed by Reg Hall - 26.8.08
The majority of the songs in the collection were originally collected by Wiltshire-born Alfred Williams - a somewhat neglected figure in the world of literature. He was born in South Marston in 1877, was a reasonable poet, an expert on the north Wiltshire countryside and the people who lived there and, for 22 years, a hammerman in the stamping shop of the Great Western Railway Works at Swindon. Leaving school at the age of 11 he taught himself several languages, including Sanskrit, whilst working at the factory machinery.
Apart from volumes of poetry and books on the Wiltshire countryside he published the well respected Life in a Railway Factory (1915), and Folk Songs of the Upper Thames (1923). The latter were collected between 1914, when he left the GWR through ill health, and 1916, when he volunteered for the army. He performed valuable work in collecting songs in an area that had been neglected by earlier folk song collectors.
As he wrote in the preface to his book, 'I had no time to obtain the tunes, my chief concern being to save the words before they had completely disappeared by reason of the death of the singers - chiefly the most aged of the villagers, male and female.' Williams lived most of his life in penury; an intellectual born into the wrong situation and at the wrong time. Although local friends raised money for him and his wife at various times he only received a Civil List pension shortly before his death. He and his wife Mary died with seven weeks of one another in 1930.
The song lyrics can be viewed online from September 6 at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/folk_search.php Chris Wildridge said: "The songs Alfred Williams collected are the first to be published online in their entirety. This is an important contribution to the traditional songs of England and I am pleased to have been instrumental in bringing it about. These songs are everybody's songs and they deserve to be in the public domain."
23.8.08
Singers and song collectors during the folk music revival in Britain in the 1960s, they set themselves the task of collecting songs from Irish Travellers camped around London. It was a job that would take them 30 years, and bring them into contact with a way of life they had never known existed. In that time they have amassed one of the most important collections of Irish Traveller singers in existence. And, in their work with Mikeen McCarthy in particular, they have documented a way of life now largely disappeared from Irish culture. McCarthy, a Kerry Traveller who left for England in the 1950s, was a singer, storyteller, tinsmith and wordsmith. His captivating voice in Episode 2 paints a picture of Traveller lives in a time when relations between Travellers and settled people seemed altogether easier than today.
This 3-part series (Saturdays 3.30 pm, 23 August to 6 Sept 2008) explores the Carroll / Mackenzie collection and also the lives of some of the singers who gave their songs and stories to the collectors. Come All You Loyal Travellers is a Rag and Bone Production for RTÉ Lyric FM, made with the support of the BCI's Sound and Vision Scheme. The series is produced by Paula Carroll and edited by Gráinne O' Malley and Tracy Moloney.
It will be streamed live and available for listen-back on the Lyric FM website. www.rte.ie/lyricfm/index.html
Paula Carroll - 23.8.08
Membership £1 annually, payable on the door. Admission for members £6, concessions £3.50, non-members £7, concessions £4.
11.8.08
Upcoming in 2009:
Further info at: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic
7.8.08
Singers: Jeff Wesley (Northants); John Greaves (North Yorkshire); Roger Hinchcliffe,Gordon Hoyland, Joe Atkins, George White, David Helliwell (All South Yorkshire); Members Of The Pennine Concert Party (Traditional Singers from the Holmfirth area); Finbarr Wall; Chris "Yorkie" Bartram; The Ullswater Singers (Cumberland); Ken Woolfenden; Amy O'Brien & Joan Clayton (Local Young Singing Champions); Jane Livingston; Fay Hield; William Noble & John Cocking; Bob Auty(West Yorkshire); Dick Hogan(Tipperary); Ron Kavanagh(Ireland)
Singers/Musicians: Jody Kruskal (Concertina, USA); Mike Hebbert (Concertina); Roger Digby; Dan Worrall (Concertina Historian, USA); Gavin Atkin; Andrew & Margaret Watchorn (Northumberland-small pipes & fiddle); Annie Dearman & Steve Harrison; Shay Fogarty (Concertina, Dublin); Tom Driscoll (Concertina, Clare); Alan Day (Concertina); David Levine (Flute, USA)
Craftspersons & Experts: Geoffrey Crabb & Henrik Muller(Concertina Makers); Dave Leese & Dave Prebble(Concertina Repairers); The Handsworth Sword Dancers; With: Sessions In Local Pubs, Talks on Traditional Music, Ceilidh In Village Hall with Ken Woolfenden and The Bracken Rigg Dance Band
Mark Davies - 26.7.08
Edeophone@aol.com
For full details visit www.carmelgunning.com
Friday September 26th
8:00pm - Reception and Official Opening
9.00pm - Singing Session featuring Invited Guests
Saturday September 27th
11:00am - Singing Workshops
2:00pm - Illustrated Talk “Frank Harte and Ballad Sheets” By John Moulden
3:30pm - Singing Session
8:30pm - Grand Concert with invited guests: Cran, (Ronan Browne, Dublin, Desi Wilkinson, Belfast, Sean Corcoran, Drogheda); Barry Gleeson, Dublin; Eoiní Maidhcí Ó Súilleabháin, Cúil Aodha; Roisín White, Down/Armagh; Elizabeth Stewart, Scotland; Seán Garvey, Kerry; Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne, Dublin; Alison MacMorland and Geordie McIntyre, Scotland; Sarah Anne O'Neill, Tyrone; Nell Ní Chroinín, Cúil Aodha.
Sunday September 28th
10:30pm - “The Invincibles, The Phoenix Park Incident and Pat O'Donnell and James Carey”. Field trip and presentation taking in The Phoenix Park, Kilmainham Jail and Glasnevin Cemetary By Jimmy McBride and Jerry O'Reilly
2:00pm - Refreshments etc.
3:00pm - Singing Session and Final Farewell
Contacts: Roisín Gaffney +353 872132013; Máire Ní Chroinín +353 862940652; Jerry O'Reilly +353 868161557
Mark Davies - Edeophone@aol.com - 4.7.08
Ray took his repertoire from many sources - from his Irish father, from traditional singers in Shropshire and London and from his time in the Royal Navy. He led a varied and interesting life but was little known to the folk scene until his later years. The presentation will focus on Ray’s life and songs and will explore how a traditional singer acquires a repertoire and style and finds outlets for performance. The talk will also feature a new CD of Ray, entitled Wild, Wild Berry.
2.7.08
The Concertinas at Sea piece was written to counter a mistaken, revisionist notion in the folk world these days that the public image of 'concertina-playing sailors' is only an urban myth, born of Disney. Hardly! There are scores of first hand 19th century and early 20th century accounts included in the article, plus lots of photos and such. I hope you like it.
Kind regards,
Dan Worrall - 4.4.08
17.3.08
We welcome again Elizabeth Stewart from Mintlaw many of whose songs came to her from her family the Fetterangus Stewarts. For a first visit to our event we are pleased to welcome Brian Watson from Prudhoe in Northumberland - renowned for his rich repertoire of Geordie, Tyneside and Northumbrian song. The fine young singer Shona Donaldson from Huntly will join us for the day on Saturday. For a first time as guests we welcome Ellen Mitchell from Glasgow and Jimmy Hutchison from Newburgh. We will also be joined as usual by Ron Bissett the well known local bothy ballad singer from Falkland. Alex Clarke from Dundee, whose songs were received with great acclaim last year, joins us for the first time as a guest. We are also very pleased that the great North-east singer Jock Duncan from Pitlochry will join us for the day on Saturday.
Further info at: www.springthyme.co.uk/fifesing
6.3.08
In previous years we have concentrated on guests relevant to Keith's collecting in Fermanagh and Suffolk and his enjoyment of the Sheffield Carols. Last year we had a strong Scots contingent. This year we focus on another of his loves - American music - plus the usual mix of Irish and English guests.
Guests invited:
Bayou Seco, USA (Jeanie McLerie and Ken Keppeler); Slieve Gullion Traditional Singers from Mullaghbawn (Patricia Flynn, Mick Quinn, Miceal Quinn, Len Graham, Gerry O'Hanlon); Jerry O'Reilly and Luke Cheevers (Dublin); Gail Williams & Jim Younger; Ken Langsbury; Jim Bainbridge; plus music from Phoenix (Rod Stradling, Martin Brinsford, Kevin Bown, Mike Pinder, Fran Wade) and our resident bands The Rakes and The Pigeon English Band.Also we hope that many of our previous guests will join us again, along with Musical Traditions residents who give the club its special quality. Keith co-founded the club with us in 1990.
Pre-booked ticket holders only - space is limited. No admission unless pre-booked. Weekend ticket £30 or £7.50 per session.
For further information, contact: Peta Webb at petawebken@aol.com or 0208 340 0530
5.3.08
Finbar Boyle - 9.11.07
Box Office: 01509 231914 www.loughboroughtownhall.co.uk/folkfestival
8.11.07
Dick Greenhaus 29.12.07
Camsco Music
Mike Yates 28.12.07
(Anyone wishing to buy any of Mike's 10 excellent CDs can do so at: www.kyloerecords.co.uk - Ed.)
Also please contact me at: gmakin@gmail.com if you'd like to register interest, get involved, or ask a question.
Gavin Atkin - 7.12.07
He says he prepared the new Irish article because he had been unable to find much written on how the concertina became so strongly associated with County Clare; it has often been said but never documented that mariners may originally have brought them up the Shannon estuary. What Dan found is that the Anglo-German concertina was enormously popular in all the counties of Ireland from the 1860s through the 1920s, and was played in those years not only by those who were involved in traditional Irish music, but by other social groups in Ireland as well. He has some thoughts on why the concertina was dropped nearly everywhere in Ireland by 1930, and why the only remaining active players, prior to the traditional music revival of the 1970s and later, were nearly all in County Clare.
I found this an extremely interesting piece, and am sure that you will, too. On that same site is a related article of Dan's that was published earlier this year, on the forgotten history of anglo concertina playing in the United States: www.concertina.com/worrall/anglo-in-united-states
15.11.07
Nearly all of the material from the old site has been transferred to the new one and there is a lot of new material, as well as plans to add yet more new features. I thought that readers of Musical Traditions readers might be interested to know about the relaunch.
Martin Graebe - 7.11.07
The British Library is hosting early evening talks exploring the English Folk Dance and Song Society's collection of cylinder recordings, currently on loan to the British Library. The session will be chaired by Malcolm Taylor of EFDSS. Andrew King will speak about the provenance and content of the cylinder recordings and Will Prentice will outline some of the problems encountered in retrieving sound from these old and fragile carriers.
This evening is one of a short series of events marking the opening of the British Library's new Centre for Conservation. Please note that places are limited. To reserve a place send an email to alison.faraday@bl.uk
5.11.07
It had become clear, in recent years, that maintaining the collection as a single entity was not going to be easy and so it proved. Peter's own efforts to secure a future for the collection were not, unfortunately, completely successful. There was some confusion in the months following his death but a set of agreements is now in place that has, we believe, resolved the situation as well as could be hoped in the circumstances.
The outcome of these agreements is that Peter's collection has been placed as follows:
Obviously, it will be some time before the new holders of the material will be able to make access to it available or to deal with more than very basic enquiries. In years to come, though, there will be a large quantity of new and interesting material from and about Peter Kennedy's collection that will enable future researchers to form their own views of this complex man and his work.
Martin Graebe (for Customs and Traditions) - October 2007
Following extensive commercial recording of Irish-born or descended musicians in the USA from around 1915, British record companies began to re-issue these recordings in Britain and Ireland during the 1920s. Although sales figures are presently undocumented, the volume of sales was sufficient to persuade British recording companies to engage in extensive new recording programmes of Irish-based musicians, in both Dublin and London. It is estimated that UK/Irish recordings may number up to one thousand individual items or ‘sides’, most of which contain at least two tunes. These recordings represent a unique treasury of traditional material and provide an unparalleled insight into the output of musicians who were largely unaffected by the electronic media. Unlike US recordings, the material includes musicians from most Irish counties and is often unaccompanied. The recordings demonstrate examples of ensemble playing and include the first recordings of céilí bands.
Go to the OaC home page - www.oac.ie - and click on the Echoes of Erin Project Details link in the left hand nav bar. You will need Microsoft Excel to use the database - but a free Excel Reader is available to download from the page.
17.10.07
Guests invited so far include: Bayou Seco, USA (Jeanie McLerie and Ken Keppeler); Slieve Gullion Traditional Singers (Patricia Flynn, Mick Quinn, Miceal Quinn, Len Graham (tbc), Gerry O'Hanlon); Gail Williams & Jim Younger; Ken Langsbury; plus music from Phoenix (Rod Stradling, Martin Brinsford, Kevin Bown, Mike Pinder, Fran Wade) and our resident bands The Rakes and The Pigeon English Band.
Further info from Peta Webb & Ken Hall: petawebken@aol.com
16.10.07
The weekend event will allow visitors to try a taster session, join an elementary workshop, or, if suitably experienced, learn about style and repertoire at a players workshop. There will also be several opportunities for informal sessions in local music-friendly pubs.
The very impressive guest list runs: George Current, Jackie Daly, Fred Davidson, Stuart Eydmann, Vic Gammon, Robert Harbron, Katie Howson, Conor Keane, Régis Lechatellier, Spider MacKenzie, Mary MacNamara, Kate MacNamara, Doddie Murray, Simon Thoumire, Pip Murphy, Tom Roche, Frances Wilkins, Michael Wright.
And the whole weekend costs just £25 - amazing what funding will do for you!
Full programme details are available at www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/events/buttonboxes/ or telephone 01224 272996
3.10.07
2.10.07
| Top | Home Page | MT Records | Articles | Reviews | Editorial | Map |