We were just on about Orfeo the other night (Matthew Edwards & I); seems people are getting round to it at last, which is nice. I first sang it 33 years ago & I've been singing it ever since. Here's a one from last year:
https://soundcloud.com/sedayne-fiddlesangs/p-king-orfeo
I sing another one called Sir Olaf, but I'm not entirely sure of the provenance, but it's got a nice fragmentary feel to it. It goes:
Sir Olaf went out at early day
(the dance goes well so well in the grove)
& there he came on an elf dance gay
(and we'll tread the dance in the morning)
The elf lord reached out his white hand free
come Sir Olaf tread the dance with me
O not I will & not I may
tomorrow it is my wedding day
The elf lady reached out her white hand free
come Sir Olaf tread the dance with me
O not I will & not I may
tomorrow it is my wedding day
The bride unto her maid spoke so
what does it mean that the bells thus go?
Tis the custom of this our isle they reply
that each young swain ringeth home his bride
The truth to you to tell I fear
Sir Olaf is dead & is laid in his bier
And on the morrow e'er light was the day
round Sir Olaf's house three ghosts did stray
It was Sir Olaf and his young bride
& also his mother of sorrow she died
*
Otherwise - William Allingham's The Fairies (Up the Airy Mountain) featured in the original Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory film as a reference to the Oompa Loopas.
Fey Victoriana : Richard Dadd is worth a look, and The Elfin Oak in London (which might be later); a lot of Rackham's stuff is cute (from Trad Tales to Puck of Pooks Hill).
Mark E Smith had a rant about an Elf called Norman on Elf Prefix, and The Fall song Elves is one of their finest, City Hobgoblins notwithstanding.
I have an obsession with Chthonic Troll stories from the collections of Asbjorsen & Moe; they are ultra-violent & great fun. Check out The Cat of Dovre and Porridge with a Troll; for a real treat Askelad & the Seven Silver Ducks is one of the finest stories ever made. I'm imagining these are all on line somewhere...
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sj