As I work through these, I am noticing that the original collectors and/or the typographers did not observe modern notation convention as to indicating different endings. This means that a song may start on a pickup note (fragment of a measure) and end in a full measure, so that if one played or sang it exactly as typeset, one would throw the rhythm off completely as each verse began. This is equally frequent in their handling of internal repeats and in how the pieces moves from verse to chorus. Add to this the fact that these songs came to the authors from a variety of collectors, each with their own haboits in notation-- not unlike our own happy threesome trying to further distill it now!
An example of how this would be handled now is the Fiddler's Fakebook, where there is no chunk of time left unclear and it all adds up in as few staff lines as possible, with first and second endings clearly marked among the repeat signs, etc. In order to let these play as actual WORK songs, I've adjusted the durations at endings so that it all fits. And you can hear, in the Lomax LOC collection of sound files, that the basic beat of a song was never the thing altered. There might be changes in TEMPO, but the beat was everything. So I am confident, because I also sing these, that the alterations are correct, being corrective more than interpretive liberties.
In the commentary text, the authors invite improvements that flow from better understanding. I can't say I was THERE at the time these wre collected, but I do have one advantage the authors didn't have-- hundreds and hundreds of hours listening, as a learner who transmits them like the spirituals were transmitted-- in group singing; listening to the interpretations of people only a generation later than that of this collection, and the black gospel and blues that flowed forward. So again, I am confident that the alterations are correct and would be necessary to anyone trying to sing these as authentically created.
I would bet that similar "changes" have been made for the most recent Dover edition, which I understand includes "clarifications" on timing and pitches. (We are doing our own, however, so that we do not infringe on Dover's copyright. Ours are unique arrangements.)
I don't think I really understood till now that what we are doing amounts to a new edition. Plus, the lyrics-- the collectors got these from solo singers, but the songs would usually have been sung in group, and usually with the call/response pattern we know. Knowing this presents further opportunities to clarify what the authors indicate is a fuzzy sense of matching lyrics to tunes, as to how to structure them! I guess since it's most likely I'll be doing these for folks first, I'll have to tackle that issue as I arrive at it, and if I do them all, it will amount to a new edition of sorts. (Yikes!)
A notation program issue, I think-- I'm working now mostly on pieces Mary and Mark did. A number of measures show up in NWC with quarter notes or rests where the page scan indicates an 8th. I'm restoring the 8ths except as noted, down below the bar, in my post.
31 - Back to Mary for some changes on handling the variations.
32 - Will also go back to Mary for changes on handling the variations.
Several others are on hold till Mary and Mark and I agree on how to correct what started as ABCs so Mark can have his correct and still in ABC.
Updating the list of songs now in the proofing/revision process, first posted 05 Jan 04 - 11:58 AM:
005 - tempo q72, voiced as vibraphone, internal repeats as indicated in page scan, entire song plays twice. Note durations altered as needed for fitting repeats within regularity of working & rowing rhythm. Saved as NWC and MIDI.
008 - tempo q72, voiced as vibraphone, internal repeats as indicated in page scan, entire song plays twice. Note durations altered as needed for fitting repeats within regularity of working & rowing rhythm. Saved as NWC and MIDI.
014 - tempo q72, voiced as vibraphone, internal repeats as indicated in page scan, entire song plays twice. Note durations altered as needed for fitting repeats within regularity of working/rowing rhythm. I believe the words as matched to the tune in Allen are one of many ways of matching/structuring the tune with the verse/refrain/chorus, as Allen indicates is frequently the case, in the commentary. I've set it up so that the verse goes through one melody pattern, then another, then a chorus that repeats. The songs plays through twice in this pattern. I'm not done with this one yet-- 14b should also be included within 14 as one more verse variation, and I'll need to move the chorus so it plays between the verse variations. Saved as NWC only pending further work.
28 - tempo q72, voiced as vibraphone, repeats as indicated in page scan, entire song plays twice. Note durations altered as needed for fitting repeats within regularity of working & rowing rhythm. Saved as NWC and MIDI.
29 - tempo q72, voiced as vibraphone, repeats as indicated in page scan, entire song plays twice. Note durations altered as needed for fitting repeats within regularity of working & rowing rhythm. Saved as NWC and MIDI.
30 - tempo q72, voiced as vibraphone, repeats as indicated in page scan, entire song plays twice. Note durations altered as needed for fitting repeats within regularity of working & rowing rhythm. Saved as NWC and MIDI.