From: GUEST,glueperson - PM
Date: 26 Mar 10 - 02:17 PM

One of the things that put me off folk, at least as youngster, was the fine pronunciation of song lyrics on the BBC radio children's service. Kathleen Ferrier singing 'I Know Where I'm Going' springs to mind or the Glasgow Orpheus Choir or any number of infant school teachers killing the English language with clarity.

I know exactly what you mean. It was a case of being over precise in pronunciation. I think it is a result of stressing the importance of "correct" enunciation of the words and singing the notes accurately which then resulted in a somewhat sterile performance. The overall result was that the meaning of the song got lost.

Clarity of the words is important but, equally important is to convey your understanding of the song as a whole.