The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #139668   Message #3206312
Posted By: GUEST,SteveG
11-Aug-11 - 06:27 PM
Thread Name: Child Ballad Books
Subject: RE: Child Ballad Books
DC
Of the two, without taking anything away from Child's brilliant pioneering efforts, the Bronson is far superior, and not just because it has all the tunes. Child tried to be inclusive and therefore by his own admission was forced to include much that was spurious and much that had never appeared in oral tradition, whereas Bronson was taking ballads that had come from oral tradition and were much more likely to be genuine.