I find myself put off by the concept of a "finite" body of work. Having witnessed that not being true, I have to disagree. But then, for me, the "tradition" is all about the music. The rest of life that made up what others seem to be talking about when they talk about the tradition is long gone. While I find studying history interesting, all the historical knowledge in the world isn't going to change or create a melody or lyric and doesn't have much to do with how the music actually gets transmitted and played today.