"Speaking for myself I have no interest in maintaining the purity of the tradition."
Me neither, but I do have an interest in preserving it as an important art form
I worked with MacColl, who used the tradition to create over three hundred new songs and managed to preserve the integrity (not the purity) of the traditional songs he sang
He used the tradition to create the radio ballads, to update mummers plays and put on theatrical performances
Peggy experimented with accompaniments without impinging on the narrative of the songs she and Ewan sang
They were far more experimental that any other folk artists I have ever met yet they fall under the description "purists" - work that one out
Jim Carroll