Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance

Subject: Radio 4 - Folk Dance Revival
From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes
Date: 30 Oct 07 - 09:18 AM

The background to the early days of the Folk Dance Revival is highlighted in a BBC Radio 4 programme this Friday morning. Details are -

"Great Aunt Mary's Tune"
Lucy Neal goes in search of a home for the archive of her great-great aunt, Mary Neal, early leader of the Folk Revival (she founded the Esperance Club whose members were the first Revival dancers) who was a colleague and later an adversary of Cecil Sharp. Includes readings by Geradine James and John Rowe and interviews with Malcolm Taylor, Director of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at Cecil Sharp House and Georgina Boyes.

The programme will be broadcast on Friday, 2nd November on BBC Radio 4 at 11.00-11.30am

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 30 Oct 07 - 12:55 PM

Thanks Georgina. What a little gem of a programme!

What proportion of "English Country Dance " tunes were collected from people and what, I guess the other proportion were taken from other books?

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 31 Oct 07 - 12:36 PM

One more time for the people?

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes
Date: 31 Oct 07 - 12:55 PM

Thanks very much Les. I've just got an e-mail to say that Laurel Swift's in it too.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 12:13 PM

i caught most of this today. I thought it was fascinating. I think the topic deserves more time but then I guess us folkies would.

Was she Trotsky to his Lenin?

Cheers

Les

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 12:37 PM

Missed it. Any repeats due?

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 12:57 PM

Me too, got stuck in an exam which took longer than I'd anticipated otherwise I'd have been glued to my tranny!

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: oggie
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 01:16 PM

Available on Radio 4 replay for the next week.

Steve

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 01:46 PM

Go here and choose listen again

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/atoz/index.shtml#g

Best of luck

Les Jones

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 01:49 PM

Sorry the programme listed is Great Aunt Mary's Tune

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Tradsinger
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 02:12 PM

Heard it on 'Listen Again' - quality programme with some interesting insights into Sharp's rather precious attitude towards Morris. What would be make of Morris today?!

Can we have more programmes like that on the Beeb, please.

Tradsinger

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST,The Ballad of The Bold Researcher
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 02:46 PM

"Can we have more programmes like that on the Beeb, please."

Unfortunately the BBC seems to be cutting rather than adding, these days.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Sue the Borderer
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 06:10 PM

Not that I'm planning on doing so, but if I ever did set up a new morris side, it would HAVE to be called 'the Hoydens'. You'll have to listen to the programme to find out why.

Fascinating. If you are interested in morris or social history it's well worth a listen.

Sue

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: The Sandman
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 06:31 PM

very good.
I dont think MaryNeals archives should go to Cecil Sharp House.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Anne Lister
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 06:44 PM

It was wonderful, wasn't it - and yes, I'd be a Hoyden, any day!

Anne

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 02 Nov 07 - 07:15 PM

"I dont think MaryNeals archives should go to Cecil Sharp House."

Now there's a shocker.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: The Sandman
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 06:30 AM

refresh,and could the elves link to,GreatAunt Marys Tunes.
Mary Neals aims were not just the promotion of folk dance,but the returning of the folk music to the people,and the Emancipation of women.
If her archives are placed in a place,That is not associated with folk music,you have more chance of introducing non folk enthusiasts to the music.
Her express wishes,were,that her letters etc,should not go to Cecil Sharp House,please see new thread, entitled Mary Neals Letters.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST,Adam Lesson
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 07:10 AM

Captain,

If your surname was Neal then your opinion might be worth something. As it is, the Neal family have the say and according to Lucy Neal, repairing the quarrel between Great Aunt Mary and the sainted Cecil might be a possibility. Either way the important thing is that the stuff becomes accessable

AL

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: The Sandman
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 07:41 AM

exactly, it should be accessible,obviously the Neal Family have the say,but we are entitled to discuss it.
but I believe it should be accessible to the greatest number of people who are not ALREADY folk enthusiasts, with digitised copies available elsewhere like c#house,and other folk museums.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: greg stephens
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 09:59 AM

Adam Lesson suggests "repairing the quarrel between Great Aunt Mary and the sainted Cecil might be a possibility". Difficult to see how, unless he knows a good spiritualist. But of course, for all we know they might be the best of friends by now, and dancing away together and waving hankies and laughing.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: The Sandman
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 01:41 PM

Perhaps they are both in purgatory,with the Rev Ken and his cacophonic concertina.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST,Not the sainted Cecil Sharp
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 02:10 PM

are we right to assume that Mr Lesson is infact a member of the Neal family?

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 02:26 PM

"Not that I'm planning on doing so, but if I ever did set up a new morris side, it would HAVE to be called 'the Hoydens'."

would they then join up with the

Loose Women Morris Dance Team
*LOL*

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST,Adam Lesson
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 04:13 PM

"are we right to assume that Mr Lesson is infact a member of the Neal family?"

No. Why would you?

AL

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: GUEST,Not the sainted Cecil Sharp
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 04:30 PM

and I quote.....

"If your surname was Neal then your opinion might be worth something."

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Adam Lesson
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 05:00 PM

Captain's not family so it's not his bizniz. What's to misunderstand?

AL

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: The Sandman
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 05:12 PM

Really:
anyone who is interested,myself,treewind,RuthArcher,and others are all concerned where the archives go,stop being an imbecile.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: oggie
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 05:48 PM

I listened to this program and it opened a whole part of the history of the Folk movement I knew nothing about, a great program and what the BBC does best (BTW where are all the plaudits for the BBC for doing it on a mainstream station, I refer to earlier threads).

As to the fate of the archive we're back in Kennedy style territory. Who can curate it in such a way as to make it accessible to those who want to see it and to publicise it's existance (of which I was unaware before this program). In terms of Social History (my degree subject) this is a subset of a subset, may be important to folks here but in the wider scheme of things is a footnote on page xxx or a piece in a minor Journal. So who could take it? British Library and bury it in a vault under work pending, an academic library (which one? Sheffield seems to be bailing out of this area and Northumbria would tie it into the negative feelings, as evinced here, of their BA) Halsway Manor have the Kennedy archive to sort out. That seems to leave the VWML. I know all about the various agendas but on the plus side there seems to be a mood to sort out the collections (witness the recent grant).

Some folks will disagree, fine, but if so please suggest another suitable, specific body who could take it on rather than an airy-fairy "a museum connected with x"

All the best

Steve

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: greg stephens
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 06:13 PM

Adam Lesson: a name to conjure with. Are you a Neal? A troll? You suddenly bounce onto our little parochial scene, guns a blazing. Come, sit by the fire. Help yourself to a glass of punch and a russet apple. Tell us about yourself.Talk a bit more rubbish. Have you posted here before? Obviously, not under this name. Perhaps another?

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Adam Lesson
Date: 03 Nov 07 - 09:12 PM

Just my name.

No, not a Neal.

Troll? Maybe.

Guns blazin'? Hardly. Just have a bad reaction to some CB posts.

Yes I've posted a couple of times as a guest.

Thought it was a good program and I ripped the download to listen a bit more. Sounds like the stuff will get archived somewhere. Why not with the folk song and dance society? Sounds like Aunt Mary won't spin in her grave. As you say, her and Cecil might be waving hankies and laughing in heaven.

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Rain Dog
Date: 31 Jul 14 - 07:52 AM

This was broadcast again on BBC Radio 4 Extra on WEds 30th July and it is available to listen to for the next 7 days

Great Aunt Mary's Tune

Subject: RE: Radio 4 - early days of Folk Dance
From: Rain Dog
Date: 01 Aug 14 - 09:37 AM

I enjoyed the programme. It led me to search for the Mary Neal archives which can be found here

Mary Neal Archive

On searching Mudcat I see that Desert Dancer had posted a link to the archive in 2012