Subject: RE: Song books from Cecil Sharp House
From:
Malcolm Douglas
Date: 11 Oct 02 - 12:50 PM
Still no movement from EFDSS on the Purslow books, I'm afraid, but I haven't given up on it. As I understand it, there are three views among those who get to make the decisions: one group wants a full scholarly edition of the Hammond-Gardiner collection on the lines of the Shuldham-Shaw/Lyle edition of Greig-Duncan; this is unlikely to attract the necessary funding before hell has frozen over. Another group would go for a cheap facsimile reprint, but they are the ones who don't understand printing. Any attempt at a facsimile would be ghastly, given the poor print quality and layout of the original books. The third group agrees with me that the way forward is a revised edition, newly set; but that it is not a high priority. A full scholarly edition would be ideal, but really isn't an option as things stand. I doubt if they would even have got as far as discussing it if I and a few others hadn't nagged for so long. EFDSS is genuinely serious about resuming its publishing reponsibilities, though. Their recent Room, Room, Ladies and Gentlemen: an Introduction to the English Mummers' Play, by Eddie Cass and Steve Roud, is an excellent start, both in terms of content and presentation. Although it's aimed mainly at schools, it's also a very useful introduction to the subject for anyone. They are also aware of the need to present material in a professional, up-to-date and attractive manner; the designers Ledgard-Jepson (who also do a lot of upmarket folk music CD design, and handled production of Dave Herron's recent re-issue of Roy Palmer's Boxing the Compass, formerly The Oxford Book of Sea Songs) have produced a new "corporate image" for EFDSS publications; in future these will be recognisably part of a series, rather than presented completely haphazardly as used to be the case. EFDSS also realises that they have neglected song in favour of dance in recent decades. At present, they are working on a new selection of material collected by Cecil Sharp; the first to appear since Maud Karpeles brought out The Crystal Spring in 1975. There will also be an "introductory" folk song book aimed at interested newcomers; I don't know the details. On the reprint front, they have decided to re-issue The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, the rights to which they now own (though not the "Penguin" part of the title, of course). From a logistic point of view, it's a more straightforward proposition than the Purslow books, as it can be brought out with only relatively small changes. I'm currently re-setting the music and texts in digital formats for them (funding is always tight, and much of the time they have to rely on idiots like me who will do stuff for nothing because it needs to be done). I don't have any official standing in the organisation except as an ordinary member, though, and at the moment I don't know who on the Projects Committee will be in overall charge, or who will produce final layouts for press (Bryan Ledgard, I hope). My intention is to amplify Lloyd's notes in cases where small pieces of additional information may be useful, but whether or not these small additions will be used, I can't say. The bibliography badly needs to be updated, too, but that is a job for a specialist; Malcolm Taylor for example. EFDSS' aim here is for a new, rather than revised, edition, and until I've talked with the relevant people in more detail I won't know what's actually going to happen, or when, though I gather that Martin Carthy has agreed to write a new Introduction for the book. The two new books I mentioned earlier are higher on the list of priorities. Meanwhile, secondhand copies of Marrowbones and The Wanton Seed turn up from time to time, generally around the prices Dave quoted earlier (please do post that URL, Dave!). The Constant Lovers appears less frequently, and The Foggy Dew, the fourth and last selection, almost never; I still haven't managed to get hold of a copy after several years of looking around. I gather that the pages were individually glued, rather than sewn in signatures, and that most copies have simply fallen to pieces; the same problem affected the second printing of The Wanton Seed. Not long ago, someone who had heard talk of a possible reissue of Marrowbones (and whose original copy had been lent out and lost) contacted me about it; I wasn't able to tell him more than I've said here, but I put him onto a copy I knew of in Australia (!) which he subsequently bought, and was very pleased to be re-united, so to speak, with a long-lost friend. I still believe that there is a potential market for a considered new edition (two volumes incorporated into one looks like the best option), but whether it will ever happen I really can't say. To an extent, it will depend on the success or otherwise of the projects already underway.
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sj
