Treewind,

I can't disagree with anything you say but:

The Coppers harmony singing has existed for at least five generations, yet Bob Copper started collecting only 50 years ago.

The original collectors were amazed to find anything to collect, so there is at least a strong indication that the English Tradition was collected when its performance had already diminished close to the point of extinguishment and it is at least possible that the first thing to go would be harmony.

Yet again, the early collectors were not disinterested musicologists, they were seeking themes for their compositions and songs for their parlours at least as much as they were undertaking academic reclamation of a dying art form. They had no interest in collecting harmonisation if it existed.

Finally, it really doesn't matter whether there is a long tradition of English harmony or not. When groups like the Young Tradition used it with songs other than Copper Songs it just made them more enjoyable both for performers and listeners.

So whether harmonisation of English traditional songs is a resurrection of a folk tradition or a modern improvement of the singing of traditional songs, lets have much more of it.

Richard