English, Irish, Scottish styles of singing traditional songs.
We have English singing Irish - scottish ballads. Irish singing Scottish - English ballads. Scottish singing Irish - English ballads and Americans singing Irish, English and Scottish ballads.
'Some' can do it well, but only a few can pull it off!
Is this a 'bench mark' as to where we should tread?
A test of a singer's adaption to the song in question, or should singers (from wherever they 'hail' from) chouse their songs more carefully?
Lately I have heard a mixed batch of singers sing ballads from various places (NOT within their own boundries) and obviously they have not put a lot of thought into their choice of song!
Renowned singers (Martin Carthy to mention one - and he's not alone) not pronouncing town names correctly. If a singer is to give a rendition of a ballad surely they should research dialects etc.
In England, Ireland (North and South) and Scotland we have different dialects as we move across each country from County to County,town to town, and songs from each area lend to the 'townlands' they were composed in but sound out of context anywhere else. I know songs travel and have done so for hundreds of years but as of late singers seem to be trying to sing obscure songs from 'out of the way' places to be 'different' and don't seem to get it together!
I know it's stupid for an English singer (as an example) to try an sing a song in the same dialect as a County Antrim (East Ireland) singer AS the song loses a lot of its content. Maybe I'm alone in thinking this or too much of a perfectionist, has anyone else any feelings on this?
       songsmith.