Well thank heavens that Malcolm Douglas (and, I'm sure Malcolm would accept, many others, including Carthy himself) are capable of a better balanced view than D K Wilgus (whoever Wilgus is he seems every bit as much a product of his class as Sharp and Baring-Gould, and markedly more pompous, too). Whatever their "failings" from the perspective of contemporary liberal society, B-G, Sharp etc. fell in love with the music they heard, and our own musical experiences are so much the richer as a result.

Also - the processes of editing for performance (including combining different versions, matching words to the tune of a different song, etc) have been commonplace in "the revival" (Carthy, and Bert Lloyd, etc). Of course, as with many of the victorian collectors, they also preserve the original material . .

So - can someone please tell me what Mr "Holier than Thou" Wilgus has contributed to MY musical enjoyment, 'cause I have a pretty clear view of the contributions of Sharp, Baring-Gould, Carthy and Lloyd!

G.