Wendy/Brian,
Please accept my apologies - I really didn't want this.
I have come to the conclusion that Dick and I have nothing to say to each other; I said so at the beginning of this thread and have made efforts throughout to avoid any direct response to him. This does not mean I am not going to participate in a subject which interests me.
Re-reading past relevant threads, I see no reason to withdraw anything in my last (somewhat overheated) posting; my impression of the Cap'n's attitude remains as described.
I suggest we agree to differ and leave it at that.
Cap'n:
last answer to your request:
The Caedmon quote opens:
"Here then are the ancient ballads of Britain, recorded from the lips of traditional singers in all parts of the islands, singing in the ways of their forefathers".
This did not apply to MacColl, nor to any of the others mentioned.
One of the comments persistently made about MacColl's singing was that he did not sound like any known traditional singer, nor do any of the others mentioned by you. As far as MacColl's singing is concerned this is a fact, he ever tried to. His aim was to make the traditional repertoire acceptable to a modern audience. Whether he succeeded or not is a matter of discussion - it worked for me.
The quote goes on:
"But all possess the true ballad art in some respect - the way of spinning the story and the poem together, not with the crude drama of the concert singer, but with the subtle nuance and understatement that is fitting to ballad art."
This bit, as far as I'm concerned, certainly can be applied to MacColl's singing, but not to the other singers cited by you, (Martin Carthy's nor Tony Rose's) (a matter of opinion).
The quote describes perfectly the unique role of the traditional singer; MacColl, Carthy and Rose are/were all revivalists and, to my knowledge, never claimed otherwise.
Jim Carroll