"Affectations and faux personae generally do not stand the test of time"

One conclusion I've come to recently – largely through singing a lot, in different styles – is that all voices have a degree of affectation. In trying to sing naturally, in a no-nonsense way, I've had to think about how I enunciate, how long I hold notes for, how much vibrato (if any) I use, whether or how much I soften consonants etc. Folk singing is as stylised as other forms of music – I find I have to really work at singing unaffectedly. It's a funny old game.

One other thought: it's entirely possible to have a soft, gentle voice and not sound fey or twee. Anne Briggs for example.