"Wrapping it in plastic, encasing it in aspic so it *never* changes again, is...to me...madness."

But that's exactly what doesn't and isn't happening.
Check that Imagined Village clicky you posted...

Archives are a resource for creative people to re-imagine the old songs in new ways. But without those archives, there wouldn't be any old songs to draw on. If I were more adventurous, I might be more innovative with them myself. But gladly, I love singing them old songs straight up, just as they are. A bit of breath, is the one and only thing that's needed to bring those dusty old archives alive and sparkling. It doesn't get more 'interactive' than singing them yourself...