The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #166789 Message #4013842
Posted By: GUEST
15-Oct-19 - 04:00 PM
Thread Name: The current state of folk music in UK
Subject: RE: The current state of folk music in UK
WV - I don't think there is such a thing as trad purity and it's certainly not something I would hold as desirable. Traditions are by nature impure.
If traditions were pure there would be, for example:
no Morris dancing in England
no bagpipes in Scotland
no banjos in America or Ireland (or anywhere else other than Africa).
Also:
Shetland music without the Scandinavian influences would not be Shetland music as we know it.
Northumbrian music without the influences of Irish and Scottish music would not be as rich.
Cajun, French-Canadian, Cape-Breton, Zydeco, would all not exist.
Bluegrass would not exist.
I'd be very surprised if you could give an example of a pure musical tradition.
One of the best musical experiences that I have had was at a concert about 2yrs ago at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. The last set of (Celtic) tunes involved all of the acts that had performed. There were about 60 people on stage from the all four countries of the UK, from Ireland, from many European countries, from Africa, from Asia, from America and Canada. The instruments being played were equally as diverse. The performers had only one afternoon to rehearse and most had never met each other before. The performance was a dynamic and joyful collaboration mixing rhythms, harmonies and counter melodies. Now this was ('nice') multiculturalism WV. This created happiness and friendship and brought people together. And at no time were any traditional cultures harmed in the process.
Seeking 'trad purity', apart from being an impossible mission, also seeks to set people apart from each other, highlight differences rather than commonality, divide rather than include and promote intolerance. All in all not very useful.