As a singer of tradtional songs
i find it important to listen to source singers,it is of interest to know some of their background but probably not relevant to actually performing. the most important factor is listening to how they perform
i do not find it of any use to be told that a collector like Sharp was possibly a racist, or that percy grainger was a masochist, or that lood was this and motherwell was that, and i tell you why
because when i choose a text of a song i quite often, if i think it necessary will alter it anyway, it is called the folk process,so mediation whatever that is supposed to be unless it is the folk process is irrelevant in my opinion. if mediation is the folk process say so and cut the waffle