BBC Folk Song Archive

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 03 Dec 07 - 04:05 AM

Sian, I do applaud that project of yours.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: folktheatre
Date: 03 Dec 07 - 03:56 AM

Wish that was still on the radio! I'll try and find that thread. Thanks. I've still heard nothing from the British Library about this though I now have a contact at least.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: GUEST,maldenny
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 12:33 PM

Compton, we must be around the same age - I too remember "As I roved out", though I was too young to note who the singers were.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: Compton
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 12:21 PM

How well I still remember the programme on "The Light Programme"...or "The Home Service"-Sunday Mornings. which I think was called "As I roved out"...at five or six my earliest recollection or REAL folk music. The recordiongs were by Alan Lomax, Evam McColl................Weren't alot of them on "The Folk Songs of Britain"/ ...(see other thread!)

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: GUEST,redmax
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 08:20 AM

Yes, it was heartening to read that post, good work!

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: folktheatre
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 07:23 AM

Keep it coming! Any more support for releasing folk song back into the wild! Let's have a petition! Work like Sian's is important to us a country and for it's heritage.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: sian, west wales
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 07:03 AM

There are a number of BBC Wales recordings (on the old professional 'discs') at St Fagans in Cardiff. They still belong to the Beeb but are stored at the museum. Until now, I've worked on the recordings which are 'owned' by the museum but I'll have to give some thought to the discs at some point. I have some printouts of stuff that are on some of them. I think copyright might be an issue, as well as the fact that the archives are only open Mon-Fri, 9 to 5 which is a funding issue more than anything.

Re: copyright and redistribution, we've run a project in Pembrokeshire which has had some success releasing archive songs back into the wild from which they came. Started off as quite basic stuff. The museum helped us select songs that were recorded in the 60s and 70s in Pembrokeshire and copied the tracks onto a single (non-copyable) disc in the way that they'd release information to academics. We put together a group of singers and instrumentalists to learn the songs that appealed to them and we backed it up with lectures on the background of the recordings - luckily, the man who made a lot of them is still available and keen on discussing the work. Because we were careful to include names and locations of the source singers, it then took on an oral history tone - a lot of the present day musicians are friends or even family of the source singers and had stories to tell. Then the junior schools wanted to get involved because the kids were related to many of the families. Then the local economic development group came in and had the group sing to local tourism associations because local history and 'colour' is a big thing these days. One song names a couple of specific farms and, at one performance, the current owner of one farm came up to us with a shed load of stories about ghosts, and beer brewing, and all kinds of other stuff. Now a community choir wants to learn a couple of the pieces. And we might be getting a CD out of it which the ec. dev. people will distribute for free to community groups.

Anyway, my reason in mentioning this is that many archives are worried about copyright complications of old material - particularly re: the performers/performances. However, if one or two people relearn the material and teach it back into the original community, it can have a real domino effect.

sian

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: GUEST,redmax
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:33 AM

You can listen to the material for free at either the St Pancras or Boston Spa reading rooms. The BL doesn't own the recordings, they only act as custodians, and the BBC archive in particular is subject to strict limitations. I'd be surprised if BBC material is available via transcription.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: folktheatre
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:26 AM

Ditto

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 06:50 PM

A forty five quid minimum against 180 per hour isn't getting the music out. Sorry.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: folktheatre
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 10:58 AM

"The copying charge is £180 per hour (£45 minimum charge). "

For a transcription! Bit pricey if you ask me.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: folktheatre
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 10:54 AM

Ah ha. I've emailed them. BL Transcription service eh??? Sounds greet. Otherwise you're stuck having to travel to London ("centre of the universe!") to listen to any of the recordings.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 10:41 AM

The music can 'escape' if you order online from the BL transcription service in much the same way as from the Library of Congress.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 09:45 AM

Catalogues are great, but...how does the music ever escape from them?

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 09:21 AM

Try here:British Library Sound Catalogue
RtS

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: folktheatre
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 08:12 AM

Ta! Isn't the British Sound Archive in there too? The library that is.

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: GUEST,Jim Carroll
Date: 28 Nov 07 - 02:45 PM

Some of the recordings made by Bob Copper for the BBC were released on a Topic LP 'Songs and Southern Breezes' and there is a very readable accounts of his collecting in the book of the same name by him.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BBC Folk Song Archive
From: IanC
Date: 28 Nov 07 - 11:02 AM

It's in the British Library.

:-)

Subject: BBC Folk Song Archive ??
From: folktheatre
Date: 28 Nov 07 - 10:27 AM

Hello.

I was seeing hints of the BBC Folk song archive mentioned on various websites. Like the fact that Bob Copper recorded for them.

Does anyone know what happened to this resource and is it still accessible?

Michael.