Early Maine music

Subject: Early Maine music
From: GUEST,Julia
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 08:39 PM

Hello- I'm researching and collecting folk music from 17th 18th and 19th century Maine, esp. that with Scottish connections. Any thoughts, ideas, or info greatfully received.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: kendall
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 09:09 PM

suggest you contact Dr. Edward "Sandy" Ives. Retired professor of folklore at the University of Maine. He lives in Bucksport, I believe.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: kendall
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 09:15 PM

His mailing address is: RR 1 Box535 Bucksport Maine 04416. You will find him to be a most helpful source, and, an all around nice guy.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: harpgirl
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 09:16 PM

...Julia...what do you have so far?

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: harpgirl
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 09:19 PM

Kendall...you were singing then weren't you? *wink*...

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 09:24 PM

Julia, check for Sandy Ives' books. He has written extensively on Maine and the Maritimes. The two lands are inextricably linked. Dr. Ives also has a record called Folk Songs Of Maine. I have a copy.

Another source is Dick Swain. He worked with Dr. Ives and learned a lot from him. he has quite a repertoire of Maine songs. I don't have any contact info for him. he moved to Pennsylvania, I think, and now I only see him once a year at Mystic.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: kendall
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 09:27 PM

Dick turns up on mudcat radio from time to time. He shouldn't be too hard to find.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: kendall
Date: 07 Jan 01 - 09:36 PM

It seems that way sometimes Abby

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Uncle Jaque
Date: 08 Jan 01 - 12:59 AM

There you are, Julia! Welcome aboard!

I hope you become a "regular" here. As you no doubt know, both Kendall and Naemanson were at the Chantey Sing with us recently.

Have you checked out the data-base yet? Have a ball!

I'll keep on top of this thread for a spell, as K and N both just educated me to sources I wasn't familiar with up 'till now.

Naemanson: is that IVES "Folk Songs of ME" album still in print? I'd like to get ahold of one if so - or a cassette backup for referance if not. What's the studio/label? Ditto on the books (sans tape, obviously).

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 08 Jan 01 - 01:27 AM

There are several very important books for you to check into. Start with British Ballads from Maine by Phillips Barry, Fannie Hardy Eckstorm and Mary Winslow Smyth. It's a fine collection and probably more to the point of your topic than even the wonderful books of Dr. Edward (Sandy) Ives, but you ought to read his books, too, because they're fine studies of some of the Maine woods songmakers and satirists, such as Larry Gorman and Joe Scott. Sandy also wrote Folksongs from Maine, which is Volume 7 in the series of Northeast Folklore bulletins he edited for a long time. Highly recommended. Another extremely important source would be A Heritage of Songs, the songs of Carrie B. Grover, a remarkable traditional singer who lived over in the Bethel area. She knew many old British ballads, Irish traditional songs, and had regional songs of the lumbermen, too. Roland Palmer Gray wrote Songs and Ballads of the Maine Lumberjacks and Eckstorm and Smyth (without their mentor, Phillips Barry) produced Minstrelsy of Maine: Folksongs and Ballads of the Woods and the Coast. I haven't checked on his actual source singers lately, but I believe a number of Doerflinger's lumbermen informants were from Maine. His book was originally titled Shantymen and Shantyboys, and it has been reprinted in paperback as Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman. If you plan to include the songs of the lumbermen, you ought to see if you can find a copy of Franz Rickaby's Ballads and Songs of the Shantyboy for comparison of various texts. These collections ought to get you started. Make use of the wonderful Interlibrary Loan Service -- your librarian can tell you about it.

Sandy (Paton, that is, and a great admirer of Ives)
Sure hope I got all those HTML doohickies right!

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Jan 01 - 04:58 AM

Ah, how could I have forgotten those? Thanks, Sandy. I have Minstrelsy of Maine and our local library has most of the others in their research section. Also, Julia, check the libraries of the Maine Historical Museum in Augusta. They should have most of these.

And if you can put the time into it I understand the library at the University of Maine, Orono, has an extensive floklore and folkife section thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ives.

Uncle Jaque, you got it. I don't believe Dr. Ives' record is still in print. The copy I have I found at a used book sale and had originally been part of a lbrary collection. I'll run off a copy, purely for research purposes we both understand.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Susan of DT
Date: 08 Jan 01 - 06:26 AM

Dick Swain is at West Chester University of Pennsylvannia. Julia - if you want his e-mail address, e-mail me at [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: GUEST,Julia
Date: 10 Jan 01 - 10:42 PM

Finally able to reply. Thanks for all of your help so far- I own a copy of Fanny Eckstorm's British ballads from Maine, have seen the other stuff mentioned (thanks so much Sandy Paton!) I also know both Dick Swain and Sandy Ives (my partner Fred studied with him at Orono) Sigh.. and Kendall and Gordon and Brett and Charlie and Bob Webb. Interesting how it's all guys..? Anyway, I'll keep digging. Have a crazy instrumental piece called Cazneau's quickstep associated with the "Snow Squall" if anyone's interested. Given to me by maritime historian Nick Dean. I think I'll take my sleeping bag up to the Maine folklife center archives in Orono. Glad to hear from anyone who knows anything on this subject references in diaries perhaps?) cheers- Julia

hello- harpgirl? Do you play? Are you in Maine?

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Uncle Jaque
Date: 11 Jan 01 - 12:07 AM

Well, now; there's enough leads to keep us runnin' for the rest o' this Winter, anyhoo!

Julia; if that "Cazneau's Quickstep" just so happens to be in one or two sharps (G or D) I'd be interested in giving it a whirl on the whistle or Fife. It sounds like something the Fife and Drum Corps might be able to use. If you can scan it & attach as *.JPEG or *.GIF file, I'd be b'holden to ye!

And a trip to Orono is getting higher on the list of priorities all the time! Wouldn't it be fun if a bunch of "Catters" could rendevous there for a team research? We have done this with the 3rd Maine Reenacting Unit as well as the Sons of Union Veterans and tend to get a lot more done this way than when researching solo - and going out to lunch together adds to the fun!

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Jan 01 - 11:27 AM

harpgirl lives in Florida..please dont tease her about it.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Jan 01 - 11:33 AM

Julia, it took a little bit but I've been a little thick lately. Now I know who you are. Stand by for House Full Of Song details.

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 11 Jan 01 - 09:00 PM

Hasn't Jamie Moreira (spelling?) replaced Sandy Ives at the Northeast Folklore Archive now? A good and certainly knowledgeable fellow, quite approachable, too. If you go to Bucksport to visit with Sandy and Bobbie, be sure to have a meal at Kate MacLeod's Restaurant. For dessert, try a piece of their chocolate silk pie; best I ever tasted! They're right across the street from that fancy and more expensive place (unmentionable).

Sandy

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: harpgirl
Date: 11 Jan 01 - 10:07 PM

...I thought I had moved to Maine with fifteen days of below freezing weather in December. I like to collect songs and sing them, Julia...I play autoharp, mainly...*wink*

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 11 Jan 01 - 10:20 PM

Another person to try to find and contact is David Deacon at the University of Syracuse. David presented a wonderful paper at a gathering of the Society for the History of the Early American Republic a few years ago, looking at a Maine shape-note composer who lived in the early 1800s. The name of the composer escapes me, and David eventualy changed his dissertation topic to a study of New England mills along the Connecticut River. But I'm sure he has lots of information about the composer and the milieu he wrote in.

--Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: Early Maine music
From: GUEST,Julia
Date: 11 Jan 01 - 10:22 PM

Amen! on the recommendation for MacLeod's- lots of good eats and not only on the way to Orono- also right off the road on the way to Acadia. We should all meet there for a confab! Uncle Jaque's idea of a mass research day sounds great- kind of like joint treasure hunt. (I'll show you mine if you show me yours!)(No remarks, Kendall) Harpgirl- too bad you're so far away- we could play harp duets. I play celtic harp. We could get a harmonica player and a jaw harpist and have a wicked good "harp" quartet! About the music- Joe Hickerson of the National archives gave me some info about a book called "The Warbler" published in Hallowell Maine in 1804. No music, but had lyrics to "Broom o'the Cowdenknowes" among others. Worth a look.