Help: 18th century song resources

Subject: 18th century song resources
From: Kim C
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 11:58 AM

Greetings friends - I am pleased to announce that Mister and I have been hired for the Colonial Trade Fair at Mansker's Station in Goodlettsville, TN, May 5-6. (more details will follow as the time gets closer) Anyway, this is a 1790s site and we need a few more 18th century songs. I have plenty of fiddle tunes to choose from but if anyone has ideas for songbooks, recordings, and other resources for strictly 18th century stuff, please do tell. We do have a few recordings by the Virginia Company but we want to steal some other people's stuff too. ;)

Thanks ----------- Kim

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:18 PM

oH CRAP, WHERE'S THAT TAPE... bARRY pHILLIPS i THINK? tHE wORLD tURNED uPSIDE dOWN, mEL bAY HAS THE SONGBOOK, TAPE IS GORGEOUS.... get it if you can. All colonial.

oops. sorry.

I think it was mentioned in a thread, if you do a search on that title.

And if you get words for "Rights of Conscience" please, PLEASE post them for me!

~S~

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: MMario
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:25 PM

Bruce o's website combined with Bodlian Ballads!

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Sorcha
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:47 PM

Try Cantaria or 16th Century Ballads

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Sorcha
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:52 PM

Let's try this page from Levy. Usually a link justs sends you to the Levy home page. I put the dates 1780-1790 in the date search box and hit 2. One is a comic opera many pages long.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Sorcha
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:54 PM

Link didn't work, I didn't think it would, just try Levy then Search. Use the Date boxes to search. Levy is American music.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Kim C
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 01:09 PM

I knew I could count on you guys! Thanks! :)

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: MMario
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 01:11 PM

hee-hee! couple songs in that comic opera look like they would be fun!

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Kim C
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 01:35 PM

For some reason Levy isn't letting me in there right now. I'll try again later. :)

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Jim Krause
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 02:13 PM

Kim, Congrats. I tried to get on at Mansker's this year, too. Didn't make it.

Try Popular Music of the Olden Time by William Chappell. He was a collector in the mid 19^th century and this book was published in 1859, I believe. Later it was reprinted by Dover. Chappell has some pretty decent notes on the music he collected as to where found, approximate date of publication, etc. Not all of the music in this collection is 18^th century, but most of it is.

Enjoy Mansker's. Jim

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 02:41 PM

The following sites contain alot of appropriate music with an abundance of information as well.

http://www.contemplator.com http://www.contemplator.com/tunebook/scotmidi.htm

Taylor Vrooman of Colonial Williamsburg did have some recordings available although a search through Google did not turn up anything concrete. There are also some good recordings by Ed McCurdey, including the bawdy "Dalliance" series.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Kim C
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 02:55 PM

Thanks Jim, and hang in there! This event gets bigger every year. :)

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Tinker
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 10:50 PM

If you go to the DT and enter "Pills to Purge Melancholy" (without the "") it will give a lengthy list of fun and bawdy songs from this source which the contributor identifies as 1719. Most have midi files. Don't know how accurate,but I've been having some fun with them.

Tinker

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Les B
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 12:28 AM

Try this site - haven't ordered anything yet, but looks interesting. There's also a good selection of midi tunes on one of the adjacent pages.

members.aol.com/kitchieboy/timelytunes.html

What are some of the fiddle tunes you play for that period ? We've got Lewis & Clark bicentennial events coming up in the next couple of years here in the Northwest and can use all the tunes from 1800 - 1806 we can find.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: GUEST,CraigS
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 09:13 PM

A good search word for this period is "minstrelsy" - just thought it might help.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: nutty
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 02:49 AM

Sorcha - thanks for the "Levy" link - a veritable treasure trove that I will spend many happy hours perusing

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Gypsy
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 12:33 AM

Have several Kitchen Musician books....highly recommend. great fakebooks, and lots have tapes available as well. Sara does a terrific job choosing and writing, and is affordable, as well. Sorcha, great sites!

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: raredance
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 01:01 PM

I have an old LP by Tayler Vrooman called "Songs from a Colonial Tavern" that was sponsored by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. There was also a songbook by the same title (1964, lib cong. # R 64-1211). The Colonila Williamsburg Foundation's catalog part of their website is currently down for repair and editing so I could not determine if either of those are still available. I could make a cassette copy of the LP if you are interested.

For a listing of some more recent CDs of colonial music go here: http://www.williamsburgmarketplace.com/product_line.asp?MGID=39

There are a number of books that contain songs about and from the Revolutionary War, but I am thinking you are more interested in material that doesn't have such military/political overtones. Two other books that I have might be of interest.

The Early American Songbook - by Lee Vinson (1974, ISBN 0-13-222778-9; lib cong. 74-76864). It has three sections. The first is the usual Patriotic Songs. The second is Ballads and Other Popular Songs. the third is Psalm-Tunes, Hymns and Singing-School Songs.

The American Musical Miscellany - A Collection of the Newest and Most Approved Songs Set to Music (1974 De Capo Press, isbn 0-306-77309-0, lib cong 75-39731). This is an unabridged reprint of a first edition published by Daniel Wright & Company in Northampton, MA in 1798. It is very unusual for a publication from that time in that all of the 100+ songs include the music. Most song books of the day were lyrics only. It has love songs, drinking songs, songs about the sea, even a song about a grasshopper.

rich r

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Timehiker
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 11:53 PM

Congratulations Kim!
I've done quite a bit of borrowing from Keith and Rusty McNeil. They have a series of tapes that include Colonial and Revolution songs, Moving West, Civil War songs, and songs from the labor movement. If I remember right, I ordered their tapes through Dixie Gun Works. I believe they also have a web sight now. I also have a Mel Bay book called Songs of England. The songs in it are not dated, but if you have a feel for the times, you can pick and choose. I also have a tape called "The Good Old Colony Days" by a lady named Linda Russell. I think she operates out of Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. Good luck to you, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

If you like Manskers, you'd probably enjoy the October event at Pricketts Fort in West Virginia. It's not nearly as big, but there's lots of period music all over camp and a big dance on Saturday night.

Take care
Timehiker

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Kim C
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:41 AM

thanks y'all!

Les B, several of the Kitchen Musician books have tunes from the period you're after. Plus if you just e-mail Sara Johnson at [e-mail] , she can recommend stuff for you. Have never met her in person but she has been very helpful when I had questions. Also I have just picked up a copy of The Playford Ball (which is no longer in print) - English country dance tunes collected by who else but Cecil Sharp - any of these would probably be appropriate. The same editor, Kate Van Winkle Keller, also did a book on Rev War fiddle tunes, which I think is also out of print, but I have seen several copies available from used book dealers on the Net.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 11:02 AM

I thought it unlikely the Playford Ball was out of print and checked the Country Dance & Song Society webpage - it is listed there:

http://www.cdss.org/sales/english_dance.html

(sorry no blue clicky)

and since they're the publishers I'm sure it is available. You'll likely find other relevant material in their catalog.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Kim C
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 11:51 AM

I had to order it from an out-of-print service. :)

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Les B
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:14 PM

Kim C - thanks for the leads - I'll pursue several.

I used to think "Old French" was from the 1800 period (and have actually heard it on a "Voyage of Discovery" CD associated with Lewis & Clark), but discovered it is probably from the 1920's according to the Ceolas site.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Davie K
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 05:50 PM

Have a look at the song 'Allan McLean' or The Four Students on my website - http://www.maxwellplace.demon.co.uk/pandemonium/allanmclean.html

There's a bit of history, the words, and a rather rapidly palyed and sung mp3 clip of about 15 seconds (this was early days, before I found mp3.com!). Actually, it should be played at half this speed as a slow song.

I make a note about changing the words to 'Virginia' as the story is one of a Scots emigrant returning to Aberdeen in the 18th century to go to Aulton College. Played slowly the melody is more like the traditional 'Polly Vaughan' and I apologise for making it rather quick and strident here in my attempt to create a small, short mp3 of a whole verse.

David, Kelso

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Jim Krause
Date: 20 Feb 01 - 03:52 PM

Les, I live hard by the banks of the Missouri River. And a whole bunch of folks are gearing up the the L& C Bicentennial here too. Some of the fiddle tunes that I play at these events are:

• Sailor's (College) Hornpipe
• Fisher's Hornpipe
• Soldier's Joy (King's Head Reel)
• Haste to the Wedding
• Protestant Boys (Lilliburlero)
• My Love Is But a Lassie Yet (the tune with a thousand names)
• Moniemusk
• Devil's Dream
• Irish Washerwoman
• White Cocade
• Miss M^cLeod's Reel
• Campbells are Coming
• Rose Tree

There, that ought to get you started. Don't forget to look for French Canadian tunes.
Jim

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Les B
Date: 21 Feb 01 - 12:55 AM

Jim - thanks for the list - I know, or know of, most of them except "Moniemusk" and I've seen it in the fakebooks. Will take another look at it.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: Kim C
Date: 23 Feb 01 - 03:59 PM

I was able to get a late 19th-century edition of selections from Popular Music of the Olden Time. Picked it up for $11.61 plus shipping from a Canadian book dealer off the abebooks.com website. What a great find! Thanks, Jim, for the suggestion - I looked for the Dover reprint but couldn't find one.

GUEST above is quite correct that the Country Dance & Song Society apparently has The Playford Ball for sale but that seems to be the only place, outside a used book dealer, where you can get it, and several other books that are no longer available elsewhere.

Subject: RE: Help: 18th century song resources
From: GUEST,Brewhouse Music
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 04:30 AM

I have Taylor Vroomans CD. The Parting Glass recorded just before he died. I also have his book SDongs From a Colonial Tavern. If of interest tel. [phone] or e-mail [e-mail].