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history of the folk song society

24 Sep 06 - 08:57 AM (#1841972)
Subject: history of the folk song society
From: The Sandman

I am interested in the early days of the folk song society, before they were merged into efdss, was there any animosity between the two societies before they merged and does anyone know how Cecil Sharp was viewed by his contemporary collectors during the early twentieth century.


24 Sep 06 - 11:02 AM (#1842045)
Subject: RE: history of the folk song society
From: GUEST,Shimrod

""...and does anyone know how Cecil Sharp was viewed by his contemporary collectors during the early twentieth century."

A good place to start is Vic Gammon's fine introduction to the 'Still Growing: English Traditional Songs and Singers from the Cecil Sharp Collection', The English Folk Dance & Song Society in association with Folk South West, 2003 (ISBN 0 85418 187 3). Dr Gammon tells us that, "Sharp was not an easy man to get on with. On the other hand, he inspired loyalty among his friends and followers. These included Ralph Vaughan Williams ..., Maud Karpeles, Douglas Kennedy, and Helen Kennedy" ('Still Growing'p. 17).

For me this introduction is the best analysis of Sharp ever written and is very balanced and fair-minded - highly recommended.


24 Sep 06 - 12:44 PM (#1842125)
Subject: RE: history of the folk song society
From: GUEST,Ed

If you really want to know, you'll need to do the leg work (also know as research) yourself.

Shimrod gives a good starting point, but it's only one opinion.

Much is available in decent libraries, and it really depends on how interested you are...


25 Sep 06 - 08:12 AM (#1842763)
Subject: RE: history of the folk song society
From: The Sandman

Thankyou, was there any animosity between the two societies.


25 Sep 06 - 07:54 PM (#1843284)
Subject: RE: history of the folk song society
From: Malcolm Douglas

Read the article "Shimrod" recommends, and use David Atkinson's bibliography included in the same book to learn more.

The two societies had a lot of members in common, but covered different fields. There was no cause for "animosity" until they amalgamated. For more on that, see the above and David Atkinson's  English Folk Song Bibliography.

Useful information can also be found in the Folk Music Journal.

As Ed says, how much you find out depends on whether you are genuinely interested or not. We don't have time to do the work for you.