Traditional Style Folk Music
Songs, tunes and instrumental accompaniments written in any era in the traditional style folk music genre which has its roots in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Songs, tunes and instrumental accompaniments written in any era in the traditional style folk music genre which has its roots in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Traditional Folk music encompasses songs and ballads, tunes, airs, and dance tunes some dating back to medieval times. Many of the traditional songs we still enjoy today were originally broadside ballads, printed between the 16th and 19th centuries and sung to tunes which were passed along orally, often changing over time according to the popular tunes of the day. The ballads were stories of love, seafaring, murder, the supernatural, highwaymen, poaching and often of longing and loss.
Sam Lee Sins Broadside Ballad "Lovely Molly" → →Understanding Broadside Ballads →
Traditional folk music includes songs written during the Industrial Revolution of hard work in factories and danger in the mines
Louis Killen singing Dirty Blackleg Miner →Songs written in Victorian times and set to old Irish and Scottish airs and tunes.
Carolina Oliphant's Victorian Composition →The song was written by Carolina Oliphant (1766–1845), who was also known as Lady Nairne. She was a Scottish songwriter who wrote the lyrics of many popular pieces. She set some of her lyrics to pre-existing tunes. She could read music, however, and is thought to have created some of the tunes that she used.
Perhaps the earliest collection of tunes was John Playford’s 1651 “The English Dancing Musician” “Grimstock” from the English Dancing Master J. Playford (1623 -1686)
"Grimstock" from The English Dancing Master - J. Playford (1623-1686) →Samuel Pepys had gathered a substantial collection of ballads by 1703. Sir Walter Scott published his three-volume collection Border Minstrelsy in 1802-3. The use of the term “folk” to describe the music of the “common” people was first used in 1846 when William J Thoms proposed a new word, Folk-Lore, which would replace the term “popular antiquities” to describe the tales, customs, beliefs, and songs of the common people. The collectors generally saw the music of the common people as a relic that needed to be preserved least it die out. Between 1882 and 1898 Francis Child published his collection of English and Scottish Ballads.
Willie's Lyke-Wake →At the end of the19th Century, Cecil Sharp became inspired to begin his folk song collection which would become the song archives of Cecil Sharp House, the “home of English Folk Music” with its vast recording and manuscript archives,
The 1950’s saw a revival of British traditional folk music with the Copper Family amongst others collecting, performing, and recording the traditional songs that were still being sung by older folk.
The Copper Family singing Spencer the Rover →Songs were also being written in traditional style by such people as Cyril Tawney and Ewan McColl. This was the beginning of the Folk Club era.
Cyril Tawney singing the Grey Funnel Line →Ewan McColl singing The Manchester Rambler →The 1960’s and 70’s saw the re interpretation of traditional folk songs by, amongst many others, Martin Carthy, The Watersons, Nic Jones, Dick Gaughan, Dave Burland, Boys of the Lough, Planxty, and Steeleye Span, to name but a few of the luminaries of that era.
Steeleye Span - All Around My Hat →Raggle Taggle Gypsy/Tabhair dom do laimh - Planxty →Dick Gaughan sings the World Turned Upside Down →The 21st century has seen a revival of interest in traditional music in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. In Wales, music groups such as Ar Log have revived traditional folk music alongside the revival of the Welsh Language. Celtic music traditions in Ireland and Scotland have continued to be a part of cultural life and feature in school programmes at all levels including tertiary study. The National Youth Folk Ensemble UK, is encouraging more young musicians to play traditional folk music. There are annual awards for traditional folk performance in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales including the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards,
Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker perform the banks of sweet primroses at the BBC Radio 2 Folk awards 2015 →and dozens of clubs and pubs playing host to a vast range of new and established artists from the UK and Ireland. From the top of the Highlands to the South of Cornwall, there are hundreds of annual Folk Festivals, from very large scale to single day events. Many established musicians are keeping the music vibrant and accessible to all. To name but a few: Fay Hield, Granny’s Attic, Lucy Pringle and Chris Wright, John McCusker, Eliza Carthy, Daoiri Farrell, Kris Drever, Blazin fiddles and the Young’ uns and Sam Lee.
the Young’ uns singing Gafoors Bus →Granny’s Attic sing Away to the South’ard We’ll Go →There have also been a couple of major projects bringing new life into traditional folk music. The imagined village, a folk band putting English balladry into new settings. In 2013 Fay Hield established The Full English, a supergroup who put together significant early 20th century folk song collections, reinterpreting, and returning them to the contemporary world.
Here in New Zealand the success of traditional style folksong The Wellerman on social media platform Tik-Tok, has revived an interest in sea shanties, and in Wellington a recent initiative, The Poneke Shanty club has proved very popular. Traditional folk music has always depended on enthusing the next generation to enjoy the music, to reinterpret it and to re-invigorate it.
Traditional folk music is like a tree. From it's roots in Medieval times, and on through the ages, grow the music and stories. Stories about celebration and ritual, of lovers parted by cruel circumstances, tales of daring and trickery.
We can join in the choruses, dance to the tunes, play the music together.
Our task is to nurture the tree, to keep it growing new branches relevant for the present and supporting a future which is always connected to the past.
