Letters - 2017

When Cecil Left the Mountains review

Mike Yates - 5.12.17

Re: Austerity

Regarding your Austerity editorial, I can sympathise with you regarding the disappointing sales, and I can agree with most of your points.

You made this comment:

Despite continued interest in, and playing of, traditional music - at the ECMW and several similar events and numerous sessions - there seems to be no similar enthusiasm for traditional singing.

The relaunched Library lectures at Cecil Sharp House have been very well supported over the last couple of years, as have the recent series of lectures at Cheethams Library in Manchester ... better supported than the lectures I arranged in Manchester in the 1980s.  Most of these (all the Manchester ones) have been about song.  The talks at Sidmouth and Whitby on folk song this year were well supported.

Of course, it would be great to see more traditional singing, more enthusiasm for hearing the sort of CD you put out, more interest in traditional song.  I don't have any magic solutions however!

best wishes

Derek Schofield - 23.11.17

I suspect that it may be, to some extent, due to the level of skill required to sing an unaccompanied song successfully, as compared to joining in with a tune in a session.  Though, with this 'modern folk', you also have to learn to play an instrument at the same time!

Maybe it's about skill levels of a different order.  With those other two real enthusiasms, Punk and Skiffle, all you needed were two chords and a loud voice in order to participate!  Perhaps we, of the post-revival age, have progressed enough to make it hard for inexperienced beginners to have a go?  Or maybe not ... today's young musicians don't seem to be lacking in the skills department!  Like you, I don't have any magic solutions either.

Rod Stradling

Victoria Shifflett Morris

https://www.crozetgazette.com/2013/05/06/secrets-of-the-blue-ridge-victoria-morris-from-bacon-hollow-to-pennsylvania-avenue/

I won't repeat all that is in the article, except to say that Mrs Morris was born Victoria Shifflett in Western Greene County, VA in 1895, and that like some other Appalachian singers sang on one occasion at the White House.  The photograph, taken in the early 1930's shows Mrs Morris together with her sons Fred and Alton, and, in the front, Tim.  I hope that readers will go to this article, which is well worth reading.

Mike Yates - 7.11.17

Help please

Folktracks FSA-60-100 - Phoebe and Joe Smith - I am a Romany

In exchange I can offer numerous items of traditional performers from around the world in multiple genres, many from 78s or private field recordings which have either not been reissued in the vinyl/CD era or which never had a commercial release in any form.

Fingers are crossed in hope.

Keith Chandler - 20.9.17
keithc650@aol.com

Re: When Cecil Left the Mountains

" Well, peckerwood, peckerwood, woodpecker,
What makes your head so red?"
" I've been working on the levee,
And the sun done burnt my head, Lord, Lord,
The sun done burnt my head."

I really do love this sort of thing.  Here we have a verse, which is related to a song from 17th century England, being included in a song about the legendary character John Henry.  Such are the ways of the folk.

Mike Yates - 4.7.17
Wiltshire

Re: Crazy Jane (MT Article 308)

And I only Googled Jane because I wanted to find a date for my Abrams copy!

37 ABRAMS: 'Crazy Jane', a favourite song the words by M G Lewis Esq [M.P] and set to music with an accompaniment for the harp or piano forte by Miss [Harriett] Abrams.  Printed for G Shade, East Side of Soho Square.

Admiration!

Kurt Gänzl - 29.6.17
New Zealand

The Red, White & Blue

"In particular, the one from Rottingdean and this area was called the 'Brookside Shearers'. And they used to do from Rottingdean, along to Newhaven, because there was nothing here at all, nothing [in other words, before there was any development at all at Peacehaven]  Then they would go all up the west side of the river [the Ouse] to Kingston, to Newmarket, Falmer and always end up at Rottingdean because that was the biggest farm.  That was their itinery.  They used to sleep rough, sleep in the barns.  They used to start off in their first night to make arrangements of where they were going and what they were going to do and that was called 'White Ram Night'.  They'd agree on a pub for headquarters.  Usually it was the Red, White & Blue in Lewes.  It's no longer a pub.  It was until fairly recently.  I've had a drink there.  Is it Friars Walk?  Anyway, it's a green tiled place."

Vic Smith - 14.3.17

Re: The Streets of Brummagem and the Shenley Court Folk Group

I've been listening to a great LP recently that was directed by Roy Palmer.  It's called The Streets of Brummagem and involves some very professional sounding singing and instrumentation as well as children joining in to sing the choruses etc.

I was wondering if anyone knows any more about this LP and its partner which was issued the year before in 1970 Birmingham Lads?

Both records are recorded in Mono by Charles Horrell and the one I have is a real pleasure.  The Singing Tradition are mentioned and so this is even a Topic link because they recorded for Impact - the Topic subsidiary (on the album The Painful Plough).  Perhaps this group is the answer to the question 'Who is the main performer?'  Both of these relatively rare LPs are available to listen to in their entirety on Youtube.com

I'd love to hear, though MT, if anyone has any first hand knowledge about the record or what led to its recording and release.

best regards

Alistair Banfield - 12.2.17

Thanks

I have been ordering MTCDs for years now and every time I've ordered I've had the good intention to write to thank you.  But we know what yon broad, broad road is paved with.

I am hugely, hugely grateful for the insane amount of work you, and others, put in to Musical Traditions.  Years ago I started with Steeleye and Fairport, then it was Carthy and Tabor, and now it's Voice of the People, Veteran and you.

For me, the best thing is the CDs you release.  As you know, I now have nearly all of them, and they are a joy.  I keep them in my office at work, where I can listen undisturbed when I have time.  I can't claim that anyone has been reduced to tears by the music, however.  My favourite, by some way, is the Lizzie Higgins.  I find it hard to believe that any of your releases could sell only 30 copies.

Next comes the reviews.  I get various magazines, but you cover things others don't.  I got two Felmay releases for Christmas, and am in the process of getting the two books of songs about Napoleon.  Thank you.

I do read all the articles, though I take my time.  It may be months from when they are posted to when I read them.  Much appreciated all the same.

In your New Year message to the nation, you encouraged people to contribute.  The first time I went to Cecil Sharp House, in 1984, I was made to feel unworthy because I neither play nor sing; I am a mere consumer.  I feel the same now: I know I should do something, but what?  The level of scholarship in the MT articles is daunting - people work very hard on difficult to find sources, have tremendous background knowledge, and present it very well.  I teach English at university here in Japan, and am expected to write.  There are literally thousands of people here writing about English teaching, so I switched to writing about folk song.  I've written half a dozen articles, but they are very much popularization for a Japanese readership, people who know nothing about the music.  I would not dream of submitting them.

I've learned to read the reviews.  They tend to go:
1. This is an essential CD/book.
2. to 9. These are all the things that are badly wrong with it.
10. Buy it immediately.

One result of this was the entertaining but undignified (on both sides) spat about the Elizabeth Cronin book and CD (nearly as much fun as Bearman vs Harker on Sharp).  If it really has put him off doing another project, as he claimed, then that is a shame.  Anyway, the point is that your contributors do not suffer fools gladly, and I fear I would be eaten alive if I put anything out there.

On another topic:

I've been a member of the EFDSS for a while now. I was already a member when I was made to feel very welcome by Malcolm Taylor when I spent a week at the VWML in 2005.  The Society seems to be much better run than in the past, and the online resources are terrific - I could not write my little articles without the Roud indexes.  I find the book reviews in the Journal invaluable.

That said, I fully agree with you about the new EDS.  Not only is there nothing traditional, but the number of reviews has been greatly reduced, and the magazine has been designed.  There are lots of elegant white spaces, so it looks good.  It's just a shame the content has been halved.  Nor, far from London, do I need a self-congratulatory page telling me about wheelchair access to Cecil Sharp House - that should be a footnote.  There is now nothing there that is not covered by fRoots, Living Tradition and you.

But I will continue to remain a member because I think it's important to support the EFDSS in general.

This has become rather long.  If you have read this far, thank you.

I look forward to your next 3 releases, and I will no doubt buy the Rounder NAT reissues at some point.

With great gratitude,

Simon Rosati - 1.2.17

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