Folk Music History

1. Country-dances, reels, and strathspeys (type of dance tune) were all danced to folk music; and as the dancing-masters—the people largely responsible for setting the trends—normally accompanied lessons with their own fiddle-playing, it followed that the dance-music tradition centered itself round the solo fiddle. A number of other instrumentations were also in common use. Dances in the Country, c. 1850 Skinner left his own account of what the entertainments were like in his childhood in a series of articles he wrote for the People's Journal in 1923: … The musicians at the far end of the barn extemporized a platform out of the fanner. The orchestra generally consisted of small fiddle, bass fiddle (cello) for vamping, and an octavo flute. …I often wonder how I, a boy of eight or nine years, survived the physical strain and the loss of sleep which my duties with the band occasioned. It was nothing for Peter and me to trudge eight or ten weary miles on a slushy wet night in order to fulfil a barn engagement. … There were times even when I slept over the bass fiddle at the dances, and kept up the vamp subconsciously. Folk Music History Music originating among the common people of a nation or region and spread about or passed down orally, often with considerable variation. A kind of music originating from the ordinary people of a region or nation and continued by oral tradition. The ballad is a typical form of folk music. Music is also called “folk” when it is made by artists and composers who are inspired by, or imitate, true folk music. The painting 'The Highland Dance' by David Allan (1744-96) shows open-air dancing accompanied by one violin and a cello; with a bagpiper, not playing, helping himself to refreshments in the background. (Left) Francie "Markis" Jameson, an old-style "bass" player from the Northeast, c. 1890. Note the instruments the group uses are the same as early folk music troupes. The Gypsies and Their MusicThe gypsies, as well as their music, have been historically viewed as controversial subjects in the world. Their nomadic life style, their lack of solid religious foundation, their extreme musical expression (deep grief vs. great passion), and their gifted music skill, have been the theme of western literature and music over the centuries and the gypsy people have become the protagonists of anthropologists and historicists research from the 17th century up to this day. http://people.unt.edu/jw0109/misc/gypsy.htm Origins and definitions The terms folk music, folk song, and folk dance are comparatively recent expressions. They are extensions of the term folk lore, which was coined in 1846 by the English antiquarian William Thoms to describe "the traditions, customs, and superstitions of the uncultured classes." The term is further derived from the German expression Volk, in the sense of "the people as a whole" as applied to popular and national music by Johann Gottfried Herder and the German Romantics over half a century earlier. http://www.raggletaggle.co.uk/ http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/WilliamSidneyMount.html

2. Knowledge of the history and development of folk music is largely conjectural. Musical notation of folk songs and descriptions of folk music culture are occasionally encountered in historical records, but these tend to reflect primarily the literate classes' indifference or even hostility. As Christianity expanded in medieval Europe, attempts were made to suppress folk music because of its association with heathen rites and customs, and uncultivated singing styles were denigrated. During the Renaissance, new humanistic attitudes encouraged acceptance of folk music as a genre of rustic antique song, and composers made extensive use of the music; folk tunes were often used as raw material for motets and masses, and Protestant hymns borrowed from folk music. In the 17th century folk music gradually receded from the consciousness of the literate classes, but in the late 18th century it again became important to art music. In the 19th century, folk songs came to be considered a "national treasure," on a par with cultivated poetry and song. National and regional collections were published, and the music became a means of promoting nationalistic ideologies. Since the 1890s, folk music has been collected and preserved by mechanical recordings. Publications and recordings have promoted wide interest, making possible the revival of folk music where traditional folk life and folklore are moribund. After World War II, archives of field recordings were developed throughout the world. While research has usually dealt with "authentic" (i.e., older) material not heavily influenced by urban popular music and the mass media, the influence of singer-songwriters such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan expanded the genre to include original music that largely retains the form and simplicity of traditional compositions. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia http://www.answers.com/topic/folk-music The Cheshire Man Sample of Folk style Musical Instruments http://www.karmina.cz/ensemble.php A Cheshire man sail'd into Spain,To trade for merchandise;When he arrived from the mainA Spaniard him espies,A Spaniard him espies.Who said, 'You English rogue, look here!What fruit and spices fineOur land produces twice a year!Thou hast not such in thine,Thou hast not such in thine.'The Cheshire man ran to his hoardAnd fetch'd a Cheshire cheese,And said, 'Look here, you dog! behold!We have such fruits as these,We have such fruits as these.''Your fruits are ripe but twice a year,As you yourself do say;But such as I present you hereOur land brings twice a day,Our land brings twice a day.'The Spaniard in a passion flew,And his rapier took in hand:The Cheshire man kick'd up his heels,Saying, 'Thou'rt at my command,'Saying, 'Thou'rt at my command.'So never let the Spaniard boastWhile Cheshire men a bound,Lest they should teach him to his costTo dance a Cheshire Round,To dance a Cheshire Round. Tambour Fiddle Lute Hurdy-gurdy Kobza The words and melody of this tune are in Edward Jones's Popular Cheshire Melodies (1798). Mandoline Large Clapper Renaissance bagpipes Large Drum Alt cornamusa Folk Music of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and America. Bass Recorder http://www.contemplator.com/folk.html