In recent years, the assumption that traditional songs originated from a primarily oral tradition has been challenged by research into ’street literature’ - that is, the cheap printed broadsides and chapbooks that poured from the presses of jobbing printers from the late sixteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth. Not only are some traditional singers known to have learned songs from printed sources, but most of the songs were composed by professional writers and reached the populace in printed form. Street Ballads in Nineteenth-Century Britain, Ireland, and North America engages with the long-running debate over the origin of traditional songs by examining street literature’s interaction with, and influence on, oral traditions.
Once regarded as Ireland’s national bard, Thomas Moore's lasting reputation rests on the ten immensely popular collections of drawing-room songs known as the Irish Melodies, published between 1808 and 1834. Moore drew on anthologies of ancient music, breathing new life into the airs and bringing them before a global audience for the very first time. Recognizing the unique beauty of the airs as well as their symbolic significance, these qualities were often interwoven into the verses providing potent political commentary along with a new cultural perspective. At home and abroad, Moore’s Melodies created a realm of influence that continued to define Irish culture for many decades to come. Notwithstanding the far-reaching appeal and success of the collections, Moore has only recently begun to receive serious attention from scholars. Una Hunt provides the first detailed study of Moore’s Irish Melodies from a combined musical and literary standpoint by drawing on a practical understanding and an unrivalled performance experience of the songs. The initial two chapters contextualize Moore and his songs through a detailed examination of their sources and style while the following chapters concentrate on the collaborative work provided by the composers Sir John Stevenson and Henry Rowley Bishop. Chapters 5 and 6 reappraise musical sources and Moore’s adaptation of these, supported and illustrated by the Table of Sources in the Appendix.
Classified bibliography of special collections of documentation and subject emphases as reported by various library services and museums in the USA and Canada.
A wealth of texts of British and Anglo/North American folksong has long been accessible in both published and archival sources. For two centuries these texts have energized scholarship. Yet in the past three decades this material has languished, as literary theory has held sway over textual study. In this crusading book Roger deV. Renwick argues that the business of folksong scholars is to explain folksong: folklorists must liberate the material's own voice rather than impose theories that are personally compelling or appealing. To that end, Renwick presents a case study in each of five essays to demonstrate the scholarly value of approaching this material through close readings and comparative analysis. In the first, on British traditional ballads in the West Indies, he shows how even the best of folklorists can produce an unconvincing study when theory is overvalued and texts are slighted. In the second he navigates the many manifestations of a single Anglo/American ballad, “The Rambling Boy,” to reveal striking differences between a British diasporic strain on the one hand and a southern American, post–Civil War strain on the other. The third essay treats the poetics of a very old, extremely widespread, but never before formalized trans-Atlantic genre, the catalogue. Next is Renwick's claim that recentering folksong studies in our rich textual databanks requires that canonical items be identified accurately. He argues that “Oh, Willie,” a song thought to be a simple variety of “Butcher's Boy,” is in fact a distinct composition. In the final essay Renwick looks at the widespread popularity of “The Crabfish,” sung today throughout the English-speaking world but with roots in a naughty tale found in both continental Europe and Asia. With such specific case studies as these, Renwick justifies his argument that the basic tenets of folklore textual scholarship continue to yield new insights.
This is the first title in a new series called Poetry and Song in the Age of Revolution. This series will appeal to those involved in English literary studies, as well as those working in fields of study that cover Enlightenment, Romanticism and Revolution in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Songs of the West" (Folk Songs of Devon & Cornwall Collected from the Mouths of the People) by S. Baring-Gould, H. Fleetwood Sheppard, F. W. Bussell. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
One of the best ways to ascertain a nation's character is to examine its informal or unofficial culture - its folklore. Australians' sense of nationality is defined not merely in relation to the places they inhabit and the careers they pursue, but also via the slang and languages they speak, the jokes and yarns they exchange, the objects they make, the way they behave towards one another, and the games they play. As Australia approaches the centenary of Federation, it is timely that questions should be asked about the nature of the Australian identity in a changing, urbanized, multicultural society. The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore addresses these questions and illustrates the range and importance of Australia's folkloric heritage. Some of Australia's best-known writers, folklorists and academics have contributed articles to the Companion. Entries range from the descriptive (Gumleaf playing) to the analytical (Popular culture and folklore); from country halls to graffiti to archival preservation of audio tapes; from the bunyip to rebetika (Greek blues); from chain letters to patchwork quilts and Wagga rugs. Also included are biographies of notables in the folklore field, and short entries on myths and heroes such as Ned Kelly, Henry Lawson, 'The Wild Colonial Boy' and 'The Dog on the Tucker Box'. Many entries contain references for those wishing to read further on a particular topic, and an appendix supplies bibliographic guidance for researchers. Until recently, Australia was one of the few countries in the world that tended to disregard the collection, preservation, study and recognition of its folk heritage and its contemporary folklore. As well as being an invaluablereference for students, families and cultural historians, The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore is a milestone in the scholarship of Australian folklore.
