Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA welcome follow-up to Gregory's Victorian Songhunters: The Recovery and Editing of English Vernacular Ballads and Folk Lyrics, 1820-1833 (2006), this book presents tunes and texts for hundreds of songs from the published works of British folksong collectors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in particular Sabine Baring-Gould, Frank Kidson, and Lucy Broadwood. Active before sound-recording technology was generally available, these collectors listened to singers and transcribed what they heard into musical notation. Though the collectors may have made subtle changes to suit their own agendas, the value of their collections is immense. To further the assessment and enjoyment of this legacy, Gregory (history, Athabasca Univ., Canada) provides insightful commentaries on the world in which the collectors worked and on the music they found. He identifies himself as a cultural historian rather than an ethnomusicologist, but he makes significant contributions to both fields with this work. This book will please informed amateurs and academics interested in the history, culture, and music of the British Isles. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
