Week 6 Supplement: English Folk in its Regional Variety

In Rugby, Warwickshire

The question came up in class as to how English songs are presented--Baylor wanted to know if there was a more raucous tradition in parallel to how we tend think of English folk material. Helen (who's visiting from Leeds, and whose home is in Warwickshire) sent us this:

I did a little research and found some youtube videos relating to many different styles and periods of English folk. This isn't an exhaustive list, but there are some really beautiful and interesting things here. A lot of the music has quite a strong regional identity, as some parts of England such as Cornwall, Northumbria and the West Country used to be separate. Of course, class is a really massive factor, so songs that were sung in royal court are a lot better preserved than the old drinking songs sung by the common people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS4hJkKSuY8 - industrial revolution work songs (recorded by Alan Lomax)

http://youtu.be/AhqHBigE3ZE - Morris dancing!

http://youtu.be/R8vXR92hiuU - madrigals. non-religious Renaissance/Baroque music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfeEY71r9Vc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PweXRsMQAms - sea shanties

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UvesKl8_W8 - medieval folk song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWQjpSwxS94 -  version of a 18th century Romantic song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRkI8OhhHJc - traditional drinking song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeZDfcKVsPM - Cornish folk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4piTON0IMI - the wonderful Eliza Carthy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzfmkWFl16g - fiddle and accordion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln-qXAz7tp8 - this is a really beautiful song, with a great jig going on too!

I hope this is helpful for what we are going to discuss!   Helen