Fascinating folksongs of old will be brought to life as a London lecture series comes to Manchester’s Chetham’s Library. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Lectures gives a platform to experts specialising in a mixed menu of music subjects, from Night Visiting Songs to Hammer Dulcimer Players in East Anglia. The prestigious series is organised by the English Folk Dance and Song Society and will, this autumn, decamp from folk music mecca Cecil Sharp House to make its home in Manchester for the first time. The talks last 90 minutes – here’s what’s in store.
Street Literature and the Folk by Steve Roud (Thu 28 Sep)
Folk songs aren’t just about singing, according to Steve Roud, editor of the The New Penguin Book of English Folksongs. The tradition is also recorded in the form of printed material – broadsides, chapbooks and lyric sheets. In this talk on street literature, find out more from Steve about who sold such material, and discover the songs and stories that lie within.
Barbara Allen: Broadside Ballad, Theatre Song, Traditional Song by Vic Gammon (Fri 27 Oct)
‘Barbara Allen’ is a classic broadside ballad covered by the likes of Joan Baez and Simon & Garfunkel. In folk expert Vic Gammon’s revealing talk, you’ll discover that the ballad was first mentioned in Pepys’ Diary. Explore the song’s history and resilience from the 17th century, and the stage performances, literature and graphic art that surrounded it.
Drink, Song and Politics in Early Modern England by Angela McShane (Thu 30 Nov)
Angela McShane is a researcher from the Victoria and Albert Museum, and brings to Chetham’s a curious correlation: the rise throughout the 17th century of popular music, political parties and the consumption of booze. This talk explores the connection between those trends, especially the way song was used to encourage drinking – and obedience in society.
Chetham’s Library, Long Millgate, Manchester M3 1SB. Tel: 0161 834 7961, 7pm, £8 (£21 for all three), www.efdss.org
- Words:
- Fat Roland
- Published on:
- Fri 24 Nov 2017
