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Voices: English Traditional Songs

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Voices
English Traditional Songs
Various Artists

Fellside Recordings FECD87 (CD, UK, 1992)
Musica Pangaea MP10004 (CD, USA, 1999)

Compilation produced by Paul Adams.
All tracks recorded by Paul Adams unless otherwise stated.
Edited by Graham Bell.

Tracks

Maddy Prior: The Blacksmith (3.14)
Cyril Tawney: The Broken Token (2.19)
The Watersons: Cob-a-Coaling (2.01)
Peta Webb: Go and Leave Me (4.39)
A. L. Lloyd: The Mower (2.00)
Roy Bailey: Four Loom Weaver (2.51)
Dave Weatherall & Martin Hall: Two Brethren (2.24)
Linda Adams: Up in the North (2.58)
Martyn Wyndham-Read: The Constant Lovers (5.26)
Peter Bellamy: The Brisk Young Widow (1.43)
Hughie Jones: Sweet William’s Ghost (3.48)
Patti Reid: The Fowler (Polly Vaughan) (3.19)
The Wilsons: 18^th Day of June (Plains of Waterloo) (3.03)
Bram Taylor: Lord Randal (4.00)
Damien Barber: Old Brown’s Daughter (2.58)
Frankie Armstrong: Banks of Green Willow (4.12)
John Kirkpatrick: King Jamie and the Tinker (4.53)
Martin Carthy: Young Emma (4.53)
The Arthur Family: Come Write Me Down (Wedding Song) (2.54)
Roy Harris: I Would That the Wars Were All Done (1.59)
Shirley Collins: The Banks of the Mossom (1.49)
Dave Burland: William Taylor (2.41)
Swan Arcade: Noah’s Ark Shanty (2.23)
June Tabor: The Bonny Boy (2.59)
Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies: Felton Lonnen / Here’s the Tender Coming (3.18)

Sleeve Notes

Singing is one of the basic human art forms; apart from humming, whistling or tapping some part of the body, it is the only way of making music. We share the art with various other creatures on this planet and, as far as we can tell, humans have always sung in one form or another and in every culture. The collection of songs on this recording belongs to a group called English Traditional folk songs and they are presented in their simplest form—unaccompanied by musical instruments. To describe some of the singing here as simple is to do the singers a grave injustice because you will find here some of the supreme stylists performing within the genre; from the gentle nuances of Dave Burland’s style, through the intricate decorations of Maddy Prior and Martyn Wyndham-Read, all way to the outrageous mannerisms of Pete Bellamy. The harmony singing takes in the highly structured part singing of Swan Arcade as well as the loose harmonies of The Watersons.

All the singers here are what are termed Revival singers having come into this style of singing through the folk song revival. Many were probably influenced by singing traditions within their own families, but they have also turned to books, recordings and other revival singers as well as the whole gamut of 20^th Century musical culture, to develop their style. They will also have used as their focal point what are termed “source” singers: people who have grown up in a culture where singing songs (traditional or otherwise) was part of the life which went on around them. Various source singers are mentioned in the notes to the songs and the listener is encouraged to seek out what recordings are available. There are almost four generations of revival singers represented here: starting with the late A.L. Lloyd, on to Cyril Tawney, Hughie Jones and Martin Carthy to Jez Lowe and The Wilson Family right up to young singers such as Damien Barber and Eliza Carthy who have joined the continuum. It is hard to find a stereotype folk singer here. A wide variety of styled and techniques are used. All have absorbed from, and paid their dues to, the tradition.

This album does not set out to represent all types of traditional songs. The singers were asked to contribute a song of their choice. In fact you will find examples of sea songs, broken token ballads, rustic idylls, industrial ballads, ritual songs and classic ballads. The sources include songs from the early collections of Cecil Sharp, from the continuing traditions of families such as the Coppers from Sussex and from other singers who are still alive. Are traditional songs relevant today? This subject could occupy many pages, but suffice it to say that you will find in these songs madness, abduction, sex, transvestites, songs about work, tall tales, love, war and all the other things we read about in our daily papers which have interested folk for centuries.

This collection came about because I felt that English traditional song had been neglected by the so-called World / Roots music movement of the late 1980’s. Here I must pay tribute to the late Peter Bellamy, friend, journeyman singer, influencer of folk scenes and champion of traditional song. After the idea had been rattling around my head for some time, I talked it over with Pete late one night. He became fired with enthusiasm and bullied me into getting on with it. His sudden death was a tragic loss. This album is dedicated to Pete and I would like to think that he would be pleased with the result. It is also a tribute to all those who keep the tradition alive. My grateful thanks go to all the singers who gave of their time and talents and who entered into the spirit of the project.