69-2 Summer 2007
A focus on the music, song and dance of Dorset as well as features on new EFDSS publications.
‘The Gleanings of Mr Sharp’s Harvest’ looks at the song collecting of Henry and Robert Hammond in Dorset in the early 20th century. A selection of the songs was published in 1965 in the EFDSS song book Marrow Bones, now completely revised and published once again.
The regular ‘Singer, Song and Source’ feature focuses on Faustus, with band member Paul Sartin writing about the song ‘I am a Brisk Lad’ collected from a distant relative, Edith Sartin.
The Thomas Hardy family tune books are re-examined by Dave Townsend in an article ‘One Rattling Randy After Another, and there is Dave’s arrangement of the tune ‘The Triumph’.
To round off the Dorset theme, editor Derek Schofield looks again at the county’s best known folk dance, ‘The Dorset Four-Hand Reel’. This article refers to three articles published in EDS some years ago. These articles are available here (soon) in pdf format:
Dave Townsend, with Joan Flett and Ann-Marie Hulme, with notes by Anne Clayton, Gillian Oates and John Wesencroft, ‘Some Dorset Reel-Steps’, English Dance & Song, 44, 2 (Summer/Autumn 1982).
A.D.Townsend, ‘The Dorset Five-Handed Reel, With Notes on Other Dorset Reels’, English Dance & Song, 43, 3 (1981). This article can also be viewed as a pdf file.
Joan Flett, ‘Northumberland and Dorset Steps’, English Dance & Song, 55, 4 (Winter 1993).
‘Celebrating Cyril’
– a brief report and photos of the tribute event to
Cyril Tawney,held in April.
‘The Lore of the Playground’: Steve Roud outlines a new survey of children’s folklore.
Reviews –
including John Kirkpatrick, June Tabor, EFDSS’s Listen to the Band CD, Ceilidh Minogue, Lau, the Musical Tradition’s Meeting’s a Pleasure CDs, Mary Humphreys & Anahata, Cyril Tawney, Alison McMorland & Geordie McIntyre, Fernhill, All Jigged Out, The Watersons.
Plus book reviews of Sue Cubbin’s book about Vaughan Williams’s song collecting in Essex, a novel featuring morris dancers called Bells, and George Frampton’s book on the Hoodeners of Kent.
Regular Features:
Branching Out; Festive Round-Up; Lives Remembered, Songs under the Microscope; News; Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer (list of dance events); EFDSS Matters; Letters; and The Source (list of regional folk magazines).
The new EFDSS tune book and accompanying CD, Hardcore English, are previewed, sadly alongside Ian Russell’s tribute to their compiler, Barry Callaghan who died very recently.
Eliza Carthy’s Gold Badge citation is published, written by the legendary record producer Joe Boyd.
The life and times of the Strawplaiters band from Bedfordshire are described by band leader Brian Patrick.
The EFDSS has just released a new CD of dance music, Running Joak, by The Gloworms. There’s a feature about the band.
Music Credits
Sound files that complement the features are included here:
'I am a Brisk Lad' sung by Faustus
'The Triumph' played by the Mellstock Band from their CD Glad Tidings (also available on the new EFDSS CD Hardcore English. Thanks to Mellstock Band and Dave Townsend for permission to include this recording. http://www.mellstockband.com
A track from The Gloworms CD Running Joak. Thanks to The Gloworms and EFDSS for permission to include this recording. http://www.gloworms.org.uk
