EFDSS News Page - October 2009 |
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News Item Quick Links...
December 2009 Discover Your Inner Folk... the return of the Saturday Music Workshops!
Sharp's Folk Club Forthcoming Featured Singers
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Arts Council Funding Heralds New Era for the English Folk Dance and Song Society
EFDSS was founded in 1932 following the amalgamation of the Folk Song Society (founded 1898) and The English Folk Dance Society (founded in 1911) and is based at Cecil Sharp House in Camden. It has been a centre of excellence for the study, practice and dissemination of traditional English song, dance and music as well as being home to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library; the most important collection of traditional song, dance and music material in the country. EFDSS is also a membership organisation with around 4,000 members and affiliated clubs. EFDSS Chief Executive, Katy Spicer, welcomed the news, saying: “The announcement of this funding is exciting news for EFDSS and the folk arts in general. We are very much on the crest of a folk revival and this money will allow us to be proactive in how we support English folk arts. We will shortly be announcing a range of schemes to support artists through showcases and partnerships, as well as developing our existing education strategy. “We will also be working towards creating the definitive online resource for both our members and the general public, creating a new website that will make even more of our library and archive collections available.” Susanna Eastburn, Director of Music Strategy, Arts Council England said: “We are delighted to be investing in EFDSS over the next two years to support its ambitions to be a national development organisation. This is a very exciting time for folk music with a generation of world class artists influencing a new set of young performers who are challenging perceptions and attracting wide audiences and media interest. “Our investment will build on the EFDSS’s iconic status to create a national programme of artist and audience development, industry networking, training and increased opportunities for children and young people.” |
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A Ceremony of Carols and Customs Sunday 20 December You are cordially invited to the annual all-day event of festive celebration! An afternoon Tea Dance with caller Brenda Godrich and music from Maggie Fletcher, Vic Godrich and Alison Messer. All day ticket £14, £12 conc. ________________________________ |
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Davy Graham: A Life in Celebration Saturday 28 November, 2 - 11pm Martin Carthy and friends: Doors 2pm – 5pm The timeless Folk Roots, New Routes (1964), in collaboration with EFDSS President and world renowned singer Shirley Collins, is considered by many as a key milestone in British folk music and beyond. With afternoon and evening events, the day will feature exhibitions, talks and performances for what promises to be a glowing tribute to one of England's greatest. |
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Autumn Concert Dates Announced
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Mumchance & Guise How does a costume transform its wearer and when does the costume itself become a work of art? Artists: Mumchance and Guise: Procession and Performance This Procession and Performance is part of the archives and artefacts exhibition, 'Mumchance and Guise' at Cecil Sharp House. The event will begin at sunset (between 4.30 and 5pm) with a twilight procession of disguised performers and musicians from nearby Primrose Hill. The eclectic group will make the short walk to Cecil Sharp House, Trefusis Hall where a series of performances will take place.
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Please click below for more information on the Saturday Music Workshops, the enrolment form and instrument loan form (pdf format); Saturday Music Workshop Information Pack To enrol simply print out and complete the form with payment to EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, Further questions? |
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The Cecil Sharp House Community Choir is based at the home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) in Camden. Under the leadership of Sally Davies, the Choir is fast gaining a name for its distinctive acappella harmony arrangements of beautiful, bawdy, funny, moving and surprising folk and traditional songs from the British Isles and around the world. In 2009 the Choir has performed at: Cecil Sharp House (St.George's Day concert), South Bank Centre (Voicelab Welcomes Series), British Library (A Singing History of London launch event) To enrol simply print out and complete the necessary form below with payment to EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY; (pdf. format) Enrolment Form
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| Singing Histories: London EFDSS has recently worked in partnership with Sing London to produce Singing Histories: London - an illustrated song booklet which tells the story of London via its historic songs including street traders’ rhymes; ballads about the river, love, war, crime and punishment; rhymes and ditties; and songs of London pride. Download a copy of the Singing Histories: London booklet hereand accompanying Teachers' Notes here. For more information about the Singing Histories project which is creating song books – primarily drawing from folk and traditional songs - in eight areas across England visit the Sing London website here: http://www.singlondon.org/histories.html
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Photograph: Elaine Bradtke
The Take 6 Archives Team: Keri Myers, Malcolm Taylor, Steve Roud and Richard Butterworth, with CE Katy Spicer and EFDSS President, Shirley Collins
EFDSS President Shirley Collins |
The Take 6 Archives Website Goes Live! At 6.30pm on Tuesday 9th June, 2009, our President, Shirley Collins, punched the key that launched the Take 6 Archives website. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, this site hosts six of our major manuscript collections - those of Janet Blunt, Anne Gilchrist, George Gardiner, the Hammond brothers, Francis Collinson and George Butterworth. 22,000 digital images display the actual papers and notebooks that have been locked away in a small room in Camden Town for over half a century. Now they are at your finger tips. Go to: In 2007 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) a grant of £154,500 for a.. implement a conservation treatment programme and collection care plan for the EFDSS archives collection b.. catalogue and digitise six of its major manuscript collections and provide access to some 22,000 images through this website c.. use the materials from the collections with eleven primary schools in London, Hampshire and Lancashire d.. create an educational websites for children and teachers -- www.funwithfolk.com and www.teachingfolksong.com (to be launched 2nd July, 2009) e.. promote Take 6 in the community through leaflets and display boards at various locations and folk music events in Hampshire and Lancashire f.. run a reminiscence project with Redriff Primary School in Rotherhithe, London g.. hold celebration events at Cecil Sharp House, the headquarters of the EFDSS This website is the result of archival work carried out within this project and will form the platform for more materials to be made available in the future. Further folk art related materials can be found on VWML Online, the site for the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
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Family Friendly Events The Family Friendly programme will draw on a range of folk art forms from the British Isles – dance, song, music, visual arts, storytelling, drama – complemented by traditional and folk art forms from other parts of the world, as well as contemporary, urban and classical arts. These events are for children of all ages and their parents, carers and families. Watch out for more events coming soon in Autumn 2009! ________________________________
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Beryl Marriott
for her lifetime contribution to folk music John Heydon for his work with the National Folk Festival and Haddenham Ceilidhs The Skiffle era of the mid fifties introduced John Heydon to Lonnie Donegan and the Vipers where he then trace their sources to Woody Gutherie and Leadbelly, This led in 1958 to John making his first foray to the Ballad and Blues club run by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger.John’s work with the Herga Folk Club would see him take over the running of the club by1966. For the next twenty-three years John ran the venue almost every Monday evening. In 1972 he discovered Haddenham Village Hall and by December of that year was organising ceilidhs there on the first Saturday of every month, an event that continues to this day. The December ceilidhs at Haddenham soon evolved into the Haddenham Festival, with John still staging the event, now in its 26th year. In the late 60’s the Herga Club organised charabanc trips to the Bromyard and Sidmouth Festivals. John caught the Morris bug through attending the Simouth workshops run by Hugh Rippon and this led to the formation of the mighty Herga Morris. In 1980 John took over the running of the Loughborough Festival but by the following year John had recognised that the festival was not financially viable and it was cancelled. In 1984 the festival was reborn as the National Festival and held at Sutton Bonnington Agricultural College, with John in full control. Through his many contacts, his reputation and his considerable personal charm, he was able to attract the best traditional singers from the British Isles, Ireland and beyond. From his love of traditional song, John created an outstanding festival and ran it successfully for 22 years.To this day John continues to run the Haddenham Ceilidhs and Dragon Records, an outstanding and on-going resource for folk music enthusiasts which he set up in 1977. John has recently renewed his long association with the organisation of Sidmouth Festival which started in 1979 and included running the Festival with Steve Heap from 1987 to 1995.
John Heydon receives his Gold Badge award from EFDSS President Shirley Collins, at Haddenham Festival on 6 December 2008. Ray Fisher for her contribution to traditional song Ray was born in Glasgow, into a family to whom music and song were very important. Her father was a soloist with the City of Glasgow police choir, with a repertoire ranging from traditional songs to operatic arias. Her mother, from the island of Vatersay in the Western Isles, spoke and sang in Scots Gaelic.In the late fifties Norman Buchan established the Ballads Club, which attracted many young singers and musicians, including Ray, who were eager to learn more about their own traditional songs. The club would be the place where Ray would meet and form an influential friendship with Scottish singer Jeannie Robertson.Ray made regular appearances on Scottish Television. With her continuing success Ray performed all over the country. During one visit to the Bridge Folk Club, Newcastle, Ray met Colin Ross and in 1962, she and Colin married, moving to Tyneside permanently. That same year, Ray was also part of Arnold Wesker’s Centre 42 project, and was asked by Bert Lloyd to sing on his album of industrial folk songs, The Iron Muse. Ray has taught on numerous Folkworks courses and most recently peformed at Whitby Folk Festival. Louis Killen for his contribution to traditional song Louis Killen grew up in
a family that sang everything from Catholic hymns, to songs from their
native Ireland and Tyneside music-hall pieces. In his teens in the early
1950s, he began singing to audiences, and by 1955 moved to study at
The Catholic Workers’ College in Oxford. Here he came across
the University’s Heritage Society, the University’s folk
club, and discovered the rich diversity of traditional British folk
song. He sang regularly at London’s
legendary Troubadour, and was a member of the folk music tour that
was part of Centre 42. The next wave of singers was emerging from
behind the founding fathers, MacColl and Lloyd, and Louis Killen was
their leader. He was the key person to popularise some of the standard
songs of the revival – ‘Pleasant and Delightful’,
‘The Leaving of Liverpool’ and ‘The Wild Rover’,
and his repertoire also notably featured mining and sea songs. Louis contributed to albums
for Topic, including three EPs which became the LP Along the Coaly
Tyne, the sea songs album, Farewell Nancy, and his own solo record,
Ballads and Broadsides in 1965.In 1966 Louis went to America
on a three month tour, and returned to live there in 1967. In 1971
Louis joined The Clancy Brothers and for six years toured the world
with them. By the 1980s, he was living on the west coast and working
in the Maritime Museum in San Francisco. Visits home to England were
rare. This changed with a major tour in 1990 that drew large audiences.
Regular tours followed and a few years ago he returned home to his
native Gateshead.
Colin has been actively
involved in the promotion of the traditional music of North East England
for nearly 60 years. He first joined the Earsdon Sword dancers, playing
the fiddle, and then saw and heard the Northumbrian pipes played by
Colin Caisley and Forster Charlton, and was immediately attracted
to them.
Left to right: Louis Killen, Ray Fisher and Colin Ross after being presented with Gold Badges of the English Folk Dance & Song Society at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Bridge Folk Club, Newcastle upon Tyne, 17 November 2008. _________________________________________________________ |
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FESTIVAL
LISTINGS - 2009 _________________________________________________________ |
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VOLUNTEERS
NEEDED Verity, Stewart, Jon and Jane
can always use a bit of extra help in the Society's administration
office. Roles range from picking and packing CD's and books, through
to general secretarial support. |
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