Traditional Song Forum

"Murder They Wrote" ...

... is the title of the 20th International Folk Song and Ballad Seminar to be held in Inishowen on the 20th - 23rd March 2009. Apart from some great singing sessions and concerts there are two talks that will be of particular interest to TSF members. The first will be given by Nicholas Carolan and is called "Where did you get all those? - Song collections of the Irish Traditional Music Archive." The second talk will be given by Peta Webb under the title "Poor Murdered Woman in English Songs and Ballads." Details from inishowenseminar@eircom.net

Festival of Village Carols

Ian Russell has sent me details of The Festival of Village Carols' which will be held in Grenoside Community Centre, Sheffield on Saturday 29th November 2008. There is a full days programme of singing and instrumental workshops and there will be a 'Grand Sing' in the evening with guest spots for invited choirs. Admission by ticket only from Village Carols, PO Box 2099, Sheffield S35 0XU or ring Ian and Norma Russell on 01224 645486.

Conference - The Voice in Oral History

Doc Rowe has sent me details of the Oral History Society Annual Conference, to be held at Strathclyde University, Glasgow on 3rd/4th July 2009. The title of the conference is 'The Voice in Oral History'. Further details and the call for papers can be found here

TSF meeting - Sheffield, 8th Nov 08

The next TSF meeting will take place at the Music Department of the University of Sheffield Taptonville Road) on Saturday 8th November. Details of the meeting are being worked out but, as well as the usual sharing of information about projects and other activity, there will be presentations from Sheffield students, and a celebration of Yorkshire song, marking the successful launch of the 'Yorkshire Garland' website. This will take the form of a seminar/forum interspersed with songs and with bags of opportunities for questions and other involvement with the audience, Singers confirmed include Will Noble (Holme Valley), John Greaves (Littlebeck nr Whitby) and Roger Hinchliffe (west Sheffield) - all farmers/ source singers with Steve Gardham sharing songs from the East Riding and his own family songs. It should be another great day so put the date in your diary now!

Pete Wood's book on 'The Elliotts of Birtley'

Pete Wood's new book "The Elliotts of Birtley" was launched at Whitby Folk Week and Birtley Folk Club with great success, and the reaction from the North East was been overwhelmingly positive. Published by Herron Publishing at Ł15.99. For more details and purchase see Pete's website www.petewood.co.uk, or email davidherron98@yahoo.com.

Irene Shettle and Ralph Jordan are presenting a show on September 11th at the Surrey History Centre, Woking based on Lucy Broadwood's work. Details as follows:

Irene Shettle (singer) and Ralph Jordan (multi-instrumental ist - bouzouki, guitar and duet concertina) will be performing their show
"Listen and You Shall Hear: The Life and Work of Lucy Broadwood" at the Surrey History Centre in Woking, Surrey on Thursday, 11th September 2008 at 7.30 pm. The show is being presented by Surrey Heritage, with generous assistance from Surrey History Trust.

Drawing on words and music from Lucy's diaries, correspondence, printed works and collected music, the show is intended to celebrate Lucy's life and work, her pivotal importance in the worlds of folk and classical music, and the 150th anniversary of her birth on 9th August 1858.

For further information on the show and the performers, please visit the Myspace page http://www.myspace. com/listenandyou shallhear

Tickets for the event must be booked in advance, and cost Ł10 (to include an interval glass of wine) .They will be on sale from 22nd July, and can be obtained from Surrey History Centre (tel: 01483 518737 or email shs@surreycc. gov.uk

At this year's Whitby Folk Week which is happening between Saturday 16th and Friday 22nd August, a number of TSF members are giving presentations or leading events. I have prepared a list of those and a few others that might be of interest. The list can be found here. (27th July 08)

On Sunday, 3rd August at 4 p.m. at the Sidmouth Arts Centre, Carol and I will be giving a presentation on the life and songs of Ray Driscoll (1922-2006), traditional singer. Ray was a true traditional singer. He was born in Ireland in 1922 but lived most of his life in England, where he died in 2006. He was unknown to the folk scene until later in his life when he attended a few folk clubs and festivals. He learnt songs such as My Bonny Boy, a version of Long a-growing, from his Irish father, and added to his repertoire when living in Shropshire and London, plus time spent in the Royal Navy. His repertoire consisted of many folk standards such as The Banks of Sweet Primroses and Jones' Ale, but there are also some songs unique to Ray, such as the satirical Napoleonic song Pompalerie Jig and a story of
highway robbery The Doughty Packman. Also unique to Ray was the song Wild, Wild Berry, a haunting reworking of the Lord Randal ballad. The presentation will focus on Ray's life and songs and will explore how a traditional singer acquires a repertoire and style and finds outlets for performance.

The talk will also feature a new CD of Ray, entitled `Wild, Wild Berry'. The CD can be purchased either on line through Paypal to properjob_publicati ons@yahoo. co.uk or by post by sending a cheque payable to G Davies to: Driscoll CD, 39 Buckles Close, Charlton Kings,
Cheltenham, GL53 8QT. The cost is Ł12 plus Ł1 postage (Ł2 postage for overseas). (27th July 08)

EFDSS will be hosting a clebration of A L Lloyd's life at Cecil Sharp House on 15th November 2008. 29th February 2008 is the centenary of Lloyd's birth and the celebration is also tied in with the publication of a bigraphy by Dave Arthur titled 'Bert: The life and work of A L Lloyd'. (20th Feb 08)

There is lots of Vaugham Williams stuff going on this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death. Tony Palmers's documentary film 'O Thou Transcendant' was aired by Channel 5 on New Year's Day and is an excellent record of RVW's life and work. Though focussed on the full range of his work it includes interviews with Malcolm Taylor and brief performances by Martin and Eliza Carthy to illustrate his work on folk music as well as demonstrating how he used traditional themes in his compositions. The film was made shortly before the death of Ursula Vaughan Williams and includes extracts of an interview with her made in the VWML. The video is available from EFDSS or from Amazon. (20th Feb 08)

At the January meeting Vic Gammon said that his new book, Desire, Drink and Death in English Folk and Vernacular Song, 1600–1900, would be available shortly. It is now on sale from the publisher, Ashgate. Persuade your local library to buy it if you feel the Ł50 price tag is a bit much. Details at https://www.ashgate.com/shopping/title.asp?isbn=0 %207546%206094%20X from where you (or your library) can also order the book ((20th Feb 08)

The 10th anniversary meeting of the Traditional Song Forum was held at Newcastle University on Saturday 19th January. The report of the meeting can be viewed here. There were six excellent presentations during the meeting, slides/text for some of which are available on this site, from the following links:

In addition, for paid-up TSF members,* a CD-R with the talks recorded as MP3 files can be obtained from the Secretary for a small administration charge - see details in the report. Thanks to the speakers for their diligent work and to Vic Gammon for hosting the meeting. (20th Feb 08)

* A subtle reminder that the 2008 sub is due - though we are grateful that so many people have paid up already this year.