Giving life to the community - Maypole dance to traditional English musicians: Artist: Mark TaylorAsk the person on the street where the home of folk music is and theres a very strong chance they will point to Scotland, Ireland, or America. In fact the person on the street will pretty much site anywhere else in the world before recognising that England has a traditional music heritage that runs just as deep as any of our Scots Irish or Welsh neighbours.

Sadly, for the past 40 years, the perception of folk music in England has been tarnished by unfavourable opinions; not of the music itself, but of an archetypal image of the people who may perform folk music. A bearded man, clad in an Aaron sweater, finger in ear and singing through his nose, may be a clich, but over the years, its an image thats encouraged many to disinherit themselves from their own musical heritage. From the end of the nineteen fifties there were undeniably enough folkies in the clubs who adopted that much maligned look, to justify the lampooning of folk music and its stereo typical performer. The folk music being performed in the clubs and gatherings during the fifties was most often a revivalist interpretation of indigenous traditional English folk music that was still to be found surviving within the villages of rural England, as well as the industrial working class areas of the country, including fishing and mining communities.The mid twentieth century saw a burgeoning new wave of young traditional English folk music enthusiasts who had been caught first by an American folk music revival, which carried with it a left wing undercurrent. Championing this movement was the American singer/musician, Pete Segar. This was traditional music driven by a socialist and communist ideology. For these were the songs of the common man and so for one element of the traditional English folk movement, it was the perfect marriage for socio- political expression.The figurehead in England ploughing a similar furrow was Ewan MacColl. He was tracked by MI5 for over 20 years on the grounds that he was a dangerous communist radical. His interest in drama production and theatre workshops spilled over into an affected way of performing folk songs. His style was indeed the finger cupped around the ear, the jumper, the beard and he was wont to sing sat down on a reversed chair. This style was far removed from the true traditional English folk singers (also referred to as source singers) who in contrast, would typically sing a song simply and directly, sometimes with eyes shut, sometimes seeming detached from the words being sung. It could appear that the singer was acting purely as a conduit for a story set to music. They would carry an air of responsibility in their delivery, not only to the song, but to those long gone who had sung the song before; a trait which no doubt had its roots in our ancient oral tradition.In the sixties and seventies, traditional English folk music was expanded and expressed in a variety of ways including jazz flavoured folk, rock enhanced folk and progressive avant-garde folk. Even Led Zeppelin fans were proud to point out that far from being out and out rockers; the band also drew on their native folk heritage. In the 1970s, the folk group, The Spinners ran a BBC TV series which presented folk music in a light entertainment format. Their popular shows succeeded in as much as they brought folk music into living rooms all over the country, but many a purist felt they fell short of delivering the full spectrum of traditional music.

All the while the original source singers, fiddlers, dulcimer players, melodeon and concertina players, were a disappearing generation, whose local pubs had now given way to juke boxes. Where once an impromptu ditty would strike up or a drinker down his pint, and begin to step dance; now pubs resounded to the sound of one armed bandits. Traditional live music was being replaced by juke boxes playing rock n roll; a sound alien to the generation born in the century before. For the first time teenagers had their own music as well as their own fashion. The pull for youngsters to leave behind the music of former generations was great.Ralph Vaughan Williams researched, noted and even recorded (on wax cylinder) folk songs across the south of England and today at Cecil Sharp House; the Vaughn Williams Library contains the most important concentration of material on English traditional song, dance, and music in the country

Below are two examples of wax recordings. David Penfold from Rusper in Sussex, is here recorded in May 1907, singing a song called The Trees they do Grow High and the other song is sung by Peter Verrall, Monks Gate, Sussex, recorded in April 1907, singing the Rambling Sailor. Both were recorded by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Allowances have to be made for the quality of these primitive recordings as they are over 100 years old.Ralph Vaughn Williams used a number of folk songs he had recorded, as inspiration for classical compositions. A fine example being the hymn To Be a Pilgrim. The original melody originating from the folk song Our Captain Calls All Hands which he heard sung by Mrs Verrall from Monks Gate, Sussex. And so the folk song and music of Sussex and other parts of England continued to be discovered and recorded as with the discovery of Henry Burstow in Horsham and his astounding folk song repertoire of over 400 songs. All of which he could sing at the drop of a hat.

Henry Burstow 1826-1916As for folk music today; thankfully a new wave of folk musician in England is finally taking the attention away from the stereo typical bearded folkie.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BOSNIAN AND ENGLAND MUSIC .- Their music is based more by classical music than our, because almost all our songs are about falling in love and loving your country- Bosnia. - When they sing folk music, they also have special clothes. For an example we can use ( Scotland) we all know how their clothes look like. - Almost every person needs to know their songs, dances, but in Bosnia, its not like that. - Even now, they always listen folk songs and you can see on their movies. Theyre always saying: We need to respect history of our country, we cant forget our people so we need to know all these songs . Everyone . Thats our culture .