It is welcome news that, thanks to the 100 Ballads project’s research and the Carnival Band’s recordings of English broadside ballads, there should be a renewal of interest in the riches of our common folk culture (Chart toppers of 17th century revived by historians and musicians, 28 January).
For many songs and ballads of the 16th and 17th centuries though, it is hardly a “comeback”. John Barleycorn, for example, was published in the Bannatyne Manuscript of 1568, becoming a London broadside in 1642. It went on to be incorporated in Vaughan Williams’ 1923 English Folk Song Suite before being recorded by the likes of Traffic, Steeleye Span and Martin Carthy.
In verses, snatches and stage directions, William Shakespeare makes reference to more than 200 popular songs. Some of them, such as that sung in As You Like It (1599), bear resemblances to later songs such as Hal-an-Tow, sung on Helston’s Furry Day and recorded by the Albion Band and the Oyster Band.
Then there is the ballad Martin Said to his Man, collected by Thomas Ravenscroft in his 1609 Deuteromelia, and subsequently performed by the City Waites and Tim Hart and Maddy Prior.
These songs are part of the shared repertoire that can be heard in many of today’s folk sessions. They take their place alongside the living traditions of song and tune making and playing.
Austen Lynch
Garstang, Lancashire
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