From: Jo Cunningham [press_at_efdss_dot_org]
Sent: 19 April 2017 09:30
Subject: New project brings major folk song collection to the UK
Attachments: James Madison Carpenter, whose collection is being added to the
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Digital Archive. Credit - the James Madison
Carpenter Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.jpg
April 19, 2017
New project brings major folk song collection to the
UK
A new project to incorporate a pivotal collection into the world's largest
online searchable database of folk songs and music has been announced.
The digitised collection of James Madison Carpenter, which has previously only been accessible by visiting the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, will be added to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Digital Archive, thanks to a grant of more than £63,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Follow-on Funding Scheme.
Carpenter's work includes a wealth of traditional songs, ballads and folk
plays, collected from performers in Scotland, England and Wales by the
Harvard-trained scholar, mostly in the period 1929-35.
As well as more than 2,000 items of traditional song and 300 folk plays, it
contains some items of traditional instrumental music, dance, custom, narrative
and children's folklore.
The project is being delivered by the Elphinstone Institute, the centre for the study of Ethnology, Folklore, and Ethnomusicology at the University of Aberdeen, in partnership with the English Folk Dance and Song Society, which runs the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library and Archive (VWML) at Cecil Sharp House in London.
A new learning resource for
teachers will be created for the online EFDSS Resource Bank using a selection
of material from the collection. EFDSS will also deliver a series of creative
learning projects with young people, adults, and in schools to introduce the
collection to a new audience.
The project will culminate in a celebration
concert at Cecil Sharp House in March 2018 featuring material from the
Carpenter Collection.
Laura Smyth, Director of the VWML, said: "The
Carpenter Collection will be a fantastic addition to our digital archive with
collected materials from the early 1930s - a period with little activity from
English based collectors.
"It also features a large number of audio
recordings, allowing us to get even closer to the original performances."
Dr Julia Bishop, leader of the James Madison
Carpenter Collection Project, said: "?The Carpenter Collection has been hidden
for so long. This is a wonderful opportunity to return it to the communities
and places where so much of it originated."
ENDS
Caption: James Madison Carpenter, whose collection is being added to the Vaughan
Williams Memorial Library Digital Archive. Credit - the James Madison Carpenter
Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C
?.
Further
images are available.
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For further press information please contact: Jo
Cunningham (PR Manager, part time) press_at_efdss_dot_org or 07815 913887
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?
OTES TO EDITORS
1.
? ?
The English Folk Dance and
Song Society (EFDSS) was established in 1932 by the merger of the Folk-Song
Society, founded in 1898, and the English Folk Dance Society, founded by Cecil
Sharp in 1911. As the national development organisation for the folk arts,
EFDSS aims to place the traditional arts of England at the heart of our
cultural life - preserving, protecting, disseminating and promoting English
traditional folk arts. Since its beginnings EFDSS has been supporting artists
and practitioners, engaging people in folk arts activities, and raising the
profile of English traditional folk arts. This is currently achieved through
programmes of performance, participation and education at EFDSS' London venue,
Cecil Sharp House, and with partners in the UK and overseas. EFDSS is
increasingly developing projects to support the creative development of artists
and expanding their opportunities for performance. EFDSS' library and archive,
the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, is the national folk music library and
archive - serving as a valuable resource for anybody working in the folk arts.
EFDSS is a charity registered in England and Wales, no. 305999. www.efdss.org | www.facebook.com/theefdss | www.twitter.com/TheEFDSS
2.
? ?
The Elphinstone Institute researches and promotes the culture of the North and North-East of Scotland in context. Founded in 1995 in celebration of the quincentenary of the University of Aberdeen, the Institute is a centre for the study of Ethnology, Folklore, and Ethnomusicology. Staff, community partners, associates, and students use ethnographic methodologies to explore ideas of identity and belonging, meaning and function, drawing on an exceptional heritage of traditional music, ballad and song, story, lore and language, alongside the dynamic creativity of those who live and work here today. We are interested in how traditions and cultures are created, adapted, reinterpreted and renewed, to meet new and challenging circumstances, whether here or abroad. A key part of our remit is public engagement, co-producing knowledge and research in partnership with local organi
?
s
?
ations and individuals. These
cooperative ventures can take the form of joint research projects and community
initiatives, and public events such as festivals, displays, conferences, and
participative workshops, all of which enrich our academic work and increase
public understanding of the importance of vernacular culture in society today.
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3.
? ?
The Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC) funds world-class, independent researchers in a wide
range of subjects: ancient history, modern dance, archaeology, digital content,
philosophy, English literature, design, the creative and performing arts, and
much more. This financial year the AHRC will spend approximately £98m to fund
research and postgraduate training in collaboration with a number of partners.
The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds
not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the
economic success of the UK. For further information on the AHRC, please go to: www.ahrc.ac.uk
4. Join The Conversation
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Twitter: _at_EFDSS
--
Jo Cunningham
PR Manager (part time)
English Folk Dance and Song Society
Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road,
London NW1 7AY
T: 07815 913887
www.efdss.org | www.vwml.org | www.cecilsharphouse.org
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