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The
paintings, poetry and music
Are all merely water drawn from the well of mankind
And must be returned to him in a cup of beauty
So that he may drink
And in drinking, come to know himself
Lorca
Lorca expressed
in his poetry the importance of art to humanity. The image of water
or of a river has often been used to represent the continuity of
tradition and the value of traditional music as a foundation stone
for the arts in general is gradually being recognised. This has
not taken place without a lot of discussion and at times heated
argument, but that is not unexpected given the passions involved
and different levels of understanding of traditional music by some
of those involved.
In Scotland
there has been some eloquent writing from those charged with a public
duty towards the arts at a time when progress towards the new Scottish
Parliament focussed attention on cultural matters. In Ireland there
has been similar, perhaps even greater progress as musical barriers
are being broken down. Liam O'Flynn and James Galway are both recognised
for what they are - great musicians. Both play instruments that
are common in traditional music but in the not too far distant past,
one may have been dismissed as "just a piper" whilst the other would
be feted as a flautist. In England, much is going on at grass roots
level but there is yet to be any significant breakthrough in terms
of recognition at a national level.
The attitude
in general of the Arts Council of England and the regional arts
boards towards traditional music is at best one of relative neglect
and at worst one of artistic snobbery and protection of self-interest.
Traditions are passed on in many ways and the fruits from the work
of organisations such as Comhaltas can now clearly be seen. Traditional
music is also increasingly available as an option in formal education
right up to degree level.
Perhaps one
of the most striking examples of the success of less formal 'education'
projects is the music of all forms emanating from the Shetland Isles.
Much of this can be traced back to the work of one great tradition
bearer and enthusiast, Tom Anderson. With the benefit of thirty
years hindsight the value of Tom's work is very evident. We can
only speculate on the future impact of a whole raft of projects
currently led by individuals and organisations throughout the country.
It would be
naïve not to recognise the dangers of formalising the teaching of
traditional music. It was done with similar good intentions about
one hundred years ago and many will have benefited from this - if
benefit is the right word - through being exposed to sanitised folk
songs with pianoforte accompaniment at school. Whatever is done,
'the real thing' needs to remain accessible. The definition of what
is real is of course a subjective judgement and so it is important
that music from across the whole spectrum can be heard.
It is 'the real
thing' that is increasingly being squeezed out in the media. In
the UK, the BBC is rapidly losing its commitment to public service
broadcasting with music broadcasting in particular moving to middle
of the road in search of ratings. To the terms "broadcasting" and
"narrow casting" perhaps the word "blandcasting" needs to be added.
Scotland and Ireland again tend to fare better than England in this
respect - their traditional music-related programmes are generally
an order of magnitude better - although even they are not immune
from commercial pressures.
Various myths
abound about what is or is not traditional music. Some use the quantity
argument to decry the value of individual musicians and say that
the pop songs of the day are the real "voice of the people". This
is nonsense. Great artistes of any kind are usually few and far
between. For every great craftsman, the Chippendale or Hepplewhite
(to use a furniture making analogy) there are always a larger number
of people building with the equivalent of chipboard and brackets.
This is not to say that there were not a significant number of traditional
singers, but it is saying that singers like Jeannie Robertson and
Lizzie Higgins were special.
Whether we like
it or not, many of the people in the folk-scene are the current
repository of much of the traditional music of this country. We
ignore real tradition bearers at our cost but also need to take
care of what it is that they are bearing - songs, tunes, skills
and style. When discussing a recording project with Bob Blair, it
was very obvious that his greatest passion was for the songs themselves.
In Bob's opinion much of the best writing is from 'the voice of
the people' and he holds up The Collier Laddie as being possibly
one of the greatest love songs ever written.
Certainly when
you examine the words of most modern writing, they tend to favour
lyrics rather than meaningful words. The words of good songs however
cannot be taken in isolation and read as a poem, the words and music
are inextricably linked and they must be sung, and they must be
sung well. One of the processes that works well in the oral tradition,
is the pairing of good words to majestic tunes because if the tune
is weak, the song will not easily be passed on.
The Collier
Laddie
"I've travelled
east and I've travelled west,
And I
hae been tae Kirkcaldy;
But the bonniest lass that e'er I spied,
She was followin' her collier laddie.
"O whaur live
ye, my bonnie lass?
Come,
tell me what they ca' ye?"
"Bonnie Jean Gordon is my name
And I'm followin' ma collier laddie."
"O see ye no'
yon hills and dales
The sun shines on sae brawlie?
They a' are mine and they shall be thine
Gin ye leave your collier laddie."
"And ye shall
dress in gay attire,
Weel buskit
up sae brawly
And ane to wait on every hand,
Gin ye leave your collier laddie."
Though ye had
a' the sun shines on,
And the
earth it hides sae lowly;
I would turn my back on you and it a'
And embrace my collier laddie."
Then he has
tae her faither gaen
Tae her faither gaen sae brawly;
Says, "Will ye gie tae me yer bonnie lass
That's followin' a collier laddie?"
"I'll gie her
gowd and I'll gie her gear
And I'll mak her a lady
I'll mak' her wan o' higher degree
Than tae follow a collier laddie."
Then he has
tae his dochter gaen,
Tae his dochter he has gaen sae brawly
Said "Ye'll gang wi' this gentleman
And forsake yer collier laddie
O I winnae hae
his gowd and I winnae hae his gear
I winnae be his lady
For I've got gowd and gear enough
And I aye hae my collier laddie
Her faither
then baith vow'd and sware,
"Though he be black he's bonnie;
She's mair delight in him, I fear,
Than wi' you and a' your money."
"Love for love
is a bargain for me
Though the collier's hoose should haud me;
And I'll mak my bed in the collier's neuk
And lie doon wi' my collier laddie."
Are the best
songs really all in the past? Surely not, for this goes against
the idea that progress is built on the foundations of others. Another
example of skills being passed on and a tradition moving forward
is that people who have a background in traditional song often write
'Modern' songs that do have substance. If pushed for a modern song
as good as the 'The Collier Laddie', Bob would put forward a song
such as 'The Bonnie Lassie of the Morning' written by Jack Foley.
Jack is well known in the Scottish folk scene, he was the editor
of The Broadsheet for some time and has written several songs. The
song came from a real life experience - Jack's second great passion
is walking in the mountains - but the words surely could never have
come without a firm grounding in the tradition.
The first two
verses give a flavour of the song but again, it is a majestic tune
which gives it a magic that takes it beyond the mere poetic.
"O yince
I thocht the morning sun was brighter than the e'en
When it roused the glen and warmed the earth and nestled every gean
But it faded in the warmest sicht ma hert has ever seen
The bonnie bonnie lassie o the morning
And the
sparkle o her laughter ever after I'll reca'
Like the trinklin linkin jinklin as the mountain burns fa'
But the hills are empty noo, the bonnie lassie she's awa
The bonnie
bonnie lassie o the morning
The morning
breeze was cool as mile for mile we gaed on
Reaching for the high high lands wi secret nooks and loans
Where the rocks were worn and weathered by the freens we'd never
known
Together wi ma lassie o the morning
Thro the clouds intae the sun we scrambled tae the cairn above
While the ravens flew alow us and secret words we'd have
Then the hills threw oot their airms and gaithered us intae their
love
And ma ain love for the lassie o the morning"
Despite the
central importance of the songs and the music, without singers and
musicians to interpret them they would remain as mere words or dots
on a page. During the period that is often referred to as 'the folk
revival', there was a tendency to put singers into one of two categories
- source singers or revival singers. This was a useful distinction
at the time but gave the impression that a revival singer was of
less importance to the ongoing tradition. Without new singers the
tradition would clearly die and revival singers of any era become
the source singers for the next generation. The term 'tradition
bearers' is perhaps a better description of what always seems to
be a relatively small group of singers who are genuinely bearing
a tradition.
Singing in a
traditional style does not mean a slavish copy or a lack of personal
input or innovation. Real style does not come easy, but comes from
those who have immersed themselves in a tradition and have the skills
to carry it forward. Who currently is, or is not, a genuine tradition
bearer is a subjective judgement and recognition is perhaps best
awarded by their peers. Bob Blair is undoubtedly one of Scotland's
strongest candidates as a tradition bearer. During a recent meeting
with Hamish Henderson, Hamish referred to Bob as 'the main man'.
Bob is a singer especially noted for his interpretation of Scottish
lyrical songs and traditional ballads. He plays concertina and guitar,
but generally prefers the beauty of unaccompanied singing.
It is something
of an understatement to say that Bob has a passion for traditional
song. He has a deep understanding of traditional singing styles
and has lectured widely on the subject. Originally from Fife and
now living in Glasgow, Bob is a member of Stramash, a group of singers
who care intensely about Scotland's traditional song heritage. His
interest though, is not just an academic one, he is without doubt
one of Scotland's finest traditional singers, one of that rare breed
who can do justice to the range of ballads and songs passed down
through the generations. His repertoire is wide, often including
relatively unknown versions of traditional songs.
Whilst living
in England in the 1960s and 70s, Bob was a member of Ewan MacColl's
'London Critics Group' and helped start The Grimsby Folksong Club.
He has featured in a number of radio and television productions
including The Song Carriers and a television performance of 'The
Fight Game' one of Ewan MacColl's award winning 'Radio Ballads'.
At the beginning
of September 1999, The Living Tradition launched what is to be a
series of albums centred mainly on traditional song called 'The
Tradition Bearers'. It is fitting that an album by Bob Blair was
the first release. Commitment to this project comes from a few sources.
Traditional song has been a long-term interest of people working
at The Living Tradition and there is a degree of frustration that
many of those who are considered to be important singers are not
currently being recorded. It is fairly obvious that the standard
of instrumental playing has risen greatly over the last few years
but song is not so healthy.
A couple of
years ago I had a long discussion with Bob Blair at a time when
he was despairing for the future for traditional song. At that point
he considered that all hope was gone when jazzy/poppy version of
songs were being lauded by the critics and held up as being the
way forward for the tradition. Bob was on the point of giving up
singing altogether. I was less negative but still concerned. In
the 70s in Scotland there were quite a few young singers who had
good voices and a feeling for traditional style. I would find it
hard to come up with an equivalent number from today's generation
- there is a dearth of good young singers.
More positive
thoughts came when I realised that the singers in the 70s didn't
come by chance from all parts of Scotland. Good singers in the folk
revival did not burst on the stage without any background, they
were inspired and to some extent taught - the products of the work
of a few key individuals or small groups. These included people
such as Norman Buchan who through his Ballads club exposed traditional
singers such as Jeannie Robertson, Jimmy McBeath, Willie Scott and
many others to young people. These were 'education projects' of
their time and the positive lesson from this is that if we again
inspire and expose people to traditional song, the future for such
singing may yet be bright.
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