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

The current 'public face' of The Tradition Bearers is a CD series. We are at the start and our starting point is 'Scots Songs & Ballads'. We have already completed seven albums featuring seven of Scotland's best singers and to date have recorded over 101 Scottish Songs.

But 'The Tradition Bearers' is much more than a series of recordings. It is a statement of belief in the value of traditional song and a key aim is to 'legitimise' or 'justify' the work of the current generation of traditional musicians. Part of this task is to point out to the world, and to some extent to the singers themselves, that they are part of a living tradition and that they are no less a traditional musician than those in the past.

Of course the best way to encourage an interest in music is to get people to listen to it. The recordings are one part of that but we hope that the recordings and the publicity that they generate will lead to more live performances.

The background to The Tradition Bearers

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.

Pete Heywood, editor of The Living Tradition magazine, was of the opinion that present day traditional musicians were being ignored - probably not deliberately - but it did appear as if there was more attention given to archive recordings of the previous generation, or recordings by younger musicians or groups, rather than on the current generation of musicians who had 'served their time'. Rather than just bemoaning the lack of such recordings, he decided to start work on a series called 'The Tradition Bearers', a series of recordings with a concentration very much on the tradition. The first three releases, by Scots singers Bob Blair, Jimmy Hutchison and Heather Heywood, are now available. We hope that these recordings may act as some kind of benchmark, or pool of repertoire and style, in the long thread of the tradition.

These recordings very much set the standard for the series. If you like these recordings, then you should also like what is planned. Many of the most respected singers of the current generation have agreed to record for the series. Who currently is, or is not, a genuine tradition bearer is a subjective judgement. Recognition of a person as a tradition bearer is perhaps best done by their peers. In this series, the intention is to include people who have earned the respect of their fellow singers.

Already the feedback has been very positive.

The Tradition Bearers

Pete Heywood argues that at a time when traditions are increasingly being recognised for their value to society, the work of individual 'tradition bearers' is being marginalised. Most of the singers show an alarming degree of modesty when talking about their own skills but one thing that they all agree on is the quality of the music. Good songs however cannot be taken in isolation, the words, music and interpretation are inextricably linked. Good songs deserve to be sung well and the work of our 'tradition bearers' needs to be encouraged.

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"

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.

It is no longer possible to listen to some of the great traditional singers from Scotland's past, people like Jeannie Robertson, Willie Scott or Lizzie Higgins, other than on recordings. Whilst these recordings convey something of their art they can never quite capture the spirit and presence that these great singers had in a live performance. However there still remains a current generation of singers from whom it is possible both to gain a deeper impression and understanding of some of the great singers of the past. Hopefully the series will give more people with the experience of listening to present day masters of traditional music and lead to a greater exposure of some of these singers in live performance.

Increasingly, recordings of older traditional singers are being re-released on CD. This material is of immense value as a foundation but if each generation builds on the past then modern day tradition bearers need to be accessible as well. 'The Tradition Bearers' series will centre on the current generation of traditional singers - the source singers for the future. Hopefully they may act as some kind of benchmark, or pool of repertoire and style, and even be an inspirational starting point for a new generation of singers. The intention is not for them to be academic recordings but we will not subscribe to the view that traditional songs are boring - good traditional songs, even slightly long ones, will be to the fore!

We are just at the start of the project but already the list of songs recorded for the project is revealing an enormous variety. There is no danger of running out of songs as each singer is putting their own stamp on each song and many of these songs are versions that have not been previously recorded. I will be interested to hear the same song sung by different singers because it will reveal even more about individual style.

The first release in the series was by Bob Blair, the second was an album by Jimmy Hutchison. Jimmy was born on South Uist and moved to Perth when he was ten years old. He was the first winner of the Men's Singing Cup at Blairgowrie Festival. Since then many people have admired his singing but to date have been denied the opportunity to hear him on record. "About Time!" - was the comment by Margie Sinclair, immediately realising that this could be a good title for his first CD.

Experience to date has shown us that a single CD is not sufficient to do justice to the repertoire of these singers.

Arts Council Statement

"The Scottish Arts Council believes that the arts are the heart of the nation: but of all these, it is perhaps Scotland's traditional arts that most readily allow us to glimpse its soul. The richest resource of any nation is its people: their ideas; their energy; their passions. Scotland's traditional arts are a deep vein running through the history of Scotland mirroring the diversity of its tongues and peoples. Scotland's traditional music and song is widely regarded as one of the finest treasures of any nation in Europe. It is a marvellous thing: through it we can reach into the past, we can reflect upon our present condition and can tap into a dynamic force to fuel our future creativity. Traditional music is both a powerful art form in its own right, and often a dynamic force for artistes in other areas of music, as Scotland's own distinctive brands of jazz, rock and classical music bear witness".

Matthew Rooke, former Music Director of the Scottish Arts Council, wrote this statement and although it specifically refers to Scotland because of the context in which he was writing it, the ideas apply much wider than that. More recently Nod Knowles, the current Music Director of the SAC has said that this statement still forms a keystone of the SAC's music creed.