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Folk Music 101, Part II: Origins of Folk Music (cont'd)
"Folkways" are the paths by which songs travel from one period/culture/place to another. In medieval Europe, folk songs often began on the continent - in France, Italy or Germany - and found their way north to England. They traveled via minstrels, troubadours, merchants and soldiers, being translated into one or more new languages along the way. Some of these songs trace their origins back even further to the griots of northern Africa. One of the most important folkways is the one which follows Scottish immigrants to the rural areas of Appalachia and the deep South of the United States. Because of their love of music, their fierce nationalism and antagonism to the British, and because of their geographical isolation, these Scottish immigrants maintained a relatively pure musical tradition well into the twentieth century.
Another group who remained relatively isolated were the slaves brought from Africa, most of whom ended up living and working on plantations in the South. Their worksongs and spirituals evolved into blues and gospel, combining European elements with their own polyrhythmic, communal singing traditions.
It was mainly these two distinct folk traditions - and the social/musical limbo of rural, working-poor communities where they often met - that the ethnomusicologist John Lomax and his son Alan documented in their famous field recordings. What Child did for British folk music, the Lomaxes did for American music. And just as the Child Ballads served as the foundation for the English folksong revival, the Lomax recordings of the1930's and 40's, became the foundation for the U.S. folk revival of the late 1950's and early 1960's. In 1952, the eccentric Harry Smith edited The Smithsonian Folkways Anthology choosing material from the Lomax's recordings. Many of the songs that performers like the Kingston Trio, The Limelighters, The Weavers, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and others later made famous came from that seminal 6-LP set- like "House Carpenter," "Mole in the Ground," "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" "Casey Jones," "John Henry," and "The Titanic."
You can find more information about The Smithsonian Folkways Anthology here.
Much of what makes American popular music so unique - from blues to R & B to jazz to rock and roll - is the long, tempestuous encounter of Anglo-European and African folk traditions. First the rural South, and later the industrial urban centers of the north, were a crucible where these two traditions were not just mixed but transformed. This American alchemy remains one of our greatest contributions to world culture.
Very often - as was the case for Child in 19th century England and the Lomaxes in 20th century America - folk music is recognized as such only when it is in decline. As "the folk" leave their social and economic isolation to enter the middle class, they start to crave music that is more commercial. Music becomes a luxury, entertainment - and demand increases for songs about love, fun, and simple moral/political choices.
A similar process takes place when ethnic groups get assimilated. As the old, austere music disappears, it becomes a scarce and therefore valuable commodity for the sociologist and ethnomusicologist. And once middle and upper class scholars and artists recognize a kind of music as "folk," it starts to change. If you think about it, only someone outside of "the folk" would ever call them that, or call their music by that name. Just to say the name implies a position of superiority, and at the same time a kind of nostalgia for that "simpler" state. No wonder the most popular folk music so easily gets a bad reputation for being inferior and sappy.
What happens to folk music is fascinating: it gets analyzed by scholars (Child, Lomax); popularized by professional entertainers (Kingston Trio, Joan Baez, Peter Paul & Mary); and politicized by political/nationalist singers (Pete Seeger, The Irish Rovers). Then, magically, a new generation of song poets and musicians fills the gap. Thanks to the popularization of folk music, they become exposed to the tradition. But instead of consuming and producing music as entertainment, they grasp it as art. Learning from the ancient masters, they begin again to write the kinds of contemporary songs that are as elemental and vital as the old folk songs were in their original state. This is how "folk music" today has come to encompass traditional songs, ethnic music, political songs, sentimental songs, and the poetic singersongwriters.
next article: Major American Artists
As always, your feedback is appreciated - whether it's a criticism/correction or another suggested link.
Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com
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