Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gathering the voices of the people? Cecil Sharp, cultural hybridity, and the folk music of Appalachia

  • Published:
GeoJournal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper examines the four trips that the English folk music collector Cecil Sharp made to Appalachia (1916–1918) as a case-study through which to explore the relationships between nationhood and place identity. The first parts consider background on the theoretical underpinnings of folk music collection and about Sharp’s earlier work. We then investigate how Sharp and his companion Maud Karpeles initially came to collect what they felt were English folk songs, but gradually had to come to terms with Appalachia’s culturally heterogeneous folk traditions. This final part draws parallels with Béla Bartók’s approach to the Hungarian Gypsy tradition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bartók B., 1924: The Hungarian Folk Song. In: Schuff B. (ed.), State University of New York Press, Albany

  • A.W. Batteau (1990) The Invention of Appalachia University of Arizona Press Tucson

    Google Scholar 

  • H.A.A. Bean (2001) Women, Music and Faith in Central Appalachia Edwin Mellen Press Lampeter

    Google Scholar 

  • C.J. Bearman (2000) ArticleTitleWho were the folk? the demography of Cecil Sharp’s Somerset Folk Singers Historical Journal 43 751–776 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S0018246X99001338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C.J. Bearman (2002) ArticleTitleCecil Sharp in Somerset: some reflections on the work of David Harker Folklore 113 1–34 Occurrence Handle10.1080/00155870220125426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.S. Becker (1998) Selling Tradition: Appalachia and the Construction of an American Folk, 1930–1940 University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Bluestein (1972) The Voice of the Folk: Folklore and American Literary Theory University of Massachusetts Pres Amherst

    Google Scholar 

  • P.V. Bohlman (1988) The Study of Folk Music in the Modern World Indiana University Press Bloomington

    Google Scholar 

  • P.V. Bohlman (2002) World Music: A Very Short Introduction Oxford University Press Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Born D. Hesmondhalgh (2000) Introduction: on difference, representation, and appropriation in music G. Born D. Hesmondhalgh (Eds) Western Music and its Others: Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music University of California Press Berkeley 1–58

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Botstein (1995) Out of Hungary: Bartók, modernism, and the cultural politics of twentieth-century music P. Laki (Eds) Bartók and His World Princeton University Press Princeton 3–63

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Boyes (1993) The Imagined Village: Culture, Ideology and the English Folk Revival Manchester University Press Manchester

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Brown (2000) Bartók, the gypsies, and hybridity in music G. Born D. Hesmondhalgh (Eds) Western Music and its Others: Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music University of California Press Berkeley 119–142

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Cantwell (1996) When We were Good: The Folk Revival Harvard University Press Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • E.C. Cawte (1983) An Index to Cecil J. Sharp. The Morris Book, NumberInSeries5 Vols. Cecil Sharp House London London 1911–1924

    Google Scholar 

  • Child F.J., 1882–1898: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 5 Vols. Houghton, Mifflin, Boston

  • R.D. Cohen (2002) Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940–1970 University of Massachusetts Press Amherst

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Danckert (1966) Das Volkslied im Abendland Franke Berne

    Google Scholar 

  • Demény J. (ed.), 1971: Béla Bartók Letters (Trans. P. Balaban and I. Karkas). Faber, London

  • R.B. Drake (2001) A History of Appalachia University of Kentucky Press Lexington

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Filene (2000) Romancing the Folk: Public Memory and American Roots Music University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill

    Google Scholar 

  • D.H. Fischer (1989) Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America Oxford University Press New York

    Google Scholar 

  • S.L. Forcucci (1984) A Folk Song History of America: America Through its Songs Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Francmanis (2002) ArticleTitleNational music to National Redeemer: the consolidation of a “folk-song” construct in Edwardian England Popular Music 21 1–25 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S0261143002002015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G.L. Gomme (1883) Folk Lore Relics of Early Village Life Elliot Stock London

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Harker (1982) ArticleTitleMay Cecil Sharp be praised? History Workshop Journal 14 44–62

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Harker (1985) Fakesong: The Manufacture of British “Folksong” 1700 to the Present Day Open University Press Milton Keynes

    Google Scholar 

  • Haskell J. and Abramson R. (eds), forthcoming: The Encyclopedia of Appalachia. University of Tennessee Press, Johnson City, TN

  • D.E. Heath (1982) From barrier to corridor: transformation of the Appalachian Crestline D. Janelle (Eds) Geographic Snapshots of North America Guilford Press New York 304–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Herder J.G. von, 1778, 1779: Stimmen der Völker in Liedern. P. Reclam [1880], Leipzig

  • M. Karpeles (1967) Cecil Sharp: His Life and Work Routledge and Kegan Paul London

    Google Scholar 

  • J.A. Lomax (1910) Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads Sturgis and Walton New York

    Google Scholar 

  • J.A. Lomax (1915) ArticleTitleSome types of American folk-song Journal of American Folklore 27 1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • B.C. Malone (1979) Southern Music, American Music University of Kentucky Press Lexington

    Google Scholar 

  • T.E. Miller (1986) Folk Music in America: a reference guide Garland New York

    Google Scholar 

  • B.B. Patterson (2001) The Sound of the Dove: Singing in Appalachian Primitive Baptist Churches University of Illinois Press Urbana

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Ritchie (1997) Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians (2nd edn) University Press of Kentucky Lexington

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Said (1978) Orientalism Pantheon Books New York

    Google Scholar 

  • E.C. Semple (1903) American History and its Geographic Conditions Houghton-Mifflin Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • H.D. Shapiro (1978) Appalachia on Our Mind: The Southern Mountains and Mountaineers in American Consciousness, 1870–1920 University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill

    Google Scholar 

  • C.J. Sharp (1907) English Folk Song: Some Conclusions Barnicott and Pearce Taunton

    Google Scholar 

  • C.J. Sharp (1912) The Morris Book, with a Description of Dances as Performed by the Morris Men of England Novello & Co (in five parts) London

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp C.J., 1932: English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, (ed.) Maud Karpeles, 2 Vols. Oxford University Press, London

  • C.J. Sharp C.L. Marston (1904–1909) Folk Songs from Somerset, Gathered and Edited with Pianoforte Accompaniment Simpkin, Marshall & Co London

    Google Scholar 

  • Skultans V., 1998: The Testimony of Lives: Narrative and Memory in Post-Soviet Latvia. Routledge, Routledge

  • J.E. Smith (2003) Appalachia S.I. Kutler (Eds) Dictionary of American History NumberInSeries1 Thomson/Gale New York 224–225

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Strangways M. Karpeles (1933) Cecil Sharp Oxford University Press London

    Google Scholar 

  • R.A Straw H.T. Blethen (Eds) (2004) High Mountains Rising: Appalachia in Time and Place University of Illinois Press Urbana

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Suchoff (Eds) (1971) Béla Bartók Essays University of Nebraska Press Lincoln

    Google Scholar 

  • S.A. Szczelkun (1993) The Conspiracy of Good Taste: William Morris, Cecil Sharp, Clough Williams-Ellis and the Repression of Working Class Culture in the 20th Century Working Press London

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Tallián (1995) Bartók’s reception in America, 1940–1945 Laki P. (Eds) Bartók and His World Princeton University Press Princeton 101–118

    Google Scholar 

  • E.B. Tylor (1871) Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art and Custom John Murray London

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Weller (1965) Yesterday’s People: Life in Contemporary Appalachia University of Kentucky Press Lexington

    Google Scholar 

  • D.E. Whisnant (1983) All that is Native and Fine: The Politics of Culture in an American Region University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill

    Google Scholar 

  • F. Woods (1979) Folk Revival: The Rediscovery of a National Music Blandford Press Poole, Dorset

    Google Scholar 

  • World of Gramophones, 2002: A Brief Primer on Appalachian Song and Dance. http://www.liongateinfo.com (accessed 23 April 2003)

  • Yates M., 2002: Far in the Mountains: Vols. 1 & 2 of Mike Yates’s 1979–83 Appalachian Collection. Article MT115, http://mtrecords.co.uk/articles/mount12.htm (accessed 23 April 2003)

  • Yates M., 2003: Cecil Sharp in America: Collecting in the Appalachians. Article MT052, http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/sharp.htm (accessed 24 April 2003)

  • R. Young (1995) Colonial Desire: Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race Routledge London

    Google Scholar 

  • Zweig D., 2003: Early Child Ballads. http://www.pbm.com/∼ ∼lindahl/ballads/early_child/ (accessed 23 April 2003)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences and Law, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK

    John R. Gold

  2. Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Science, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK

    George Revill

Authors
  1. John R. Gold
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. George Revill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John R. Gold.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gold, J.R., Revill, G. Gathering the voices of the people? Cecil Sharp, cultural hybridity, and the folk music of Appalachia. GeoJournal 65, 55–66 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-006-0007-z

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-006-0007-z

Key words

Search

Navigation