# Folk Music Faves



## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Folk Music has had a huge influence on classical music. Not just European folk music but world wide. So, just out of curriosity, what are you Folk Music Faves? Either nationality or folksong or whatever. Here are some of mine.

Growing up, my father was in a bagpipe band (do you have any ideas how hard it is to keep those thing working in a desert?) so we had alot of that live and on records. Hewas also a fan of The Clancy Bros. and The Chieftans. Planxty was also there. Although not a piper myself, I have maintained an interest in the Celtic folkmusic of the Brittish Isles.

Irish/ Scottish

1 Carrickfergus




2 Oro, Mo Bhaidin




3 Piobaireachd of Donald Dubh [No good performances I could find on youtuber]
4 Blue Bonnets Over the Border. Third in the set. If you saw War Horse, this is the tune to which the Britts went "over the top"




5 Skye Boat Song, I don't think the Jabobin words are original to the tune. 








6 Will Ye Go Lassie, Go. Andreas Scholl does and excellent cover of this.




7 Bean Phaidin. The second example has some truly great piping.








8. Lannigans Ball. I prefer it without the words. 




9. Avenging and Bright 




10 Rising of the Moon 




11 O'Donnell Abu





Welsh
1 National Anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. Probably one of the most beautiful national anthems around. 




2 Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through the Night)




3 Myfanwy




4 Nant y Mynnydd [ no good examples in youtube]
5 Men of Harlech




6 Cwm Rondda




7 Ar lan y Mor




8 Suo Gan




9 The Ash Grove





English
1 Greensleves




2
Barbara Allen [not a great rendition but it is the melody I prefer]


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I'm a big fan of English and Celtic folk music. I tend to lean toward the late 60s early 70s hippie trippy folk music culture. My favorites in no particular order include:

Dougie MacLean





Fairport Convention





The Tannahill Weavers





Pentangle





Also a few crossover singer songwriter types who seem inspired by folk music, but might not be considered so by purists.

Luka Bloom





Loreena McKennitt





For some reason I am completely repelled by American folk music. Though it's roots are the same, it comes across to me as empty, simple minded and emotionless. I'm probably too close to it.


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## Head_case (Feb 5, 2010)

drpraetorus said:


> Folk Music has had a huge influence on classical music. Not just European folk music but world wide. So, just out of curriosity, what are you Folk Music Faves? Either nationality or folksong or whatever. Here are some of mine.
> 
> Growing up, my father was in a bagpipe band (do you have any ideas how hard it is to keep those thing working in a desert?) so we had alot of that live and on records. Hewas also a fan of The Clancy Bros. and The Chieftans. Planxty was also there. Although not a piper myself, I have maintained an interest in the Celtic folkmusic of the Brittish Isles.


Fascinating music - but where is 'My Lagan Love'?


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## userfume (Nov 21, 2012)

I didn't really know much folk music until I bought the Andreas Scholl Wayfaring Stranger CD, which exposed me to many beautiful songs. Though I understand that Scholl doesn't perform them very "folkily".
My favourites generally though are:
She moved through the fair
The Ash Grove
Black is the Colour
The Salley Gardens
The Foggy Foggy Dew

She moved through the fair is my definite no.1 for its haunting melody and words


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

Folk music is in my soul
Ewan Maccoll. "The Shoals of Herring" a traditional song from the old fishing fleets




Another one from Ewan, about a historic "mass tresspass"




The Dubliners




The Chiefans




There's a thriving contemporary folk scene in the UK.
Here's a piece from, a (local to me) duo, about a woman who used to dress as a man and seduce the ladies, in the early 1800's in Yorkshire (if you're interested in the history? she was called Anne Lister)


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Irish/Scottish, Portuguese, Persian, Chinese, Japanese and Andean folk/traditional music is my favorite in this area of music.

I don't like the current punk and rap/hip-hop trend.


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## OboeKnight (Jan 25, 2013)

Riverdance is great lol. Scarborough Fair, Londonderry Air, Foggy Dew, Greensleeves, Whiskey in the Jar, Piper's Dance etc.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Ewan MacColl was a great writer of "folk songs". Shoals of Herring is from the Radio Ballad - "Singing the Fishing" described as being based on the singing of Sam Larner of Winterton in Norfolk and others.

I like the older stuff especially the child ballads. Some of these have come over into classical music via people like Vaughan Williams who was also a collector of folk songs e.g. Dives and Lazarus






or as Vaughan Williams arranged it






The variants are

1. Theme
2. "The Star of the County Down" 
3. "Gilderoy" 
4. "The Thresher"
5. "Cold blows the wind"
6. "The Murder of Maria Marten"

Which covers a range of folk tunes.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

My father was Scottish & I grew up with a lot of Jimmy Shand. But we also had some 78s featuring the Irish singer Delia Murphy. I remember dancing round the garden, age 6, singing 'Three lovely lasses from Bannion' and 'The Roving Journeyman' (the latter to the same tune as the hornpipe 'The Redhaired Boy'. Generally, though, I like folk to be folk & classical to be classical. I don't care all that much, pace Taggart, for Ralph Vaughan Williams' arrangements.


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## Head_case (Feb 5, 2010)

My parents played their 33rpm vinyl LP player (I think it was gran who had the 78's you dinosaurs  )a lot. This was one of my favourites. Growing up the British Isles, there was nothing quite like this for a 2 year old:






The only problem for a 2 year old was I didn't understand why she was singing "Don't it make my brown eyes blue".

- "But mom! Her eyes are still brown..."


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

I'll combine two strands of populat folk music - Richard Thompson - Fairport et al and the late great Jimmy Shand






To show people that even dinosaurs need respect.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

^Richard Thompson is fantastic! His accent or articulation is so idiosyncratic.

"Nnnnidle and Thrad, Nnnnnidle and Thrad
Hand me down my niddle and thrad
I said hey, hey hey.
Gonna sew my soul back togather agann."

I like his more rocking excursions too. But to me, few things will ever top this moment!






I fear we have strayed far from the original intent of this "thrad." Sorry. However this video is taken from a concert Thompson did covering a 1000 years of music, so it kind of fits.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

A couple more faves. Russian and Yiddish

Yiddish
1Vilna








2 Yidl mit'n fidl




3 Skrip Klezmer





Russian
1 Volga Boat Men




2. Meadowlands




3. Katusha


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2013)

I go for the Irish and English folk music, The Chieftains would be the top Irish group but The Dubliners ain't bad either.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm not a great fan but I tend to go for the electric end of the spectrum with the British stuff - Steeleye Span, Pentangle, Fairport, Mr. Fox etc but current groups like Mumford & Sons leave me cold. I'm 25% Irish but I'm afraid Irish folk music doesn't really connect with me at all - in fact, I think I'm allergic to both the sound of the tin whistle and Shane MacGowan's voice.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Steeleye Span - yes, great! The purity of Maddy Prior's voice when the band started sends shivers down my spine.


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2013)

Bryn Terfel put out a nice CD "Silent Noon" which was a collection of English folk songs By Britten, Somervell, Vaughn William to mention a few it included "The Salley Gardens" which is one one of my favourites.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

The Carter Family are gods of American folk music.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Sorry. Who is "Mr. Fox?"


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

There are too many things I like, but to answer the original question, my Folk Faves hit parade would look something like this:
1. Early Planxty, especially the songs
2. First six Steeleye Span LPs
3. The Boys of the Lough - but prefer the Irish tunes to the Shetland
4. The Watersons
5. Martin Carthy - in the days when his voice was young!
6. Jimmy Shand - I grew up with his music. His strathspeys are unco fast!
7. The Young Tradition
8. A group we used to see at Folk Festivals - English Tapestry
9. And another, ditto - Strawhead
10. Delia Murphy's Irish ballads


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

What do these folk rockers have to do with classical music? Anyway, I'd be interested in a discussion on how composers used folk melodies in their compositions. There must be thousands of examples?


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I'm mostly interested in the traditional/ancient musics of Asia, although I enjoy music from the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, Australasia and Europe as well. I don't know if it's just because I've lived here all my life, but the folk music of the British Isles really does bore me to tears.

The Manzairaku is an example of _gagaku_, ancient Japanese court music.

Piphat Chatri is an ancient form of theatre and music from Thailand.

Asmarandana is a Javanese Gamelan piece, performed here by a modern European ensemble on a 100 year old Gamelan.

Myanmar _let wheit_ music. I think I would enjoy sports a lot more if this played during every game.

And some other stuff I like:

Bulgarian Choral Music

Australian Aboriginal music

Dilis Saari, from Georgia

Moqaddameh from Iran


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Weston said:


> Sorry. Who is "Mr. Fox?"


UK folk-rock band who released two albums in the early 70s. Possibly named after the trickster/shapeshifter Reynardine from European folklore.


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2013)

starthrower said:


> What do these folk rockers have to do with classical music? Anyway, I'd be interested in a discussion on how composers used folk melodies in their compositions. There must be thousands of examples?


Why don't you start a thread on the subject as you say there are thousands of examples


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I thought this thread _was_ about folk influence on classical but we went a bit astray.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Andante said:


> Why don't you start a thread on the subject as you say there are thousands of examples


I thought this was a thread on the subject? Everyone's siting British folkies, but I'd be more interested in learning about Russian and Eastern European folk influences.


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish folk music is great, as well as Jewish melodies. I like Polish folk music a little less, but it is still enjoyable.  Examples of Polish folk melodies are, for example, in Lutosławski's Bucolics (it sounds better as a viola and cello duet).

Best regards, Dr


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

drpraetorus said:


> Folk Music has had a huge influence on classical music. Not just European folk music but world wide. So, just out of curriosity, what are you Folk Music Faves? Either nationality or folksong or whatever. Here are some of mine... Planxty was also there. Although not a piper myself, I have maintained an interest in the Celtic folkmusic of the Brittish Isles.


The original thread commented on the link between folk & classical but asked for people's 'folk faves'. So there are two possible lines of response, both relevant. Categories are blurred anyway - Greensleeves is usually regarded as a folk song, used by Vaughan Williams, but actually it came from the court of Henry VIII. 
To respond to the other line of response, I like the 'Russian folk song' motif in the 1812 Overture.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

elgars ghost said:


> I'm 25% Irish but I'm afraid Irish folk music doesn't really connect with me at all - in fact, I think I'm allergic to both the sound of the tin whistle and Shane MacGowan's voice.


Not a lot of difference there except the whistle is slightly more melodic and less grating.

Irish trad music nowadays includes banjo - Barney Mckennna of the Dubliners, bozouli - Planxty, fiddle - Coleman for the oldies or Kevin Burke and the harp - the late great Derek Bell of the Chieftains.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

The influence of folk music on art music is analogous to the influence of the roots on the rest of the tree. All music was originally folk music. Music is one of the few universals of human cultures worldwide. A culture gets “art” music when it has developed far enough to have a surplus of good that can support a musician or other artist full time. A person who can devote all their time to their craft without the need to work in the fields or hunt to make a living. However, even though this person is able to create their own music they will be pulling from the music of the people among whom, they live and for whom they create. 

The relation of the professional musician and the folk musicians is reciprocal. Each will pick up from the other musical ideas and techniques that suite their purposes and the tastes of their audiences. In this way a “national” music style is developed and moves from the bottom to the top and vice versa. 

Some cultures will try to shut out foreign influences at this point. The idea being that the national music is so much better than what the outsider might have that any outside influence can only be detrimental. 

Western European Art music is on the opposite side of this. From early medieval times when communication and travel became slightly easier and less dangerous, the Troubadours and others of their kind were on the lookout for new sounds so they could compete with the other “wandering minstrals” Along with being the bringers of news from the outside world they brought the new sounds that all of the eleventh century was rocking to. New sounds and new dance crazes. Who can forget when the Volte was the thing to do. 

Most of these new sounds and dances where folk forms that the Troubadours had picked up in their travels. The Gypsies where a major source of the mixing of sounds. Gypsies, Jews and Troubadours where moving around Europe, not always on their own volition, and bringing their new sounds to the new areas they stopped in. 

War was another way to stir the pot. The Norman conquest of Wales brought the Welsh style of group singing to the attention of the world outside of Wales. We call that style harmony now. A big departure from the monophonic music in the rest of Europe. The Muslim conquest of Iberia brought in new styles and instruments. There was a blending of Muslim and Iberian Gypsy that became known, many years later, as Flamenco. There was a Muslim instrument the oud, al oud became the Lute. 

End part one.


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## Head_case (Feb 5, 2010)

Weston said:


> Sorry. Who is "Mr. Fox?"


Same question here. All I could think of :










Much better before the makeover.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

German Faves
In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus 









Ich hatt einen Kameraden





Laendlers





Lili Marlene





Innsbruck, Ich muss dich lassen


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

American Faves
Sweet Betsy from Pike





My Darling Clementine





Deep River









Poor Wayfaring Stranger





Shennandoah





Evening Shade





When Johnny Comes Marching Home





Battle Cry of Freedom





Battle Hymn of the republic





Wabash Cannonball





Turkey in the straw





good banjo playing


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