# Folk Music



## 8j1010 (Aug 29, 2020)

I've been listening to a lot of Nordic music, such as Grieg, and with the help of others on this forum, many more wonderful composers. So recently I have been reading about the history of these countries (Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and Finland), and have also been looking into folk melodies. Now I have a new interest in all folk music (especially Swedish music). I was wondering if anyone had any places where you can find this music and maybe some extra information on it as well. So far I've found https://imslp.org/wiki/100_Folksongs_of_All_Nations_(Bantock,_Granville) which seems to be a good resource.


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## 8j1010 (Aug 29, 2020)

I think I'm thinking of traditional folk music and folk songs... on YouTube there seems to be quite a vague definition of folk music. I want pieces of music that have been "transmitted orally from generation to generation" which is what the Oxford Dictionary says.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Once you get into folk music you end up with abc notation rather than sheet music.

Couple of good sites for tunes

http://www.norbeck.nu/abc/

http://www.nyckelharpa.org/links/written-music-tools/

The nyckelharpa site has links to various abc resources. The one I prefer for sheet music is mandolin tabs at https://www.mandolintab.net/abcconverter.php this allows you to get multiple tunes on a sheet and also does transposition.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Czech Moravian Folk Music




this image is silly, those are gypsies, not traditional Moravian costumes

look at this channel. Folk music from all over the world
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4gNHCugaKSSCpaI2hL2Jmg


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

The *Danish String Quartet* has recorded a number of Nordic folk tunes arranged for string quartet.

_Wood Works_ was the first and is entirely made up of folk tunes and is excellent.

View attachment 142725


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

And then there's English west country music


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## Oscar South (Aug 6, 2020)

I travelled to Oslo for a Jews Harp summit a few years back and attended some folk sessions. There was a particular tune that I heard a few times and took a liking for. The name is 'Fanitullen' and while I don't have a specific version to refer to, there are many recordings and pieces of notation available to browse online with a quick search.


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## Paul Roberts (Oct 10, 2020)




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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)

Some Italian folk that I like:

El vin 'l e bon - drinking song





Sento il fischio del vapore - a love song about war





Mamma mia dammi cento lire - about emigration to US





Sebben che siamo donne - this one is more feminist/revolutionary





Santa Lucia - I think this also belongs here, is it's a traditional Neapolitan song... even if it doesn't sound "folky"


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

>


"Draumkvedet" is fantastic! My name is even in there, when the dreamer is going through hell  I'm your "sacrificial kettle"...


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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)

This is from 1927.  Serbian song, sung by Sofka Nikolić


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Joyce Andersen & Harvey Reid live stream from The Puffin & Loon Lounge at the Woodpecker Wild Life Center in York, Maine. 10/30/20


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

8j1010 said:


> I think I'm thinking of traditional folk music and folk songs... on YouTube there seems to be quite a vague definition of folk music. I want pieces of music that have been "transmitted orally from generation to generation" which is what the Oxford Dictionary says.


Ah, yes. "Folk music" IS a rather vague phrase. I think that's because there are two very distinct definitions . . . there is the American folk pop music that is loosely referred to as "folk music" - Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, The Kingston Trio, Simon & Garfunkel, Blind Melon Jefferson.

But when folks from the Classical community talk about "folk music", it's a more international, and is several centuries of music from the non-elite denizens of Europe, Russian, Scandanavia, the Middle East and almost anywhere else.

There is a small area of shared stuff . . . Tis a Gift to be Simple, John Henry, and the music of Stephen Foster I suppose.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Don't forget that Peggy Seeger's mum (and Pete's stepmother) was the modernist composer Ruth Crawford Seeger. Her husband was an ethnomusicologist eek She worked with Alan Lomax and Carl Sandburg. Her closest English analogue is Holst who also worked on Folk song arrangements and also had unconventional religious ideas.

Equally, remember that Cecil Sharp had a great interest in the music of the Appalachians including many Child ballads.


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## Oleksandr Vorokh (Dec 13, 2018)

Baltos Varnos perform 2 lithuanian folk songs - "Pūtė Vėjas" and "Oi Girioj"


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)




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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)




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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I love American folk music - this anthology is a good introduction:

View attachment 147101


_The Anthology of American Folk Music_ is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records (catalogue FP 251, FP 252, and FP 253), comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued from 1926 to 1933. Experimental film maker *Harry Smith* compiled the music from his personal collection of 78 rpm records. The album is famous due to its role as a touchstone for the American folk music revival in the 1950s and 1960s. _The Anthology_ was released for compact disc by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on August 19, 1997.


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## Zauberfloete (Dec 2, 2020)

If you're interested in Scandinavian/Nordic folk music, look for "Spelmansmusik". It's the kind of traditional music played at country celebrations/dances, usually involving fiddles.

For Norwegian folk music, try googling or searching on Youtube for "mellomalderballade", "skillingsviser", "bygdeviser", "skjemteviser". These are different types of folk songs. 

For Finnish folk, look for "kantele", it's a traditional musical instrument similar to a zither or psaltery.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

*I love folk music...*


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

This may be a bit too contemporary for some but some excellent fiddling, and they certainly enjoy themselves






For more of their work
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bellowhead+


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## Zauberfloete (Dec 2, 2020)

Dan Ante said:


> I love folk music...


Another Irish folk enthusiast here.

For the OP: if you're interested in Irish folk (also known as "trad"), there's a trove of songs and dances (jigs, reels...) you can easily find on the web, although the quality varies, ranging from the exquisite and authentic to the very bad, just trying to cash in a popular genre.
Bear in mind, the genuine way to enjoy Irish folk is live, in a pub with locals.

I remember Irish folk music started to gain a lot of international (among non-Irish) interest in the 90's, at least here in continental Europe. My feeling is that the economic emergence of Ireland back then (the Celtic Tiger) contributed to that, with people becoming more interested in Ireland and even starting to travel more there, also in concomitance with the much welcome Good Friday Agreement (before that, Ireland had only been reported in international news about Troubles-related violence). And of, course, the success of Riverdance in the early 90s. Which is worth mentioning is a modern show, borrowing some elements from Irish folk, but not really representative of genuine Irish trad.

In Ireland itself, there had already been a big revival in the 60s-70s... a lot of great contemporary performers and interpreters of Irish trad are from that era: the Dubliners, Mick Moloney, the Johnstones, the Clancy Brothers, Sweeney's Men, the Fureys...
































In the 90s, I got hold of a 4-CD collection that included many of these classics, including some rare recordings (such as Mick Moloney singing _An Gaoth Andheas_ in Gaelic) that I have never found included in other CDs or collections.

My very first introduction to Irish music was a cassette I got in the early 90s, _Trad at Heart_, which features more contemporary arrangements and is probably an easier transition to Irish folk for people who are still not familiar with it or do not feel instantly drawn to the style of the folk singers and players from the 60s-70s.









Much to my delight, a few years ago I managed to acquire a CD version of it, the cassette not being playable any more. It's mostly instrumental music, with few exceptions such as _Dónal Agus Mórag_ performed by Altan.






For purely instrumental, dance music, I would recommend another exquisite collection from the 90s, _Dance of the Celts_.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Some American Appalachian Mountain harmony singing as interpreted by Ian & Sylvia:


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

*@ Zauberfloete*

I have a few CDs of theDubliners and they are very good another group that I rate very highly are The Chieftains they are the tops for me and play some historical instruments but I am by no means an expert, and I agree with you that it is great to hear it in a pub and from memory some of the Chieftain videos I have seen do include some shots in pubs. :tiphat:


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Dan Ante said:


> *@ Zauberfloete*
> 
> I have a few CDs of theDubliners and they are very good another group that I rate very highly are The Chieftains they are the tops for me and play some historical instruments but I am by no means an expert, and I agree with you that it is great to hear it in a pub and from memory some of the Chieftain videos I have seen do include some shots in pubs. :tiphat:


Matt Molloy of the Chieftains runs a bar in Westport and had regular sessions there (before the current problems). The Irish scene is often tied into pubs. O'Donoghue's Pub is linked not only to the Dubliners but also to Andy Irvine and Christie Moore and that takes in a massive swathe of modern Irish folk.

When you look at the Clancy Brothers, is important to remember that they played with Tommy Makem. Tommy's mother Sarah is a major source for traditional music. Sarah Makem has recorded numerous albums and has been visited by musicologists such as Peter Kennedy and Jean Ritchie. The Clancy Brothers played in New York alongside Jean Ritchie, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. When Diane Hamilton went to Ireland with Liam Clancy to record "original" Irish songs, she started with the Clancy's and moved on to Sarah Makem who had been recorded earlier by Jean Ritchie. When Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem met they became good friends. Tommy moved to America and after an industrial accident decided to start singing professionally and joined up with the Clancy Brothers.

A lot of folk music is like this, Martin Carthy went to school with Bert Lloyd's son and a star was born.


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

My main exposure to folk music has been the dancing at local folk festivals and ranges from Appalachian, which has its roots in many European styles including Lancashire cloggies, Morris has mostly traditional English tunes, but often concentrating on a particular region like border - northern English

Example of Appalachian style






And a Slovak team for contrast






And last but not least, for a certain couple of this parish :tiphat:


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

*@Mike* The Eightsome Reel takes me back to my school days at a boys only boarding school, we were taught old time dancing etc but also did the eightsome reel to that tune. It was funny dancing with boys as one of you had to be the girl but once a year the school held a special dance and the village girls came with their own chaperones we were under tight observation.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Taggart said:


> Matt Molloy of the Chieftains runs a bar in Westport and had regular sessions there (before the current problems). The Irish scene is often tied into pubs. O'Donoghue's Pub is linked not only to the Dubliners but also to Andy Irvine and Christie Moore and that takes in a massive swathe of modern Irish folk.
> 
> When you look at the Clancy Brothers, is important to remember that they played with Tommy Makem. Tommy's mother Sarah is a major source for traditional music. Sarah Makem has recorded numerous albums and has been visited by musicologists such as Peter Kennedy and Jean Ritchie. The Clancy Brothers played in New York alongside Jean Ritchie, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. When Diane Hamilton went to Ireland with Liam Clancy to record "original" Irish songs, she started with the Clancy's and moved on to Sarah Makem who had been recorded earlier by Jean Ritchie. When Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem met they became good friends. Tommy moved to America and after an industrial accident decided to start singing professionally and joined up with the Clancy Brothers.
> 
> A lot of folk music is like this, Martin Carthy went to school with Bert Lloyd's son and a star was born.


I envy your knowledge it is very interesting, saw all the links.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

_PROBABLY_ not what you sere looking for, but I'm a big fan of Hoven Droven, who play traditional Finnish folk songs in the heavy metal style:


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)




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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

I've put up a biography of George Butterworth which includes links to EFDSS and Sharp's people which gives a lot of info on early folk song collectors and singers.


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## Zauberfloete (Dec 2, 2020)

Dan Ante said:


> *@ Zauberfloete*
> 
> I have a few CDs of theDubliners and they are very good another group that I rate very highly are The Chieftains they are the tops for me and play some historical instruments but I am by no means an expert, and I agree with you that it is great to hear it in a pub and from memory some of the Chieftain videos I have seen do include some shots in pubs. :tiphat:


I love the Chieftains! Shame on me for not mentioning them.


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## Zauberfloete (Dec 2, 2020)

Can we include folk music from non-European traditions too?

These past 10 years or so my life mostly revolved around parts of Asia, mostly rural and off the beaten path, and that gave me an opportunity to encounter some folk music traditions I truly fell in love with.

One of the first such traditions I found out about was Tuvan folk music and throat singing. I've been cherishing a dream to visit the southern Siberian republics of Tuva, Altai, Buryatia and Khakassia ever since.

I got a copy of this CD many years ago. One of my favourite tunes is Öske Cherde, starting at 8:11






Similar overtone singing traditions exists in other parts of central Asia. I did spend some time on the Mongolian steppe staying with local herders, and it was probably the best experience that ever happened to me in my life. The most beloved traditional musical instrument in Mongolia is a string instrument called the "morin khuur" (horse-fiddle). The other traditional instrument I heard played in Mongolia was a transverse flute (I'm not sure of the name).

This is a video of a very famous Mongolian traditional musician, called Batzorig Vaanchig.











You will notice the language is completely different from the first video (Tuvan is a Turkic language, while Mongolian is a Mongolic language; they are not mutually intelligible).

PS: my sweetheart and I bonded over our shared appreciation of and experience exploring Central Asia. We met at a social event and happened to share stories of our travels to Kazakhstan and Mongolia... and it was love at first sight.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Zauberfloete said:


> I love the Chieftains! Shame on me for not mentioning them.


*Great number Zauberfloete they sound so earthy, If LvB had heard this kind of music just imagine what he would have done with it. Regarding the other 3 video, Huun-Huur-Tu is a new one for me but the other two ring a bell is this type of singing called (Throat Music) I have seen it on TV but cant remember the artists name.*


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Appalachian fiddle and banjo tunes, ballads, and hymns.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> Appalachian fiddle and banjo tunes, ballads, and hymns.


I've listened to this record often - it's a good 'un. Dirk Powell is a musician I've kept up with.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

English folk singer Jim Causley, studio recording of Pride of the Moor.


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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)




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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)




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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Milvus*
Mats Edén, Jonas Simonson, Cikada String Quartet

View attachment 155776


*ECM Records description*


> Mats Eden has been hailed, by Ale Moller, as the 'real leader' of the Swedish folk revival. Eden's drone-fiddle, violin and viola have been at the heart of the music made by the Nordan Project of Moller and Lena Willemark and many other groups. On the first ECM album issued under his own name, Eden plays alone and with flutist Jonas Simonson: 'Each of us has in his own way been searching for new means of expression within the range of traditional music. Having deep knowledge of these old methods has given us a secure base from which to explore new artistic possibilities.' The timbre and the stark beauty of the old music also informs Eden's contemporary compositions, such as his String Quartet No. 1, played here by the distinguished Cikada Quartet.
> 
> For an album ostensibly focussed upon the Swedish folk tradition, "Milvus" describes some surprisingly wide arcs. It begins with a piece dedicated to the Indian violinist K. Shivakumar (in his composition "Haväng", Edén seems to be telling us something about the universality of the folk experience) and ends up with a 20 minute composition for string quartet played by Norway's distinguished and progressive Cikada Quartet, best known for their interpretations of Lutoslawski, Crumb, Webern, Scelsi and so forth (they can be heard on the forthcoming album "Birds And Bells" by Danish composer Bent Sørensen on ECM New Series).
> 
> ...


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## nikola (Sep 7, 2012)

Old folk music from the north of Croatia:






Old Croatian folk from Dalmacija (south part of the country on the Adriatic coast)


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## nikola (Sep 7, 2012)

This is typical Slavic sounding folk song that was made for one great 70's TV show. It's folk music from the north of Croatia. I always really loved this:


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)




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## nikola (Sep 7, 2012)




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## nikola (Sep 7, 2012)




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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Dan Ante said:


>





nikola said:


>


Coincidentally, I discovered yesterday that I could alter *Siri* to be *Irish*, so I did.

I am amused.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

I've read that there's a theory that says that Summertime was inspired by Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon, a ukrainian folk lullaby that Gershwin could have heard in New York listening to the Koshetz Ukrainian National Choir in 1929 or even before. I don't know if it's true, but since Summertime is a masterpiece I wanted to listen to the song that supposedly could have inspired it, and while I don't know if it's true, I have to say that it's a beautiful song.






The Dream passes by the window,
And Sleep by the fence.
The Dream asks Sleep:
"Where should we rest tonight?"

Where the cottage is warm,
Where the tot is tiny,
There we will go,
And rock the child to sleep.

There we will sleep,
and will sing to the child:
Sleep, sleep, my little falcon,
Sleep, sleep, my little dove


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I don't hear enough of a similarity to support the theory.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

SanAntone said:


> I don't hear enough of a similarity to support the theory.


I think that if there's a similarity is more in the mood than in the melody that is obviously quite different. I was trying to make a list of songs with a dreamy atmosphere written before the sixties and I thought immediately of Summertime and Lazy afternoon (which, while has a clearly different melody still was probably inspired by Summertime: "Summertime and the living is easy", "It's a lazy afternoon and the beetle bugs are zooming") and... very few other things. Maybe there weren't a lot of songs trying to convey the mood of a dream, at least to my knowledge, so I don't exclude there could be some truth. Then obviously there's not the bluesy/spiritual component of Summertime (I can definitely see why there are those suggesting that "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" could have been another inspiration for Gerswhin), but I don't think I would exclude that it was one of the things that inspired Gerswhin, at least to a certain degree.
In any case I posted it mainly because I thought it's a beautiful lullaby.


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