english dance & song

English Dance & Song is the longest-established magazine devoted to folk music, dance and song in the country. First published in 1936, it has appeared at least four times a year ever since.

68– 3 Autumn 2006

Features:
A Hampshire Special

Voices from Hampshire – Bob Askew looks at George Gardiner’s folk song collecting in the county.
Community Singing – Derek Schofield investigates the popularity of community choirs.

The Singers, Song and Source: The Singers (Alton Community Choir from Hampshire) … the Song (Polly Vaughan) … and the Source (William Bone and Mrs Matthews). See sound file.
Hampshire Folks: folk music and dance organisations in the county.

A Pyle of Tunes from Hampshire – Bob Shatwell looks at the Pyle manuscript tune book and the new book of tunes and accompanying CD drawn from the collection.

A Smaller Pyle of Dances from Hampshire – the manuscript book also included the notations of ten dances.
Folk Songs and Hymn Tunes – Julian Onderdonk celebrates the centenary of The English Hymnal, for which Vaughan Williams used many traditional tunes.

Knees up at Cecil Sharp House – young contributor Florence Bearman explains the enduring attraction of this regular ceilidh series. |

Gold Badge Award to Tony Engle – citation by Reg Hall.

Sound Files
Sound files are included here in conjunction with this issue:
Three versions of the song Polly Vaughan, as featured in the Singers, Song and Source article.

Polly Vaughan – specially recorded for EDS by Alton Community Choir. Recorded by Nick Sowden.

Polly Vaughan – by Craig; Morgan; Robson (below) – from their forthcoming CD. By kind permission of Craig; Morgan; Robson.

Polly Vaughan – by Cheryl Jordan – from the CD Folk Songs from Hampshire and Dorset. By kind permission of the Forest Tracks label. www.forest-tracks.co.uk

Barber of Seville / Earl of Rosslen / Chainess Dance – Matthew Green and Andy Turner from the CD Hampshire Dance Tunes, WGS325CD. By kind permission of WildGoose Records. www.wildgoose.co.uk

Reviews – including Bellowhead, The Devil’s Interval, Shona Kipling & Damien O’Kane, Tim van Eyken, Viv Legg, Rattle on the Stovepipe, Tom and Barbara Brown, The Climax Ceilidh Band, Hoover the Dog, Scottish children’s songs, Joe Boyd’s White Bicycles (book and CD), Hampshire Dance Tunes (book and CD), Ken Sheffield’s From Two Barns, Veteran, Fellside and Greentrax compilations.

English Dance & Song exists to interest, inform and stimulate the membership of the EFDSS, as well as the wider folk music and dance community. 

English Dance & Song aims to publish contributions of the highest quality.

The range of interests include traditional song, traditional dance (social, display, ceremonial), traditional music, custom and children's games. The geographical spread is not confined to England, but may also include Scotland, Wales and Ireland; as well as the USA, and other areas of the world which may be appropriate. 

Potential contributors are asked to read the Contributor's Style Sheet. htm rtf pdf

Items for review should be sent to the Editor. Unsolicited reviews will not be published.

The Editor of eds is Derek Schofield, author of The First Week in August: Fifty Years of the Sidmouth Festival, published in 2004 to celebrate the festival’s Golden Jubilee.

He has also written biographies of William Kimber and Fred Jordan, as published in their recent CDs, Absolutely Classic: The Music of William Kimber (EFDSS, 1999) and A Shropshire Lad (Veteran, 2003). Derek has also contributed to The Guardian, The Independent and The Times, as well as to the Folk Music Journal and fRoots.

Contact the Editor at: Editor, English Dance and Song, EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London, NW1 7AY.

By email write to

eds.editor @the domain name efdss.org