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Comment - No 15


The Hunger Site:

Clever of the UN to do this ....... Go to The Hunger Site at the UN.  All you do is click a button and somewhere in the world some hungry person gets a meal to eat, at no cost to you.  The food is paid for by corporate sponsors (who gain advertising in the process because you see their logo).

All you do is go to the site and click.  But you're only allowed one click per day.  So visit the site and spread the word to others.

http://www.thehungersite.com


Who Has Done the Best for Humanity? (Lord Executor):
Caribbean Music in an international context

Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 28 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5DS
Wednesday 23 February 2000, 9.30am – 6.00 pm
Co-organisers: Dr John Cowley and Dr Amanda Sives

Entrance/Tea and Coffee £5  Entrance/Tea and Coffee and Lunch £10

There will be a photographic exhibition on the Windrush period

Provisional Timetable as at 9 December 1999

09.30 - 09.55 Overture: Who Has Done the Best for Humanity?
and other musical examples
10.00 - 10-40 John Cowley: Long Time Ago – Launching Song:
Field Recordings of English-speaking Caribbean music – a survey
10.45 - 11.25 Richard Noblett: Haile Selassie is the Police and Mussolini the Thief:
The Italian-Ethiopian conflict in contemporary calypso
11.30 - 12.10 Sharon Meredith: The Recontextualisation of Barbadian Tuk Music
12.15 - 12.55 Tina Ramnarine: The Politics of Location:
Indian-Caribbean music in Local and Global Networks of Exchange
LUNCH 01.00 - 2.10
02.15 - 02.55 Geraldine Connor: Hallelujah!:
Excursions into a third space
03.00 - 03.40 Lez Henry: Reggae/Dance Hall Music:
The 'hidden voice' of Black British Urban expression
TEA BREAK 03.45 - 04.05
04.10 - 04.50 [?]
04.55 - 06.00 Winston Small: Young Talented and British

Registration Details and Enquiries:

Dr Amanda Sives  tel: 0207 862 8865; e-mail: amanda.sives@sas.ac.uk
or write c/o the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.


Lewes Dates:

An interesting period approaches at the Royal Oak, Lewes, Sussex


ADA Moves:

ADA, the popular distribution and mailorder service is now under the new management of Mick Peat and Celia Richmond, and operates from a new address:

ADA Distribution, PO Box 800, Belper, Derbys DE56 2ZA, UK.  Tel: 01773 850000 .

... and now has e-mail: ADAmailorder@aol.com


Sussex Singers Weekend

Seaford - 25th / 27th February, 2000

The website for this event is at: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic/corsica.htm

It has the latest details and booking arrangements for this event as well as photographs of some of the guest singers.  If you are thinking of coming to this weekend, move quickly, the places are limited and more than half the tickets are already sold.


Talking Traditions

An exhibition and events package exploring and celebrating Irish music and dance in two British cities.

Talking Traditions is an arts and education project which explores the relationship between contemporary practice in Irish music and dance and the concepts of identity, community and place.  Working with members of the Irish communities in the cities of Coventry and Liverpool, the project will explore how musical styles and associated meanings have changed to reflect the experiences of different generations and the influence of different surroundings.

The project is being developed in partnership with the Institute of Popular Music at the University of Liverpool, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry and the Museum of Liverpool Life.  The results of this research will be presented in a package of materials and events, including an exhibition, music and dance workshops, seminars and a publication.

Project Aims:

The Exhibition:

The exhibition will comprise of a series of photograph and text panels which aim to give visitors a window into music and dance practices in today's Irish communities.  Each panel will mix photographs with quotes from musicians and dancers exploring how music holds different meanings and significance.  Sound recording accompanying the visual display will be provided for the visitor through cassette and headphone sets placed at relevant stations in the exhibition.  These recordings will bring the exhibition alive, providing visitors with a musical soundscape.  The exhibition will also include displays of traditional instruments and Irish dancing costumes.  Activity sheets and instruments will be provided to encourage children to become involved in the display.

Workshops and Events:

A programme of workshops and events will be staged in conjunction with the exhibition.  These will include music and dance performances, music seminars and workshops.  The events and workshops will be open to all and will be publicised broadly across Coventry and Liverpool.

Exhibition Venues and Dates:

Contact:

Marion Leonard, Institute of Popular Music, The University of Liverpool, Roxby Building, Liverpool L69 3BX.
Tel: 0151 794 3084  Fax: 0151 794 2566  E-mail: marion@liverpool.ac.uk


The Folk Mag

Several items likely to be of interest in the latest update of this web-based folk magazine for the West Midlands: You'll find it at http://www.btinternet.com/~radical/thefolkmag


Islington Folk Club: new venue

The club has now settled down at The Horseshoe, 24 Clerkenwell Close, London EC1R 0AG.

Both audiences and artists think its a good venue - a friendly pub and a room with a good atmosphere.  Do give it a try if you haven't been since they moved. The programme includes a rare chance to hear England's finest melodeon player, Tony Hall, on 2nd December, '99.


Chris Langan Weekend - Toronto, Canada

A memorial for the piper Chris Langan - Jan 14th-17th, 2000.  It features concerts and workshops for pipers, fiddlers, singers (sean-nós) and dancers amongst others.  It is centred around the Tranzac Club in the City Centre.  It is considered to be Toronto's premiere Irish trad music bash.

Info online is available at http://www.interlog.com/~kmac/CCEpage.html.  The festival is always well attended and pre-booking for the piping workshops is recommended.


More Site problems:

Since troubles always come in threes, it should surprise no one that I received an e-mail message a couple of days ago, telling me that emergency maintenance on the UK Online members' web machine had uncovered some serious problems with the disk subsystem, which resulted in failure of part of the disk array and subsequent data loss ... or that the MT site should have been one of those completely lost!  Since the UK Online site contains only the older material, many readers may not have noticed the problem - indeed this site gets comparatively little traffic in the normal course of events.

I have decided to reinstate the site, but to omit the sound clips from the reviews.  These comprise almost 80% of the material on the site and would be extremely costly, both in time and money, to upload yet again - the job was done only in August, so I well know how long it takes!

Sound clips for all the Articles will be reinstated.  I think that the old reviews will be acceptable without sound for the most part - if you disagree, please let me know.


British Forum for Ethnomusicology, Annual Conference, 14-16 April 2000, University of Sheffield, UK

Fieldwork, Ethnography, Representation

Final Call for Papers

[Would-be provocative blurb:]

"Fieldwork is a central, some would claim defining, characteristic of ethnomusicology, and is one of the ethnomusicologist's major claims to representational authority.  Yet the idea of the field as a distinct location has been quietly challenged for some considerable time by ethnomusicologists engaged in historical research, by indigenous scholars carrying out research 'at home' as it were, and, more recently, by writers who have pointed to the construction of 'the field' in the mind, notes, performances and published writings of the ethnomusicologist."

Abstracts of up to 300 words for twenty-minute papers on the broad topic of fieldwork and its outcomes should be submitted by e-mail or post to Jonathan Stock as soon as possible.  Attendees wishing to make a shorter report (10 minutes + 5 minutes for questions) on 'work in progress' may propose this also.  Abstracts will be reviewed by a small panel (Jonathan Stock, Julia Bishop [University of Sheffield], Ruth Davis [University of Cambridge], Lee Tong Soon [University of Durham]); in the case of postal submissions, two copies should be sent; one copy by e-mail is sufficient.  Those offering papers will be advised of their acceptance, proposed adjustment or otherwise on or around 7 December 1999.  Late submissions may be accepted, if space remains after that date.

As usual, student submissions are very welcome, and a number of BFE student bursaries will be available to student members (see for information on how to join) attending the conference to give a paper.  Students applying for these should enclose with their abstract a covering letter detailing anticipated travelling costs and a signed letter of support from their supervisor.  Film shows and performances may also be proposed, as may be preformed panels or workshop sessions (to fit 1 hour and 30 minutes), for which a longer abstract with named speakers (up to 750 words) may be provided.  There will be the usual book display, invited keynote speaker, conference dinner, party and collegial BFE atmosphere.

All enquiries and abstracts should be submitted to Jonathan Stock (contact details below).

Local Arrangements

Single-room accommodation for the conference has been arranged in the Ranmoor district of Sheffield at the University's Halifax Hall of Residence, which is where the conference itself will occur.  Ranmoor, in West Sheffield, is a leafy Victorian area close to parks, botannical gardens and 2 miles from the Peak District National Park.  Those wishing to make their own arrangements will find a Trusthouse Forte hotel just ten minutes walk from Halifax Hall.

Costs:

All these figures include a £6 conference fee discount for BFE members.  Day rates will be available for those only able to attend part of the meeting.

The book display will be handled by Rosemary Dooley Music Books.  Publishers or individuals wishing to include books or advertising material in the display or folder for attendees should contact Rosemary Dooley directly at

A CD display will also be arranged. Publishers or individuals wishing to submit discs or materials should, in the first place, contact Jonathan Stock.

Further details, as and when available, will be posted on:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/I-M/mus/staff/js/BFEConf.html

Inquiries should be directed to Jonathan Stock, e-mail: J.P.J.Stock@sheffield.ac.uk


Death of Danny Brazil

The death of Danny Brazil in September, a few days short of his 90th birthday marks the end of an era.  He was the last surviving member of his generation of the large Gloucestershire traveller family whose repertoire of traditional song and dance was enormous.  An Obituary and brief family outline can be found in Enthusiasm No 14.


Passchendaele Suite

Commissioned by the modern town of Passendale to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of the battle.  Through Peace Concerts Passendale they commission a range of art works - sculpture, photography, paintings, writing and most notably concerts to highlight the events of the Great War in the Passchendaele area with the idea of seeing they are never repeated elsewhere.  Each of the concerts (there have been about eight) brings together musicians from different countries to work on music that grows out of traditional roots.  In the case of Passchendaele Suite, they commissioned Coope Boyes & Simpson and a French speaking octet from the Brussels area to create a suite that reflected aspects of the physical sites of the battle.  (Passendale is in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium, so inviting a French speaking, Walloon band was a significant gesture locally.)  The Suite brings together traditional music from Belgium, Germany and England as well as newly written songs from Coope Boyes & Simpson.

Details of the tour follow - tickets are £10.00 and £8.00 (concessions)


Information Request:

I am 99% certain of a faraway trip to the Chatham Islands , New Zealand, South Pacific, in Jan 2000.   Is there anyone out there with any information about the music of, or contacts on, the island (pop less than 1000!).

A book I have suggests that early European settlers in the 19th C danced polkas, schottisches, etc. ... sounds familiar ...   I will be taking a melodeon if they allow it through customs! + non hi-fi tape recorder.   Will report back if anything interesting ...

Geoff Woolfe
geoff@doina.demon.co.uk


Death of Tufty Swift

Tufty Swift, English melodeon player who used to play in the very influential Umps & Dumps Band, died in his sleep on 14th October, 1999, after a long battle with cancer. He leaves a wife,  Anita and a recently born baby boy, Benamie.

Many people will remember Umps & Dumps as one of the original bands to take part in the revolution in English Country Dance music which led to what we now call e-ceilidh.  His more recent band, Busking Sharks, was a valued addition to our dance programme at Ripponden.  Although not widely known, they were a band who could keep you dancing all night.

He will be sorely missed by many of us.

Johnny Adams


Correspondence:

Rod Stradling - e-mail: rod@mustrad.org.uk    Tel: 01453 759475
snail-mail: 1 Castle Street, Stroud, Glos GL5 2HP, UK

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