News and Comment - No 15 |
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.
Entrance/Tea and Coffee £5 Entrance/Tea and Coffee and Lunch £10
There will be a photographic exhibition on the Windrush period
ADA Distribution, PO Box 800, Belper, Derbys DE56 2ZA, UK. Tel: 01773 850000 .
... and now has e-mail: ADAmailorder@aol.com
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 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.
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.
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.
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
[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
All enquiries and abstracts should be submitted to Jonathan Stock (contact details below).
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:
Inquiries should be directed to Jonathan Stock, e-mail: J.P.J.Stock@sheffield.ac.uk
Details of the tour follow - tickets are £10.00 and £8.00 (concessions)
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
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
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.
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.
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!).
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.
Correspondence:
snail-mail: 1 Castle Street, Stroud, Glos GL5 2HP, UK
Top of page
Home Page
Articles
Reviews
News
Editorial
Map