"English" Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians

Geoff Black
08/04/10 04:36:25PM
@geoff-black

Hi all.

Just been reading two books about the song collecting trips of Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles, starting in Asheville from July 1916 onwards. Started just looking for authentic tunes to play on the MD, but got steadily more fascinated by the people they met and the lifestyle they described.

Sharp and Karpeles found a fabulous collection of tunes and songs over three years, but in theri journals they appear to say virtually nothing about the instruments. By the law of averages, they must have witnessed a mountain dulcimer, playing a tune or accompanying a song.

Has anyone cross-checked between the names/locations of their informants and those of known dulcimer players/makers?

Geoff Black