HILLINOI SUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

PRODUCTION NOTE

University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign Library

Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.

1/

C U\'V 2'5WRG GAN OF THE CAMPUS FOLKS(

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

February 16, 1962

JOE GLAZER CONCERT

Joe Glazer, Labor's Troubador, will presenta program of labor and industrial folksongsMonday evening, 8 pm, March 12, in LatzerHall of the University YMCA. The concert,free to the public, is sponsored by theU of I, Inst. of Lab. and Ind. Rels. andCampus Folksong Club.

Glazer, in 1961, accepted an appointmentwith the U.S. Information Agency as alabor information officer. He is now onroute to Mexico. His U of I program is hisfarewell concert in the U.S.

Joe Glazer is widely known in the U.S. andCanada as a singer, writer, interpreter,and recorder of industrial folksongs--labor,work, protest, social significance. Hisvoice and guitar have been heard in almostevery one of the fifty states, in most ofthe provinces of Canada, in Europe and inIsrael. His book, Songs of Work andFreedom is the definitive work in its field.

For seventeen years, from 1944-1961, hewas well known as a leader in the laboreducation field, through his work with theTextile Workers Union and the United Rub-ber Workers. During this period he wroteSome of his best known songs, including"Too Old to Work," "Automation," etc. Heappeared on many picket-lines, at unionconventions and rallies, sharing platformsWith George Meany, Walter Reuther, andPhilip Murray. In 1955 he appeared at theCI0 closing convention with actor MelwynDouglass in a historical pageant which toldthe 20 year history of the CIO in song andStory.

CALENDAR

Business-Election Meeting

February 21; 8 pm; 223 Gregory HallElection of officers, amendments toconstitution, and plans for futureconcerts are on the agenda.

Folksing

March 2; 8 pm; 314 Altgeld HallThis first open folksing of the semestermeets in a new hall with a seatingcapacity of 317.

FUTURE EVENTS

Big Joe Williams, March 23

MacEdward Leach, March 29

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, May 12

GUITAR AND BANJO WORKSHOP

Schedules to be announced at Folksings.For details see: Bill Becker

Paul AdkinsJohn Walsh

AUTOHARP NEEDS

Our Club paper is open to criticism,reviews, gossip, features, etc. Pleasemake your voice heard. See Vic Lukasor drop a line to Room 322 Illini Union.

Volume 2, Number 4

~e. (~-

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Professor Adriaansz Begins Ethnomusicology Program

A new course, Music 316-- "Music Cultures of the World," is offered duringthe present asemseter. It is available to advanced undergraduates and graduatesfor credit of 3 hours or + unit, and meets at 1 p.m., MWF , in room 101 Hill Annex."Music Cultures of the World" represents the first offering of the School of Musioin the study and performance of nonwestern art music. The course includes a studyof Tribal, Folk, and Art Music of Asia, Africa, and Southeastern Europe. In thefuture, an expanded program in ethnomusicology will be offered. Music 316 istaught by Willem Adriaansz, Assistant Professor of Musicology. Professor Adriaanszis a graduate in anthropolgy and music from the University and Conservatory ofUtrecht. Currently he is a candidate for the Doctor of Phliosophy degree from theInstitute of Ethnomusicology and music from the University of California at LosAngeles. UCLA is known for its attention to the music of the East Indies. Whilein Los Angeles, Professor Adriaansz worked with Dr. Mantle Hood, musicologist,composer, and 'founder of UCLA's Javanese gamelan orchestra. Both Hood andAdriaansz studied in Holland under Jaap Kunst, world-renowned ethnomusicologist.

Folksong as a Mirror of Jewish History

Erwin Jospe will be Hillel's guest lecturer and recitalist for the FrankelMemorial Lecture, February 25, 7:00 to LO:00 p.m., in the Campus Hillel Foundat-ion, 503 East John Street, Champaign. He has served with the Chicago Lyric OperaCompany, is director of the Opera Workshop, Roosevelt University, Director of Musicat the Ashe Emet Synagogue in Chicago and, for the past eight years, Director ofMusic at the National Hillel Institute.

Champaign-Urbana Gospel Sing

On Saturday night, February 17, 8 p.m., The Church of God will present anall-night gospel sing in the Edison Jr. High School Auditorium, 305 W. GreenStreet, Champaign. Three quartets are to appear: The Oak Ridge Quartet, Nashville,Tenn.; The Melody Masters, Decatur, Ill.; The Kingdom-Heirs, Kankakee, Ill. TheCampus Folksong Club's own Philo Glee and Mandolin Society is also slated to appearwith Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Reynolds. Admission at the door on the evening of thesing is $1.50.

Izzy Young Joins Club

Although the Campus Folksong Club is centered on the University of Illinoiscampus, it boasts a few loyal members far removed from the prairie scene. FormerClub president, Dick Kanar, is in Boulder, Colorado, while Jimmie Driftwood hascarried his membership card to Timbo, Arkansas. Our newest out-of-state memberis Mr. Israel Young, proprietor of The Folklore Center, 110 MacDougal Street.N.Y. 12,N.Y. Izzy joined during the between semester holiday when Rita Merkelisvisited his Greenwich Village shop. Club members who wish to receive The FolkloreCenter's catalogue of books and records may write to the Center.

Late this fall, the Campus Folksong Club started a new Folklore Seminar programfor the current academic year. A seminar is held every two weeks on Tuesdayafternoons at four o'clock, and all information for those interested is listed inAutoharp, on University bulletin boards, and in the University Calendar. At eachmeeting, a member of the faculty is given the opportunity to explore the area offolklore in which he is interested.

During the fall semester four seminars were held. John T. Flanagan from theDepartment of English was the first speaker. Having just returned from Belgium, hetold us about some Belgian folklore, particularly the pageantry, much of which iscolorful and elaborate.

The second seminar was given by Doyle Moore from the Department of Art whotalked on the development of American folk instruments. He brought slides andpictures of many early American instruments along with an unusual relative of theAmerican mountain dulcimer that he had found in Watseka, Illinois, and a dulcimerthat he had made himself.

Another speaker was Henri Stegemeier from the Department of German who spokeon the Grimm tales, including in his talk a fascinating biographical sketch of theGrimm brothers who were very important in other studies as well as folklore.

The last seminar of the semester was given by Joseph R. Gusfield from theDepartment of Sociology who spoke on temperance tales and their sociologicalsignificance, flavoring his discussion with anecdotes.

S- During the semester it became clear to the seminar participants that the studyof folklore is vast field and that it is quite neglected. It is also aninterdepartmental study with significance in the areas of literature, music,foreign language, sociology, anthropology, art, history,...

The Folklore Seminar program will continue through the spring semester,meeting every two weeks with speakers from various departments. There ought to besome topics of interest to you.

At the present time, the program, being interesting and informative, isdesigned to create acedamic interest in folklore and to stimulate people on campusto ask questions: What are the forces in the development of a traditional festival?What is the attitude of a man toward a musical instrument that he makes? Why don'tpeople tell stories anymore?

contributed by Jarvis Rich

Vl/-O ,0oo3FctA / F/

If-' I N rI

I will twine with my mingles and wavey black hair,With the roses so red and the lilies so fair,And the myrtle so bright, with its emerald hue,The pale and the leader and eyes look like blue.

I will dance, I will sing, and my heart shall be gay,I will charm every heart, in this crown I will sway.When I woke from my dreaming, my idols was clay,And all portions of loving had all flown away.

Ohy he taught me to love him and promised to love,And to cherish me over all others above.Now my poor heart is wondering, no misery can tell,He left me no warning, no words of farewell.

Oh, he taught me to love him, and called me his flower,That was blooming to cheer him through life's dreary hour.How I long to see him, and regret the dark hour.He's gone and he's lefted his pale wildwood flower.

Music and text of "Wildwood Flower" are transcribed by Paul Adkins ofthe Philo Glee and Mandoline Society as the PGMS usually sings andperforms the song. Their source is the LP: "The Famous Carter Family"

(Harmony HL 7280), and "All Time Favorites, The Carter Family" (Acme 1).

"l.ildcvood Floter", A Lyric Folksong

The type of folksong called a folk lyric does not narrate a story kike aballad. Rather, a lyric folksong brings together a series of poetic images thatmay or may not be held together by a basic emotional theme. The themes of manylyric folksongs are from the areas of sex, death, poverty, or religion. "T.ildwoodFlower" is a well-knownAmerican lyric folksong that vias widely popularized bythe Carter Family. It is particularly .appealing to guitar pickers.

Kenneth Goldstein has gathered some novel facts on this song in his brochurenotes for Professor Artus Miaser's "North Carolina Ballads" (Folkwrays 2112). TWe, aote,' below:

Though widely known throughout North Carolina and nearby states, this song(V1ildwood Flower) has been rather rarely reported by collectors. Various folklorists have expressed the opinion that this' song probably circulated as asheetmusic or parlor songbook piece, though no printed material of that sort hasbeen found to corroborate this thesis. There is no doubt, how;ever, that the songhas existed in oral tradition for some time. This is borne out by the degreeof variation in different collected texts. Of special interest are the curiouscorruptions of the word amaranthus, which usually appears in the last line of thefirst stanza. In Professor I'oser's version this appears as "arimeter". Invarious other texts, it shows up as "armeta", "arroi-netta", "arrenither", and"ermeta". In one North Carolina text, the "amarenthus" has passed almost com-pletely out of recognition and has become "pale fairen maiden".

Professor Foser has developed an interesting thesis of his own concerningthe origin of this song. He believes it may have derived from the work of anancient Greek poet and that it has come do.n to us form ancient times throughtranslations. His hypothesis is based partly on translated lines of poetrycredited to yeleager which very closely parallel ihole. lines and stanzas of"Vildwood Flover.,, It may have come into being in the South during the periodbefore the Civil v.ar ihen it Y.as fashionable for rich planters to send their sonto Oxford and Cambridge to study - and, of course, the classics were studied.Conceivably, it could have been brought here by one of these students or perhapseven composed here from the Greek original. It then pajked into circulation fromeither a printed sheet or by oral means.

For additional texts and information, see:

The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Volume III, Durham,N. C., 1952.

Matteson, Y., & Henry, 1. E., Beech 1iountain Folk-Songs and Ballads, Set #15 inSchirmerts American Folk-Song Series.

Randolph, Vance, Ozark Folksongs, Volume III, Columbia. Missouri, 19h9.

'Ritchie, Jean, Singing Family of the Cumberlands, oxford Univ. Press, N. Y., 1955.

xxxxx0xxxxx

THE CARTER FiUthLY GUITAR STYLEby

Victor T. Lukas

The Carter Family had a distinctive rhythmic sound given by SarahCarter's autoharp and 1iaybelle's guitar. The guitar almost alwayscarried the melody, while the autoharp accentuated the rhythym. Mostmodern imitators of Haybelle's playing use a flat pick. However, Iunderstand from people who have seen Maybelle play, that she used athumb pick and finger picks to obtain the same effect.

The rhythym used by the Carter Family was basically very simple,but very strong. For 4/4 time they used as a basic strum:

B S BuSu1&2&3&14&

B stands for a base string plucked with the thumb.S stands for a brush across strings #3,2, & 1 with the thumb.U stands for an upstroke across strings #1,2, & 3 with either the middleor index finger. This is easily done if the finger is kept close tothe thumb, with finger and thumb acting as one unit, pivoting aroundthe wrist, which is kept relaxed, just as with flat picking.

Variations of this basic strum arise from the fact that she wouldthrow in or leave out an upstroke in a very arbitrary manner. Commonvariations are BuS BuSu BuSuB S BuS B S

1&2&3&14& 1&2&3&4& l&22&3&4&Of course when a melody is being played, S sometimes becomes just asingle plucked base note.

The melody is mainly played by the thumb, on the beat. If themelody should require a note off the beat, it is played by up-picking

with the finger on a single string, or by hammering on, or pulling off.

The following tablature is for a version of "Wildwood Flower"done by the Carter Family. The many variations of their basic strumappear in it. Typed numbers refer to string numbers. Small writtennumbers refer to the fret. Capital letters stand for the chord formation.The bottom line is played with the taumb, the upper line with the finger.Notes in parentheses are to be hammered on.

12 3 4 12 3 4 123 4 123 4 123 4Finger

Thumb

:C F C G C

(t ( u uu uu uu i* -C C C. J 4S4 43 S 3 2 4 S h 4 h S 5 5 S 54 S 5

IC F C G C'u1 u uu uu 4 u I

4 •43 S 3 24 S h h S h 5 S h S 5SF C

1 ' u u u

i s 13 222S 3 S(3)S 23337. G C

3 5() s 4 S 3 s 3 14 hs S 5 5 s4 S 5 sCircled u may be left out for learning ease.

RUSSIAN FOLK MUSIC

Pre-revolutionary Russia was a country unmatched for sheer size anywhere on

earth, and the size of its folk music repertoire has reflected the fact. It was the

largest peasant society in the world, and all of its home-grown music was peasant.

When Russian composers began turning out symphonies and concerti on the European

model they dipped into the folk themes for inspiration. When we talk about Russian

music today we're still talking about folk music.

No village of any size was without some kind of folk orchestra for weddings and

christenings, and in every peasant house there was someone who could play on the

balalaika, mandolin, or seven-stringed guitar. If there was no artist to perform on

an instrument, then the household would improvise on a set of wooden spoons. In

White Russian and Lithuania the people made zaleiki, little pipes of bone or wood,

and in the Ukraine they played the bandura, a combination of harp and guitar. Then

on the long winter nights they poured out their stories of the field and forest, and

of the great rivers, the Volga, Dnepr, and Don, and told of the great heroes, the

Cossack Stenka Razin, the Tsar Peter, and the revolutionary, Pugachev. For parties

they played the accordion to accompany the gopak, trepak, kozachok, and polka.

Besides the ordinary accompanied songs the peasants told the byliny, or "ancient

tales." A lone chanter, who learned the tale by word of mouth from his father would

unfold an hours-long story in verse telling of some great event in the old times.

Practitioners of this art are almost extinct in the Soviet Union today, but folkloraist

have found some, and enabled them to give concerts where their art is appreciated

just as much as it was in the past.

For those interested inRussian folk songs, the records, put out by MONITOR are

especially recommended. For those interested in studying Russian folklore, the

great book Russian Folklore, by Sokolov, is the definitive work on the subject.

contributed by Fritz Plous Jr.

7

"Yasuh Bossl We used to sing all the time till Mr. Collector bought the copyrights"

Who Owns Folklore?

In recent years there has been much concern over the practice of copyrightingfolksongs. We quote below from a letter of G. Legman to Archer Taylor. Copies ofthe letter can be obtained from Hector Lee, Sonoma State College, Cotati, Calif.

"»THE CRISIS in folksong studies, which has arrived unheralded and, like thelarger part of the iceberg, dangerously unperceived, centers around the disorgaizinginfluence of the recent realization, by some, that folklore is worth money. Notvery much money, admittedly, but just enough to blur the serious moral questioninvolved in collecting and accepting the folksongs and folklore of largely unpaidinformants, and then copyrighting this material in the collector's name. This hasbeen going on quietly since the turn of the century, but its significance has onlydawned on folklorists recently, as it has become increasingly possible to sell thecollected folklore, in the form of highly-paid articles in national magazines,high-priced commercial omnium-gatherums of greater or less authenticity, printedand reprinted over a period of decades from electrolytic plates; and now phonographrecords, and radio, television, and motion-picture pop hit tunes. . ."

"This situation is not exactly new. Its unpleasantness rises from the realizatkaof the monetary profits now newly involved. When Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott,and other lesser men, collected folksongs and revised these songs into artproductions of inferior value, folkloristically, to the originals; they were atleast working--in the case of Burns, absolutely refusing all payment as 'downrightSodomy of Soul' -- from a sense of national patriotism. That is no longer thecase, however much the flag may be waved in the book - titles resulting, and GeorgeWashington on a horse, or bandaged Yankee Doodle with drum and fife, come marchingdown the dust-jacket. . . *

Campus Folksong Club Membership Concert Reviews

ELLEN STEKERT: FEBRUARY 8,1962

Ellen Stekert is a young and engaging performer with a pleasing though untrain-ed voice. What has been trained, however, is her knowledge of folklore, which shebrings to her performance along with her guitar and her wide-ranging repertoire ofEnglish language songs.

As an entertainer Miss Stekert is a thouroughly pleasing young woman, and hercharm, wit, knowledge, and love of folklore and folksong projects over the foot-lights along with her music. It should be added that she is an attractive young

woman; fair to look upon as well as to hear. Miss Stekert does not present an

"act" in the theatrical sense of the word. Rather, she is a troubador. Her per-

formance is like that of the many folksingers who spun their stories and sang

their songs because people wanted to hear something pretty and diverting.

She is to be commended for her capacity to sing both male and female lyrics

with equal fidelity; a talent some singers just don't possess. Most of all, her

compassionate and honest rendering of traditional material from different cultures

mark her to be both an instinctive performer of music and a conscientious guardian

of the folk hertage. Miss Stekert's concert was particularly marked by precise,verbal introductions to her songs. These headnotes were models of clarity andaccuracy avoiding the banality or pseudo-rustic humor that so frequently marsstage presentation of folksongs. Her work for our Club is very much appreciated.

GEORGE and GERRY ARMSTRONG, HOWARD MITCHELL: JANUARY 5, 1962

George and Gerry Armstrong are extremely interested in the preservation ofAnglo-American traditions. Their repertoire consists largely of SouthernAppalachian, English, and Scottish songs which they can sing all night. Much of

their material has been gathered from friends they have made who grew up withthese traditions, who are conscious of these traditions, and who are interestedin their preservation.

With music of bagpipes, guitar, dulcimer, cornstalk fiddle, and various other

toys joined by Mitchell's banjo, autoharp, and picking bow, the stage was turnedinto a real museum. For varity they sang unaccompanied too. The songs thatGeorge and Gerry sing, they usually try to sing almost as they could be done inthe tradition from which they were taken. They made up instrumental accompanimentsfor songs which they originally heard unaccompanied, but their instruments areplayed both with respect for cultural context and with regard for their audience.

Howie Mitchell, in some contrast to the Armstrongs, is quite experimental.He knows quite a bit about traditional music and this provides him with a lot ofideas for making music the way he likes it. He says, "Why not, if it sounds betterthat way?" Instead of trying to work within the limits of a tradition, or nearlyso, he takes what is meaningful to him and adds anything else that seems to fit inwell. He once made a picking bow that was quite a departure from tradition, mainlybecause he had never seen one and had only a sketchy description. It was an ex-cellent instrument, though, and an interesting example of imperfect cultural dif-fusion. George, Gerry, and Howie singing together provided an enjoyable evening.

Our friends from tik ld Town School of Folk ilusic, an organization which like

ours is engaged in promoting an interest in traditional folk material, have sent

us their December, 19(1, Newsletter, a portion of which ve reprint here, as we

feel it will be of interest to Campus Folksong Club members.

"It has been said before, but it is worth saying again that it is the essent-

ial purpose of the chool to encourage the use and enjoyment of all the Folk arts

in a social situation, rather than to prepare entertainers for work in show bus-

iness, Although it must ,be admitted that the more commercial 'pop-folk' singers

have reached a mass audience and have created much of the current interest in folk

music which has brought many students to the School, it is also true that the

'image' of folk music created by these performers is only a simulacrum (often a

travesty) of the genuine thing. The challenge that the Old Town School seeks to

meet is to direct that initial interest along those lines which will give the

student a better picture of what constitutes 'genuine' folk music and to kindle

a desire to learn to sing and play this music with understanding and honesty."

In bringing their students "genuine' folk music, The Old Town School is pre-

senting a series of concerts by traditional singers. They have already featured

Horton Parker, a 72 year old sightless singer from Chilhowie, Virginia, and

Richard Chase, a storyteller from Peech Creek, North Carolina, in the fall of 1961.

The S hool will sponsor another set of concerts to be given by Frank Proffitt, a

farmer, carpenter, and traditional singer from Reese, North Carolina, on March 31

and April 1. In addition to the concerts, there will be an informal workshop emp-

hasising old time banjo picking styles, with Frank Proffitt assisted by Fleming

Brown, Frank Hamilton, and John Carbo. These events are extremely worth while, and

we urge those who can possibly make it to attend.

OLD T031N SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSIC333 W. North Ave; Chicago 10, Illinois

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FOLKLORE IN PAPERBACKS

--continued from previous issue-- --compiled by Joe Zderad--

Botkin, B. A., ed. LAY MY BURDEN DOWN: A Folk History of Slavery.Phoenix Books, P24, Chicago. illus. $1.65.

This fascinating book is a University of Chicago reprint of the 1945original edition. Editor Botkin has compiled an intriguing selection ofnarratives from an immense collection (more than 10,000 manuscript pages),gathered by the Federal Writer's Project. To folklorists, to sociologists, toanyone interested in slavery and emancipation in America, this is a gold mine.

Fowke, Edith and Joe Glazer, eds. SONGS OF WORK AND FREEDOM.Dolphin Magnum, C240, New York. 1961. $1.95.

Originally published in 1960 in a spiral-bound hardcover by the LaborEducation Division of Roosevelt University, this book presents 100 stirringsongs of social protest in their proper historical perspective. Most areof American origin--Wobblies, railroad men, sharecroppers, and other laborers--but a few.come from foreign countries. "The songs are presented with simplepiano accompaniments and guitar chords to encourage their use in group singing,while background notes supply interesting and dramatic commentaries on thehistory of the labor movement." A record list and a reading list are included,and it is well indexed.

Fuller, Charles E., comp. OLD FASHIONED REVIVAL HOUR SONGS.The Rodeheaver, Hall-Mack Co., Winona Lake, Indiana. 1950. $.60.

On occasion, some folksingers have been known to try to outdo one anotherin bawdy songs. This songbook can serve well when a healthy antidote to sucha situation is needed; in fact, it is a fine and thoroughly good book under anycircumstance. It includes the words and music to 129 religious songs--amongthem such old favorites as "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Rock of Ages",as well as some hard-to-find songs, such as "Honey in the Rock".

Ives, Burl. THE BURL IVES SONG BOOK: American Song in Historical Perspective.Ballantine Books, X525K, New York. 1953. illus. $.60.

This book is excellent in almost every way. (One might want a better gradeof paper, but 276 pages of small but neat and clear type hardly allows complain-ing.) The 115 songs (words and music) are presented chronologically in fivegroups from Colonial America,-1620-1775, through The Frontiers of America, 1800-1850, and each group is introduced by several pages of explanatory prose. Thereis also a title index, an index of first lines, two pages of guitar chords,and a Burl Ives discography.

Silber, I., ed. CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND.Oak Publications, New York. 1958. illus. $1.75.

The cover information on this book describes it almost completely: "Calif.to the New York Island; being a pockeful of brags, blues bad-men ballads, lovesongs, Okie laments and children's catcalls by W. Guthrie. Published by theGuthrie Children's Trust Fund, N.Y. City. Woven into a script suitable for aconcert, clambake, hootenanny or community sing by Millard Lampell." Pete Seegerwrote the Introduction. It includes the words and music to 29 of Guthrie's songs.

--to be continued--

FOLKLORE SEMINAR

CAMPUS FOLK SONG CLUB

Presents

Feb. 20Luis LealDept. of Spanish"Folklore of Mexico"

Mar. 6Kenneth L. HaleDept. of Anthropology"Australian Aboriginal Folklore"

Mar. 20Victor TerrasDept. of Russian"Folkways of Northeastern Europe"

ROOM 309 IN THE LIBRARY ON TUESDAYS AT 4 PM