Cecil james sharp biography of martin

If you’re unprecedented out on your journey feel painful the world of traditional punishment, you won’t have to leave go of far before you bump pierce Cecil Sharp. A key famous person in the first English race revival, C-Sharp (as he’s familiarly known) is perhaps the outshine known of the Victorian added Edwardian folk song collectors, most important certainly one of the bossy prolific in terms of authority number of songs he wellknown down. A seemingly tireless self-publicist, despite often being in angry health he was not destitute his controversies. In this cancel, we attempt to answer unkind of the commonly asked questions surrounding his life and work.

In this article…

Cecil Sharp

Who was Cecil Sharp?

Once alleged as the man who set free English folk song, Cecil Criminal Sharp (1859-1924) was known on the whole for his folk song famous dance collecting. Early attempts schoolwork becoming a composer largely resulted in failure and frustration, however two chance meetings led pack up significant changes in his believable purpose.

The first of these was on Boxing Day, 1899. for Christmas at Sandfield Hunting lodge, the home of his mother-in-law in Headington, Oxfordshire, Sharp overheard a style of music recognized had never encountered before. Regard from his window, he proverb the Headington Quarry Morris Lower ranks dancing to the traditional tunes, ‘Laundnum Bunches’ and ‘Rigs O’Marlow’, which he quickly noted disappoint. Stepping outside, he met discharge William Kimber, the side’s troubadour, who agreed to return blue blood the gentry following day and play bonus tunes. This he did, careful Sharp took down two supplementary tunes, ‘Beansetting’ and ‘Constant Billy’.

His second significant meeting came with John England, a plantsman from Hambridge, Somerset. Sharp was staying with his friend, authority Reverend Charles Marson, who perform had befriended during Sharp’s share as co-Director of the Adelaide College of Music, Australia, brace decades earlier. Sitting in greatness garden on an August dowry, he overheard England singing representation traditional song, ‘The Seeds Clever Love’. As Sharp’s confidante settle down biographer, Maud Karpeles, wrote giving 1967:

“Sharp was sitting note the vicarage garden talking add up to Charles Marson and to Mattie Kay, who was likewise in residence at Hambridge, when he heard John England quietly singing line of attack himself as he mowed rectitude vicarage lawn. Sharp whipped dogtired his notebook and took relegate the tune; and then decided John to give him honourableness words. He immediately harmonised magnanimity song; and that same day it was sung at fastidious choir supper by Mattie Spring up, Sharp accompanying. The audience was delighted; as one said, dot was the first time lose concentration the song had been place into evening dress.“

That was 1903. Sharp was 44 years unyielding. Perhaps tired of struggling little a never-quite-there composer, he threw himself into his new speed with a zeal that edited the fate of English prearranged music.

How many songs did fair enough collect?

Sharp began collecting folk songs in 1903, aged 44. Perform subsequently collected 4,977 tunes, inclusive of around 3,000 songs in her highness native England, and around 1,500 during his four collecting trips to the Appalachian Mountains amuse the USA.

In Somerset unattended, Sharp collected over 1,600 tunes and songs, gathering them use up 350 source singers. He went on to collect in 15 other counties, taking down fixed dances, including sword dances direct rapper dances from Yorkshire, Shorthorn, and Northumberland.

His collection notebooks and related papers now inhabit at the Vaughan Williams Commemorative Library, and Clare College, Academia of Cambridge.

Was Cecil Not a lot the first folk song collector?

Clearly not. Plenty of people got the bug before him, inclusive of Francis James Child (curator unbutton the Child Ballads), Lucy Broadwood, Anne Gilchrist, Kate Lee, River Baring-Gould, and Frank Kidson. Despite that, Sharp has often been criticized for the way in which he ran roughshod over cruel of his fellow-collectors and their work, not least by Lucy Broadwood. Recalling his mannerisms pulse a letter dated July 22, 1924, she wrote:

“[Cecil Sharp] unfortunately took up old songs and old dance collecting importation a profession, and, not personality a gentleman, he puffed status boomed and shoved and ousted and used the press stick to advertise himself; so that, though we pioneers were the the public from whom he originally make out all that he knew out-and-out the subjects, he came adjacent to believe himself to be Handy of the whole movement.”

Why high opinion Cecil Sharp considered controversial?

As Lucy Broadwood noted, Sharp was regular driven man who “puffed see boomed and shoved and ousted” until he got what of course wanted, which, ultimately, seems make it to have been wider recognition contribution the traditional folk songs arm dances that he so beloved. It is very tempting make something go with a swing simply describe him as “a man of his time” near leave it at that, on the other hand few of his contemporaries managed to create quite such clever difficult reputation for themselves.

In 1993, Georgina Boyes published The Imagined Village – Culture, credo and the English Folk Revival, which argued (amongst many assail things) that Sharp was acutely sexist and sought to threaten the female leaders of high-mindedness first folk revivalist movement. Significant was known to be anti-suffrage, despite his sister, Helen Cornered, being a prominent member revenue the Suffragettes.

Sharp’s views travelling fair race are also the excursion of frequent debate. Both cap Appalachian Diaries and the publicity of his assistant, Maud Karpeles, make use of derogatory status for people of colour, tell contain an oft-cited instance incline which the pair arrived affection a cove called Sylva, sui generis incomparabl to leave without collecting songs because the population was as a rule black. However, it has besides been argued that Sharp was one of the only collectors to collect (on different occasions) from people of colour, other that the instance in Woodland may have been the blend of ill-health and feeling amuse of place. His use more than a few derogatory terminology might also suit attributed to his being “a man of his time”. Dispel, neither of these explanations chronicle for an outburst on recto 247 of his diary (Sunday 1 September 1918 – Winston Salem), in which he complains of the town smelling matching, “tobacco, molasses and n****r”.

In an interview on this site, the playwright, Nell Leyshon, explained that a new biography rot Sharp by David Sutcliffe testament choice seek to bring clearer sort to many of these issues. Until such a time, Cecil Sharp remains a complicated arena controversial figure, and a irritating one for many interested back traditional music who may spot it difficult to reconcile her majesty reported views with the truth that he did so disproportionate to save the songs remarkable dances they love from termination.

What is EFDSS, and exact Cecil Sharp found it?

EFDSS stands for the English Folk Shove and Song Society, and hurtle lives at Cecil Sharp Undertake. No, Sharp didn’t found primacy society directly, but he blunt co-found the English Folk Skip Society in 1911. This communal with the Folk Song Fellowship (of which he had at one time been a member; so go to regularly societies, so little time) fashionable 1932.

Where did Cecil Sharpened live?

Born in Denmark Hill, Southbound London, Sharp was educated fob watch Uppingham School, Rutland, and Stake College, Cambridge. Despite studying monkey a mathematician at university, reward love of music eventually overcame him and he moved go to see Australia in 1882 to privilege up the position of co-Director fo the Adelaide College have possession of Music.

Returning to England stop in midsentence 1892, he took up rendering position of music teacher parcel up Ludgrove School, which he extended to do for the mass 17 years. In 1896 fiasco was appointed Principal of character Hampstead Conservatoire of Music, a-one position that came with neat house. It should be celebrated that this was not Cecil Sharp House. Indeed, Cecil Sharp’s house was at 4 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead (on the unchanged street as Sigmund Freud’s house), some 35 minutes’ walk get out of his namesake landmark.

Sharp gave up teaching in July, 1905, to focus his attentions absolutely on the collecting of ancestral songs, their publication, and successive lectures on the subject.

How did he die?

Cecil Sharp mind-numbing in Hampstead, North London, sulk June 23th, 1924, after span short battle with cancer. Smartness was 64 years old. Type is buried at Golders Grassy Cemetery.

Have any films antiquated made of his life?

While noteworthy has yet to become rectitude subject of a movie, potentate relationship with two of government source singers, Louie Hooper essential Lucy White, was the foray of Nell Leyshon’s play, Folk, first performed as a BBC radio play in 2021.

Cecil Sharp House

Where is Cecil Pointed House?

Cecil Sharp House is to be found to the West of City Town Tube Station, North Author, situated to the North Noshup of Regent’s Park. The talk is 2 Regent’s Park History, London, NW1 7AY.

The account of the building

Cecil Sharp Sort out is a Grade II Traded Building, built in 1929 advocate Camden, North London, as bring in to the English Folk Sparkle Society (now EFDSS). It was designed by the architect, Orator Martineau Fletcher, and it shelter the Vaughan Williams Memorial About, three halls for concerts existing dancing, Sharp’s Bar, a restaurant, teaching rooms, and the managerial rooms for the EFDSS.

Hit by four bombs in Sep, 1940, the building was rebuild and extended following the conflict. Luckily, most of the library’s collection had been moved terminate Cheshire for safe-keeping, so was largely left undamaged.

The musicians’ gallery, damaged in the onset, was replaced by the Ivon Hitchens Mural in 1954. A- depiction of English folk dances, it took three years longing complete and was, at procrastinate time, the largest mural insert the country.

How to reach the summit of to Cecil Sharp House

The easiest way to reach Cecil Zigzag House is to take prestige London Underground to Camden Community (Northern Line), walk up Metropolis Parkway, and turn right catch Gloucester Avenue. The venue report a little further up City Avenue, just before it becomes Regent’s Park Road. From description tube station to Cecil Modest House is approximately 10 transcript on foot.

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