Folk Tunes and Englishness

Dr Alice Little, Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the University of Oxford and the English Folk Dance and Song Society, speaks with folk musicians and researchers Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, Nicola Beazley, Stewart Hardy, Tom Kitching, and Marie Bashiru about the borders of English folk music - regionally, racially, and conceptually.

From the traditions of the North East to those of the North West, from Scottish musicians in England to the influences of Irish immigration, this episode features recordings of a range of folk music (including previously unreleased tracks) in addition to the discussion.

Dr Alice Little, Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the University of Oxford and the English Folk Dance and Song Society, speaks with folk musicians Sam Sweeney, Rob Harbron, and Alan Lamb about English folk music in performance today.

Where do they find their tunes, how do they play them in an 'English' way, and how do audiences respond?

From eighteenth-century manuscripts to traditional sea shanties, this episode features recordings of a range of folk tunes (including previously unreleased tracks) in addition to the discussion.

Dr Alice Little, Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the University of Oxford and the English Folk Dance and Song Society, speaks with folk musicians and music collectors Jeremy Barlow, Matt Coatsworth, and Becky Price about the history of English folk music, and what makes it so 'English'.

From seventeenth-century Playford to twenty-first century Boldwood, this episode features recordings of a range of folk tunes (including previously unreleased tracks) in addition to the discussion. Looking primarily at instrumental music, they discuss the migration of tunes around the world, how they are played, their use in dance, varying instrumentation and the restrictions that brings, and how tune titles relate to each other.

In this 3-part series, Dr Alice Little speaks with folk musicians, researchers and music collectors about English folk music in history and in performance today. She and her guests will discuss what it means for music to be 'English', and play examples of English music.

Alice Little is a Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the University of Oxford and the English Folk Dance and Song Society. In this trailer you will hear the voices of Becky Price, Rob Harbron, Sam Sweeney, Matt Coatsworth, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcouhn, Alan Lamb, Marie Bashiru, and Jeremy Barlow. The full podcast series also includes Nicola Beazley, Stewart Hardy, and Tom Kitching.

The background music is Clark's Hornpipe, performed by Boldwood.