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Folk music is that music which is transmitted to succeeding generations orally as opposed to being written down. Generally a distinction between folk music and "cultivated" or art music can be made on this basis (see Gilbert Chase's, America's Music). Folk tunes can be collected, notated, and then published in anthologies; however, this does not make them "cultivated" music. Generally, the origins of folk music are unknown except as it is associated with a particular cultural group such as Appalachian folk music, Irish folk music, Selisian folk music, etc. Composers of cultivated music, on the other hand, are generally known and given credit in a publication. The Appalachian region of the Eastern United states was settled by
European immigrants as early as 1720. In several large waves from about
1776 to as late as 1920, various ethnic groups settled the most remote
areas of the region. These included, German, Scotch-Irish, and Italian
and each group brought their culture and music with them. Singing
schools became popular throughout the United States from their
inception in the 1700's through the 19th century. Itinerant singing
school "masters" would travel from community to community
organizing classes which would last from several weeks to a month. Many
of the singing school masters compiled their own collections of music
which they would pack with them and then sell to the attendees. Often
the tunebook compilers would notate popular folk tunes of the day and
then combine them with various texts by hymn writers such as Isaac Watts,
Charles Wesley, etc. Consequently, these singing school tunebooks have
become an invaluable source for Early American folk music and the tunes
and texts collectively have become known as "folk hymns." The earliest singing-school tunebook to contain a significant number
of folk hymns surviving to the present was John
Wyeth's 'Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second,' published
at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1813. See John
Wyeth and the Development of Southern Folk Hymnody A folk music revival of sorts occured in the United States in the
1960's and consequently there was a renewed interest in early American
folk music. Compilers of hymnal supplements in the late 1960's and 1970's
included examples of American folk hymn tunes and some of these subsequently
found their way into modern hymnals. Here is a short list of early American
folk hymn tunes which appear in current hymnals:
See also:
Recordings of American Folk Hymnody: |
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Site last updated: February 15, 2007