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Are traditional ballads still alive?


Are traditional ballads still alive?

I still find myself revisiting youtube for Paul Brady singing Arthur McBride from 40 years ago. Is anyone performing traditional ballads today on stage? Or in the kitchen?

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

John Doyle. Rowan Piggott.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Well, I’m still performing them as often as I can with the band Malinky. Although we do mostly Scots songs I keep the flag flying for Ulster songs.

Unfortunately, a lot of high profile bands seem to be based on instrumentals where songs are either an afterthought or ignored entirely. Not enough bands focusing on songs, whether they be Irish or Scottish, IMO.
m.d.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Lankum.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Can’t speak to the larger picture, my friends are thankful that I’m no singer, but here’s a delightful experience. 5 years ago I was in Corofin at a delightful session on a Wednesday (thanks guys for including me). There was another on Saturday night so I went again. This time it was a completely different experience. Instead of tunes it was mostly traditional songs (ballads if you will) sung by mostly men, and mostly older than me, by a lot and I was nearing 70. They stood, hands at their sides, and sang like they meant every word. I was awestruck. the whole thing seemed steeped in tradition. These songs seemed like they were exactly where and what they needed to be. So yeah, I say they are alive and kicking, and I was a grateful witness.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Martin Simpson

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

In Scotland, they are alive, but on life support.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Daoiri O’Farrell springs to mind.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

The Altan and Lúnasa bands have included ballads on their most recent albums. First studio album in a while for Lúnasa (titled “Cas”), with several different guest singers. I haven’t kept up with Solas, but don’t they include a good dose of ballads among the instrumentals on their recordings?

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Peter Coughlan (Hungry Grass)!

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

There’s a lot of us yet alive who sing them, though you need a strong voice to cut through the loud chat. Once you’ve got their attention, quieten down and let them listen.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

At our session last night, we had three singers; two regulars and one guest who had performed his unaccompanied songs that afternoon. Some sessions don’t encourage songs, but we love ’em!

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Not sure about being “on life support” in Scotland, Kenny. Just thinking of “The World’s Room” monthly meeting in Edinburgh, the Glasgow Ballad workshop, monthly Traditional Song and Tunes session in Edinburgh, the annual Fifesing weekend in Falkland and Cullerlie Traditional Singing weekend, Edinburgh & Lothians TMSA Muckle Sing in Linlithgow. And plenty being sung from stages by both older and younger singers, whether as main guests or floor spots at clubs. And even in sessions too……!
Oh, and a whole crowd of folk I know have just spent a memorable singing weekend on …….Sark!

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Thanks for the great feedback everyone--you’ve given me some pleasurable homework.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

And there are other ballad singing opportunities in Ireland, such as the Goilin club in Dublin, the Frank Harte and Inishowen Festivals.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

At OP: Are you KIDDING?! Yes!

If anything, there are TOO MANY singers…In my part of the world, and “Irish Music Night” at the pub means a guy with guitar singing Clancy Brothers, Dubliners, and Christy Moore all night with a bit of Eric Bogle thrown in just in case things get too cheery.

That said, I like many of the ballad singing groups and performers mentioned above. Lankum and Daoiri Farrell are great,

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

“If anything, there are TOO MANY singers…”

That’s certainly the case in Scotland too but, arguably, too few of the right type of singer.

The long standing folkie “rural myth” that singing is dying out and the instrumentalists are supposedly “taking over” dies hard, I’m afraid. Certainly in most of the popular festivals, there are plenty of opportunities for singers(of various sorts) and it is the traditional tune session which now seems to be decline. Of course, there are many brilliant young musicians but they often tend to enjoy their own company. I don’t believe that they are being deliberately aloof but they quite often have a different style and repertoire to some of us who have been used to pub and folk festival sessions from earlier times.

Anyway, as I said above, there does also seem to be a decline in the popularity of good ballad and traditional singing in spite of the plethora of singers we seem to have these days. While there is no shortage of “folky choirs”, singer/strummers, singer/songwriters, singers of “fun songs”(Not so much fun for the listeners, usually) etc there’s less happening to terms of more serious, quality song.

Trish has given a few examples of where you can still find good song sessions etc and there also are some fine younger performers on the go. Iona Fyffe and Fiona Hunter(Who Emdee will know very well) are two of my favourites but there are many more.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

How “many” ? Give us a list.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Robyn Stapleton, Claire Hastings, Siobhan Millar, Hannah Rarity, Emily Smith all sing ballads and traditional song. Fewer men, I agree. There’s the likes of Steve Byrne and Scott Gardener etc but they’re a bit older

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

There are a fair few Dubliners/Pogues sound-a-like bands out there, and also a lot of “Celtic” singer-songwriters. But unfortunately, ballad singing is just not super commercially viable. Still, there are a lot of people, including myself, who really enjoy the ballads, especially unaccompanied singing, and wish it was more popular. At a lot of sessions, a singer piping up with a song seems to be the cue for the musicians to grab a drink or a smoke!

I’ll throw a bit of shameless self-promotion into the mix here and post an EP of unaccompanied songs I recorded a couple years ago. All but one are original. Would love to do a bit more recording and have more material, maybe sometime soon!

http://www.tyleraldersonmusic.com/album/340744/fare-ye-well

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

The trouble is, if you spend all your festival time in sessions, you don’t notice the song circles that are going on at the same time. Ballad singing is certainly alive and well at the amateur end of the scale, maybe not so much at the commercial end.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

MarkM - which country are you talking about ?

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Scotland.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

Muireann Nic Amlaoibh, Seamus and his daughter Meabh Begley are great singers - Gaelic and English.

Re: Are traditional ballads still alive?

I played ballads for 22 years with paddy kelly and myles smith and mary o brian in dublin and ballads are as popular as ever today