| Ref No | MS 4000/5/1/12/2 |
| Title | Sound recording of Ewan MacColl singing songs from 'Percys Reliques' and Rollins 'Pepys Ballads' [accompanied by Peggy Seeger] and talking about the ballad tradition |
| Level | File |
| Date | 14 February 1961 |
| Description | Recording by Charles Parker of Ewan MacColl singing songs from 'Percys Reliques' and 'Pepys Ballads' [accompanied by Peggy Seeger] and talking about the ballad tradition and Ballad Operas in London. Volume and page number given after song title for reference in Hyder Edward Rollins edition of 'The Pepys Ballads' and for the tunes in William Chappel's edition of 'Popular Music of the Olden Time'.
Track 1: Duration (min/sec): 0.10 Description of track: Start to tape
Track 2: Duration (min/sec): 1.08 Description of track: Ewan MacColl Singing first verse 'Ballad of King Lear and his three daughters' a broadside from Percy's Reliques two volume edition 1874 p232 (tune Chappell vol 1 p199); conversation about next tracks to be sung
Track 3: Duration (min/sec): 3.30 Description of track: Ewan MacColl [and Peggy Seeger] Singing 'London's Lottery' a Pepys ballad (Rollins vol 1 p26; tune Chappell vol 1 p92); singing 'Room for Company in Bartholomew's Fair (Rollins vol 1 p52; tune Chappell vol 1 p324); introduction to next song
Track 4: Duration (min/sec): 0.58 Description of track: Ewan MacColl [and Peggy Seeger] Singing 'Epthalamium' (Rollins vol 4 p206; tune Chappell vol 1 p227/233)
Track 5: Duration (min/sec): 3.57 Description of track: Ewan MacColl Singing 'Constance of Cleveland'; song in first edition of Francis J Child's collection of ballads but version actually the work of Thomas [Deloney] a silk weaver of Norwich; most popular melody of the Elizabethan period; Ewan MacColl tells story of the song
Track 6: Duration (min/sec): 3.44 Description of track: Ewan MacColl Heard and learned 'Constance of Cleveland' from a dentist in Newcastle in 1946; sings political song and talks about ballad form and the Ballad Operas in London
Track 7: Duration (min/sec): 2.26 Description of track: Silent track
Total duration: (min/sec): 15.53 |
| Related Material | A copy of Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry first published in 1765 and Hyder Edward Rollins edition of 'The Pepys Ballads', the largest surviving collection of English ballads printed in London in the seventeenth century, are both available for reference in the Charles Parker Library of books at Birmingham City Archives |
| Physical Description | Listening copy: 1 x CD-R serial number NF220 T092 6874
Original tape:
Size: 5" tape reel
Gauge: 1/4" tape (0.625cm)
Speed: 7.5ips (19cm/s);
EQ Curve used: IEC
Track configuration: Half Track Mono
Dubbing Date: 01/03 |
| Access Status | Open |
| Language | English |