Frome Society’s winter programme of 12 fortnightly Saturday afternoon lectures continues on 13 December with a talk by David Sutcliffe on Cecil Sharp: Collector of Folk Songs and Dances.
Cecil Sharp was a leading figure in the Edwardian Folk Revival, collecting hundreds of songs and dances that were fast disappearing at the time.
Organisers say, “As well as folk songs and sea shanties, he rescued Morris dances, sword dances and country dances and contributed significantly to our stock of Christmas carols, including discovering the tune for The Holly and the Ivy that we sing at Christmas.”
Cecil Sharp was an oral historian. In Somerset he met 347 singers and took photographs of over 160 performers and, in 1911, set up the English Folk Dance Society.
David Sutcliffe, who lives in Somerset, is a freelance researcher and began writing a new biography of Cecil Sharp in September 2020, in the depths of Covid.
He consulted newspaper archives, Sharp’s correspondence and work notes, as well as a range of articles and original sources. The only previous biography of Sharp was written in 1933 and revised in 1967, but so much continuing research has been done into the many aspects of Sharp’s work since then that a fresh appraisal was long overdue. Copies of David’s biography of Cecil Sharp will be available to buy.
Frome Society’s lectures take place in the Assembly Rooms at the rear of Frome Memorial Theatre, starting at 2.30pm. Visitors are welcome but are asked to pay an entry fee of £5. The Society’s talks are proving very popular, and to be sure of a seat it is advisable to book a place through the Society’s website: www.fsls.org.uk
