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Cecil James Sharp

Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England during the Edwardian period. According to Roud’s Folk Song in England, Sharp was the country's "single most important figure in the study of folk song and music."

Sharp collected over four thousand folk songs, both in South-West England and the Southern Appalachian region of the United States. He published an extensive series of songbooks based on his fieldwork, often with piano arrangements, and wrote an influential theoretical work, English Folk Song: Some Conclusions. He notated examples of English Morris dancing, and played an important role in the revival both of the Morris and English country dance. In 1911, he co-founded the English Folk Dance Society, which was later merged with the Folk Song Society to form the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

Cecil Sharp’s musical legacy extends into English orchestral music, and the classroom singing experienced by generations of schoolchildren. Many of the most popular musicians of the British Folk Revival from the 1960s to the present day have used songs collected by Sharp in their work. Scores of Morris dance teams throughout England, and also abroad, demonstrate the resilience of the revival he played a large part in sustaining. In the USA, the Country Dance and Song Society was founded with Sharp’s support, and dancers there continue to participate in styles he developed.

Over the last four decades, Sharp’s work has attracted heated debate, with claims and counter-claims regarding selectivity, nationalism, appropriation, bowdlerisation and racism.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1859 (Camberwell), Died June 23, 1924 (Hampstead)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1912 - 1938

Roles Represented in DAHR: arranger, session supervisor, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 72 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-17281 10-in. 3/7/1916 Hey, boys, up go we Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17282 10-in. 3/7/1916 Newcastle Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17283 10-in. 3/7/1916 Jenny pluck pears Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17284 10-in. 3/7/1916 Oranges and lemons Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17285 10-in. 3/7/1916 Confess Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17286 10-in. 3/7/1916 Chelsea Reach Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17287 10-in. 3/7/1916 The fine companion Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor BVE-26175 10-in. 10/6/1927 O no, John Royal Dadmun Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra arranger  
Victor B-26175 10-in. 3/23/1922 O no, John Royal Dadmun Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra arranger  
Victor CS-98418 12-in. 12/13/1935 The wraggle taggle gypsies Harriett Eells ; Viola Peters Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 46925 10-in. 7/19/1916 Sellenger's round Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46926 10-in. 7/19/1916 Rufty tufty Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46927 10-in. 7/19/1916 Row well, ye mariners Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46928 10-in. 7/19/1916 Three meet Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46929 10-in. 7/19/1916 Gathering peascods Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46930 10-in. 7/19/1916 Mage on a cree Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46931 10-in. 7/19/1916 If all the world were paper Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46938 10-in. 7/21/1916 The butterfly Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46939 10-in. 7/21/1916 Helston furry processional Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46940 10-in. 7/21/1916 Old mole Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46941 10-in. 7/21/1916 Hunsdon House Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46942 10-in. 7/21/1916 The black nag Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 46943 10-in. 7/21/1916 Newcastle Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 47103 10-in. 10/27/1916 Tideswell processional Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
Columbia 47104 10-in. 10/27/1916 Old Mother Oxford Prince's Band Band session supervisor  
(Results 26-50 of 72 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Sharp, Cecil James," accessed November 6, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101955.

Sharp, Cecil James. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 6, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101955.

"Sharp, Cecil James." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 6 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101955

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