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Article: Child's garden of verses: the live work of Francis James Child.
- Article from:
- Sing Out!
- Article date:
- January 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Sing Out Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For over a century, the work of a beloved Harvard professor has been a crucial touchstone in folk music, though many people today know little about the man himself. Originally published from 1882 through 1898, "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, edited by Francis James Child," quickly became known as simply the "Child ballads"; forming the foundation for the great folklore movement of the early 20th Century. In fact, many of the first scholars to embark on "field collecting" trips in the United States--in which traditional folk songs and tunes still being performed in remote, rural areas were written down or recorded--were interested only in variants of those 305 ...