There was an excellent programme broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturday 1 Sept 2007 about the work of Marie Slocombe in saving and preserving many historic sound recordings. The broadcast can be heard again through the BBC's 'Listen Again' facility by clicking on the audio button here:- Saving the Sounds of History.
There is some more background information in the BBC online Magazine in an article by Sean Street who presented the programme.
One of the jewels in the crown of the BBC archives is the substantial collection of folk songs and music built up largely in the 1950's. A fraction of this collection was broadcast in the radio programme 'As I Roved Out' between 1953 and 1958, and a few items from the collection have been released on records. However the collection remains generally unknown which is a scandalous fate for a fabulously rich resource. There are contributions of songs, tunes, stories and folklore from all over Great Britain and Ireland which are part of our heritage today.
Marie Slocombe wrote about the collection in an article for the journal 'Folklore and Folk Music Archivist' in 1964 and the article can be viewed or downloaded in PDF from the Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music.
The collection is now stored at British Library Sound Archive where it is available for listening - but you have to know what you are looking for! This is a clear example where resources ought to be online so that we can all share this wealth which surely belongs to us all in the first place.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Paul Robeson in Liverpool
Liverpool John Moores University has announced that the new series of Roscoe Lectures will begin with a lecture by the son of the famous singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson.
"The next series will be launched on 3 October 2007 with a lecture by civil rights activist Paul Robeson Jnr, the only child of the legendary singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson. The lecture entitled 'My Father and Pioneering the Civil Rights Agenda in the US' will take place in St George's Hall, starting at 5pm.
Tickets for all Roscoe Lectures are free and are available by contacting Barbara Mace on 0151 231 3852 or emailing b.mace@ljmu.ac.uk."
Paul Robeson sang to a crowd of 10,00 in Liverpool in 1949, and there must be many people still around who can remember this. I wonder what they all felt as they heard him sing in the bomb sites of the post-war city. The city had also been the scene of some vicious racist attacks the previous year, and I imagine that Robeson's magnificent presence restored confidence to the black community.
"The next series will be launched on 3 October 2007 with a lecture by civil rights activist Paul Robeson Jnr, the only child of the legendary singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson. The lecture entitled 'My Father and Pioneering the Civil Rights Agenda in the US' will take place in St George's Hall, starting at 5pm.
Tickets for all Roscoe Lectures are free and are available by contacting Barbara Mace on 0151 231 3852 or emailing b.mace@ljmu.ac.uk."
Paul Robeson sang to a crowd of 10,00 in Liverpool in 1949, and there must be many people still around who can remember this. I wonder what they all felt as they heard him sing in the bomb sites of the post-war city. The city had also been the scene of some vicious racist attacks the previous year, and I imagine that Robeson's magnificent presence restored confidence to the black community.
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