Performing Englishness

The Aural and Moral Idylls of “Englishness” and Folk Music

“…Questions of personal and national identity pivot around this anchor point. Different sociohistorical periods have produced what are commonly referred to as “folk revivals,” but the idea of “revivalism” is a flawed and misleading concept; as English folk music never completely disappeared, some researchers prefer the term “resurgence” (Winter and Keegan‐Phipps ) . The industrial revolution, and the movement out of traditional communities, disrupted the oral transmission of traditions.…”

“…Villages were fantasized as timeless places thronged by singing and dancing communities holding fast to English traditions. Moral folk and landscape ideologies merged into the concept of “merry England.” (Blake ; Winter and Keegan‐Phipps ). Folk song both captured the national character of the English people, and aurally reified the spirit of the landscape.…”