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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 1-25 of 72 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-12702 10-in. 12/11/1912 Ribbon dance Sousa's Band Band arranger  
Victor B-12703 10-in. 12/11/1912 Bean setting Sousa's Band Band arranger  
Victor B-13054 10-in. 4/1/1913 Ribbon dance Victor Band Band arranger  
Victor B-13057 10-in. 4/1/1913 Shepherd's hey Victor Band Band arranger  
Victor B-15491 10-in. 12/11/1914 How d'ye do Victor Band Band arranger  
Victor B-15911 10-in. 4/15/1915 The butterfly Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-15912 10-in. 4/15/1915 Three meet Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-15913 10-in. 4/15/1915 Jamaica Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-15914 10-in. 4/15/1915 Row well, ye mariners Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-15915 10-in. 4/15/1915 Flamborough sword dance Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-15916 10-in. 4/15/1915 Kirkby Malzeard sword dance Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-15917 10-in. 4/15/1915 Tideswell professional Morris Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-15918 10-in. 4/15/1915 Goddesses Victor Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-16810 10-in. 11/26/1915 Gathering peascods Victor Military Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-16811 10-in. 11/26/1915 Sweet Kate Victor Band Band arranger  
Victor B-16812 10-in. 11/26/1915 Mage on a cree Victor Band Band arranger  
Victor B-16813 10-in. 11/26/1915 Sellenger's round Victor Military Band Band arranger, session supervisor  
Victor B-16819 10-in. 11/26/1915 Rufty Tufty Victor Band Band arranger  
Victor B-16820 10-in. 11/26/1915 Newcastle Victor Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17275 10-in. 3/7/1916 The black nag Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17276 10-in. 3/7/1916 My lady Cullen Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17277 10-in. 3/7/1916 If all the world were paper Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17278 10-in. 3/7/1916 The old mole Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17279 10-in. 3/7/1916 Hunsdon house Victor Military Band Band arranger  
Victor B-17280 10-in. 3/7/1916 Rufty tufty Victor Military Band Band arranger  
(Results 1-25 of 72 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Sharp, Cecil James," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101955.

Sharp, Cecil James. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101955.

"Sharp, Cecil James." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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