Integrating and Engaging with the J. M. Carpenter Collection of Traditional Song and Drama as part of the Vaughan Williams Library's Digital Archive
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Aberdeen
Department Name: The Elphinstone Institute
Abstract
The project will integrate the catalogue data and digitised resources of the J. M. Carpenter collection of traditional song and drama into the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library's (VWML) digital archive (currently known as The Full English). The Carpenter collection contains a wealth of folk songs, folk plays and other folk arts items, mostly gathered in England and Scotland in the period 1929-35 and including many early sound recordings. It has been little used for research or performance due to its accessibility.
This long-awaited project capitalises on its having already been catalogued and digitised and takes the opportunity to embed it within the VVWML's digital archive, already establised as a world-leading English-language folk arts resource. It will make the collection freely and internationally available to schools and their communities, young musicians, music tutors, folk arts enthusiasts, amateur and professional performers, researchers outside the academy, communities local to the places where the collection was made, contributor descendants, special interest groups (e.g. maritime heritage), arts, culture and heritage organisations, community groups and media. It will also enable cross searching with (currently) 22 other folk arts collections, to which it has many relationships in terms of items, forms, people, dates and places.
The Carpenter project team will work with the English Folk Dance and Song Society and the Elphinstone Institute, folk performers, tutors and contributor descendants to introduce the collection to a wide range of audiences with an interest in the folk arts and to promote it as an artistic and historical resource. This will result in discovery, supplementary information and knowledge exchange, creative responses such as performance, composition, artwork and writing, re-patriation of songs with the families of those who contributed them, and a coach tour of the landscape and communities which nurtured their performance in the 1930s.
The resulting resource will also go on to complement the Carpenter project team's forthcoming critical edition of the collection.
This long-awaited project capitalises on its having already been catalogued and digitised and takes the opportunity to embed it within the VVWML's digital archive, already establised as a world-leading English-language folk arts resource. It will make the collection freely and internationally available to schools and their communities, young musicians, music tutors, folk arts enthusiasts, amateur and professional performers, researchers outside the academy, communities local to the places where the collection was made, contributor descendants, special interest groups (e.g. maritime heritage), arts, culture and heritage organisations, community groups and media. It will also enable cross searching with (currently) 22 other folk arts collections, to which it has many relationships in terms of items, forms, people, dates and places.
The Carpenter project team will work with the English Folk Dance and Song Society and the Elphinstone Institute, folk performers, tutors and contributor descendants to introduce the collection to a wide range of audiences with an interest in the folk arts and to promote it as an artistic and historical resource. This will result in discovery, supplementary information and knowledge exchange, creative responses such as performance, composition, artwork and writing, re-patriation of songs with the families of those who contributed them, and a coach tour of the landscape and communities which nurtured their performance in the 1930s.
The resulting resource will also go on to complement the Carpenter project team's forthcoming critical edition of the collection.
Planned Impact
The project will make a major multimedia folk arts collection (the bulk of which was gathered in locations around Britain in 1929-35) accessible to all those with a general or more specialist interest in traditional music and local culture. It will appear as part of an innovative 'super-archive' containing numerous related items, some collected from the same or related people and places some 30 years before, with which it can be cross-searched and compared via a single interface. Project activities will highlight the resource's artistic and socio-historical dimensions, producing creative responses to its materials in performances, and through educational projects exploring historical themes and narrative imagination. These will enrich family, community and regional heritage, widening participation in folk arts and deepening knowledge of their roots.
The beneficiaries of this project are schools and their communities, young musicians, music tutors, folk arts enthusiasts, amateur and professional performers, researchers outside academia, communities local to the places where the collection was made, contributor descendants, special interest groups (e.g. maritime heritage), arts, culture and heritage organisations, community groups and media. They will
- Gain access to the traditional songs (including ballads and sea shanties), folk (mummers) plays, fiddle tunes, customs, folktales, and children's games in the Carpenter collection
- Discover its content and compare it with other, related folk arts collections held in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library's digital archive
- Use it creatively as an artistic and historical resource, for music-making and potentially for creative writing and drama
- Discover and share information about the contributors and their communities
- Become involved in intergenerational contact and exchange.
They will benefit because of the value of cultural traditions as examples of vernacular artistry which express identities and shape our sense of place, provide insights into everyday life in the past and inspire new interpretations and adaptations in the present.
The project will result in a considerable legacy (including an expanded and enhanced digital archive, supporting materials, and educational resources), all of which will be freely available online and available to users around the world.
The beneficiaries of this project are schools and their communities, young musicians, music tutors, folk arts enthusiasts, amateur and professional performers, researchers outside academia, communities local to the places where the collection was made, contributor descendants, special interest groups (e.g. maritime heritage), arts, culture and heritage organisations, community groups and media. They will
- Gain access to the traditional songs (including ballads and sea shanties), folk (mummers) plays, fiddle tunes, customs, folktales, and children's games in the Carpenter collection
- Discover its content and compare it with other, related folk arts collections held in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library's digital archive
- Use it creatively as an artistic and historical resource, for music-making and potentially for creative writing and drama
- Discover and share information about the contributors and their communities
- Become involved in intergenerational contact and exchange.
They will benefit because of the value of cultural traditions as examples of vernacular artistry which express identities and shape our sense of place, provide insights into everyday life in the past and inspire new interpretations and adaptations in the present.
The project will result in a considerable legacy (including an expanded and enhanced digital archive, supporting materials, and educational resources), all of which will be freely available online and available to users around the world.
Organisations
- University of Aberdeen (Lead Research Organisation)
- English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) (Collaboration)
- Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- Library of Congress (Collaboration)
- English Folk Dance and Song Society (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Thomas McKean (Principal Investigator) | |
| Julia Bishop (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Bishop J
(2021)
The Routledge Companion to English Folk Performance
Bradtke, E.
(2018)
The James M. Carpenter Collection Goes Online
in Living Tradition
Bradtke, E.
(2018)
Folk Music Archive Online
in FFHS Newsletter
Bradtke, E.
"It's Got a Beat, You Can Dance to It.": The reuse of popular tunes for morris dancing
in Folk Music Journal
Bradtke, E.
(2022)
Thirsty Work and Other Legacies of Folk Song
Bradtke, E.
(2018)
The James M. Carpenter Collection Goes Online
in Federation of Family History Societies Newsletter
Bradtke, E.
(2018)
The James M. Carpenter Collection Goes Online
in The Living Tradition
Bradtke, E.
(2020)
Reusing Popular Tunes for Morris Dancing
in Folk Music Journal
| Title | 40,000 Years in Quest of Tradition: A Celebration of Carpenter Folk Online |
| Description | Songs and tunes collected by James Madison Carpenter 1927 - 1943, across Britain and also in the US, were creatively interpreted and performed by Cecil Sharp House Choir, The Mearns Singers (from North East Scotland), London Youth Folk Ensemble with members of New Camden Jazz Ensemble, interspersed with talks, historic images, sound recordings and films showcasing the collection. This special event celebrates the culmination of Carpenter Folk Online, an exciting project bringing together partners from England, Scotland and the United States to make the collection of James Madison Carpenter available to view, browse, and search online alongside the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library's ever expanding digital collections. This fantastic new resource has formed the basis of creative learning projects with young people and adults in London and North East Scotland to spotlight Britain's cultural heritage. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Reaching 172 audience members and approx. 155 performers and project staff. In March 2019, Camden Music Hub won the highly prestigious Will Michael Jazz Award 'recognised for their outstanding commitment to gender diversity in jazz and engaging in cross-genre collaboration'. This refers to the collaboration between EFDSS's London Youth Folk Ensemble, and New Camden Jazz Ensemble, through the Carpenter project. |
| Title | An Introduction to the James Madison Carpenter Collection |
| Description | 'The James Madison Carpenter Collection: Forty Thousand Miles in Quest of Tradition' is a freely available 4-minute film made by the project team in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen. The film introduces the Carpenter collection, explaining who Carpenter was, how the collection was made, what it contains and why it is important. Our collaborators, the English Folk Dance and Song Society, describe the film as 'a great engaging introduction to a talk, presentation or workshop, giving historical and social context as well as great audio and archive footage'. They have made it available on the EFDSS YouTube channel where the film is highlighted as part of their Education Department programme and as part of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive. The film has recently been made available on University of Aberdeen YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/ZgGMGh2Y3HI by the University of Aberdeen as well as on the EFDSS YouTube channel link given below. It was featured on the Elphinstone Institute Facebook pagein Feb 2019 where it has been viewed 480 times to date - https://www.facebook.com/ei.folklore/videos/855915938133379/ |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The EFDSS Education Department has commented that 'this is a concise, accessible and beautiful film, perfect for introducing to all audiences interested in learning more about folk song collection, or about Carpenter himself.' The film has helped to engage new audiences (e.g. young people) and encouraged them to consider what lies behind the activity of 'folk song collecting' and who the contributors and the collector are as people. The film contextualises the Carpenter Collection for users of the VWML website and explains the nature of the materials that they encounter in the collection (manuscripts, sound recordings, music notations, etc), helping them to interpret their results and understand the status and relationships of the materials they discover. The film is the first in a planned series of films relating to the collection inteneded to highlight the contribution and biographies of contributors to the collection. The first of these contributor films has recently been made and is to be finalised and made available shortly. |
| URL | https://youtu.be/E6RWAr3kQZk |
| Title | Bonny Tunes and Jiney-in Sangs, Stonehaven Folk Festival, July 2019, performances by Irene Watt |
| Description | A music session as part of the Stonehaven Folk Festival, which includes songs in Doric, hailed as 'the best session of the festival'. Irene Watt appeared on all 3 nights of this and included songs from the Carpenter Collection among her performances |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The sessions are very popular - see comment quoted above - and well attended with around 50-60 people per session.The audience is very diverse as the festival is a regular event, making audiences aware of the richness of the traditional musical culture of the North East of Scotland, in this case as such by a native of the region. |
| Title | Choral Arrangements SATB from original Ballads from the JMC Collection |
| Description | Ballads taken from the J M Carpenter Collection and arranged specifically for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass and a modern interpretation of these songs which were originally sung by one individual as a solo performance. These songs now have a future not only with traditional singers but as material for Choirs. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | There is a renewed interest in these old ballads by a wide ranging audience and now there is the option to perform these songs in a many different ways and to different audiences. |
| Title | Choral arrangements for use with 3 choirs in Aberdeenshire |
| Description | Further songs from the collection for use with Mearns Singers, Deveron Singers, and Kingswells Singers |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Increased repertoires for 3 choirs and concerts planned for the future |
| Title | Choral arrangements of Carpenter songs by Sally Davies for Cecil Sharp House Choir |
| Description | These songs were arranged by Sally Davies, leader of the Cecil Sharp House choir. These songs were performed at the Carpenter launch event, '40,000 years in Quest of Tradition' at Cecil Sharp House on 27 March 2018. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Awareness of Carpenter folk collection and life - to the seventy choir members, and the audience and other performers at the launch event. |
| URL | https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rb9wm2n75o6tl6x/AADnY3vHUuMVOGtCVJ7dI7isa?dl=0 |
| Title | Contributors to the Carpenter Collection: The Campbell Family (updated to 2022) |
| Description | The film is intended to be the first of many to shine a more detailed light on the 800 contributors to the Carpenter collection. This film focuses on the Campbell Family of Hassiewells and Forgue, Aberdeenshire, whose members contributed to the Carpenter collection and helped him to find further ballad singers in the local area. It was made in collaboration with the Campbell's living descendants who share personal testimony and family photographs, manuscripts, publications and recordings in the film. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The film is shared on the Facebook page of the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen (see URL below), where it has been viewed 407 times since July 2019, and to the University of Aberdeen YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WtDTt_coiE) where it has been viewed 213 times since Aug 2019. |
| URL | http://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2258222657771443 |
| Title | Film with Campbell Family |
| Description | 'Contributors to the James Madison Carpenter Collection: The Campbell Family of Hassiewells and Forgue, Aberdeenshire' is the first of an intended series of films highlighting individual and groups of contributors to the collection. It draws on the team's research into contributors whose lives and times are not well covered within the collection itself which prioritises their repertoire. This film draw on research into archival and official records and with descendants and their family archives. The descendants themselves appear in the film together with written narrative by the Co-I who has worked with them. It exemplifies their family's contribution to the collection and highlights the creativity and contribution to vernacular culture as more broadly represented in other documents and testimony. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The film will shortly be made freely available by the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen. Just making the film has been an extremely important way for the project team to honour the contribution of individuals to the Carpenter collection, and to acknowledge the goodwill and collaboration provided by their descendants in the team's research. We hope further that it will help to raise the visibility of the contributors as people, thereby contextualising their contribution to the Carpenter collection. |
| Title | Following in the Footsteps of the J. M. Carpenter Folk Song Collection |
| Description | A daly-long bus tour which visited various sites around the North East of Scotland where James Madison Carpenter collected his songs. Local well known singers were engaged to learn and sing some of the songs at the relevant sites and on board the coach. Members of the project team provided commentary during the bus tour about Carpenter and his contributors and the collection. A descendant of one of Carpenter's singers also took part and contributed family memories and a poem. The event was filmed at key points throughout the day. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | The event generated knowledge of the content of the collection (previously uknown), the people who contributed to it and the man who created it. Participants were impressed by the nature of the traditional songs it contains and inspired to use the digital resource to learn more. There is a report by a participant in https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/documents/Newsletter%202017%20Autumn%20(final).pdf (p.3) |
| URL | https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/events/11885/ |
| Title | Further Song Arrangments from the Carpenter Collection for song workshops |
| Description | Song arrangements in SATB for song workshops in various locations |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Mearns Singers and others have increased repertoire |
| Title | Polish-Scottish Song Group |
| Description | The Polish-Scottish Song Group was founded in 2011 by the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen and local community members. The group has regularly been performing songs from the James Madison Carpenter Collection in the last year. The following performances included songs from the collection: 3 May 2019 - Robert Porteus Celebration, Aberdeen Arts Centre 25 May 2019 - University of Aberdeen May Festival (two performances; one at Kittybrewster Community Centre and one in the festival marquee) 22 June 2019 - Scottish Traditional Boat Festival at Portsoy 30 October 2019 - 'What Country, Friends, Is This?' [part of theatre production], Fittie Gospel Hall, Aberdeen 15 December 2019 - Christmas Performance, Torry Community Centre 24 January 2020 - Polish-Scottish Ceilidh, The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen 21 February 2020 - Tlusty Czwartek Evening, Peterhead |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Exchange and sharing of cultural resources between the Polish residents of Aberdeen and other residents (Scottish-born or otherwise) in the city and shire. |
| URL | https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/public-engagement/polish-scottish.php |
| Title | Revival of East Hendred Mummers Play |
| Description | The project team was approached in 2018 by a resident of East Hendred, Oxfordshire, seeking information about the local mummers play. He and others wished to revive the performance. Carpenter collected the text and information from the village which we supplied. In return, the Carpenter research team received further information about Carpenter's informant and historical photographs of her. The play was performed in the village on 26 December 2019. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The contact reported to us 'We performed the play outside the 'Eyston Arms' at East Hendred at 12 noon on Boxing Day 2019, to a good gathering of both young and old. The rain stopped just in time!. It was very well received and I think enjoyed by all. For a first effort it went very well and a collection taken in aid of the East Hendred Heritage Trust raised £227 for our village Museum. We hope to continue the tradition this year. We have a video of the play that is available to view at the Museum.' |
| Title | Songs from the James Madison Carpenter Folk Collection EFDSS Learning Resource (updated 2023) |
| Description | This is a free educational resource aimed at schools produced by the English Folk Dance and Song Society in August 20217. The resource shares the ideas and repertoire EFDSS used as part of our Carpenter Folk Online education projects that took place in 2018. Written by Hazel Askew, it features a selection of seven diverse folk songs from the many collected by James Madison Carpenter in Britain and the USA from 1928-1935. It is designed to support learning from Key Stage 1-5, and includes audio recordings, notation, comprehensive teaching notes and curriculum links. These are linked to a downloadable pdf, the James Madison Carpenter Collection film (reported elsewhere in the project portfolio) and new recordings of the songs featured in the resource. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | Statistics for the webpage on which the resource is available are as follows: March 2020-Feb 2021 - 177 users, 207 sessions, 690 page views. We are unable to provide cumulative statistics from the launch of the resource due to a change of website by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Statistics for Feb 2022-Feb 2023 - 92 users, including 77 new users, 96 sessions, 487 page views |
| URL | https://www.efdss.org/learning/resources/a-z/55-resources/learning-resources/6701-songs-from-the-jam... |
| Title | The Ballad Capital of the World |
| Description | This short film sets out the case that the North-East of Scotland is the ballad capital of the world - a source underlying much of North American Appalachian and other folk music, which, in turn, became the groundings of rockabilly and, subsequently, Rock 'n' Roll. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The film promotes the international importance of North-East Scotland's ballad and song traditions, both to the general public and to potential funders of our community engagement and academic research work. 109 Views and Downloads 14 Unique Viewers 218.1 Minutes Delivered 3.2 Video Duration Minutes "With funding from the North and South LEADER Local Action Groups, the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen and Visit Scotland partnered to deliver #StoriesofAberdeenshire. The aim of the project was to support communities, groups, and individuals across Aberdeenshire to tell their stories, in their own words, to potential visitors to the region. The project highlights the region's extraordinary cultural heritage and creativity, touching on its internationally-renowned song traditions, poignant folktales, engaging local stories and characters, and deeply-rooted traditional skills. Find out more on our interactive map - https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/map |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M7rkcBAwzw |
| Title | The James Madison Carpenter Collection: Forty Thousand Miles in Search of Tradition (updated to 2022) |
| Description | This film short introduces J. M. Carpenter and the collection of traditional music and folk drama that he made, focusing on the bulk of his collecting which took place in Britain (1928-35). It draws on materials from the Library of Congress who own the collection and explains Carpener's methods in order to orientate users to the nature of the materials it contains. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Available on Elphinstone Institute Facebook page - 559 views to March 2022 University of Aberdeen YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgGMGh2Y3HI) - 203 views to March 2022 English Folk Dance and Song Society's Education webpage (https://www.efdss.org/learning/resources/resources-listing/55-resources/learning-resources/6701-songs-from-the-james-madison-carpenter-folk-collection) - page viisited 342 times since August 2017 - latest figures to March 2021-2022 not yet available |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/ei.folklore/videos/855915938133379/ |
| Title | The White Fisher, sung by Iona Fyffe |
| Description | A performance by well-known Scottish folk singer Iona Fyffe of The White Fisher, a song from the Carpenter Collection, recorded as part of the Library of Congess's online concert series Home-Grown Plus |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The adoption of this song into the repertoire of a high-profile young professional folk singer is an important demonstration that the Carpenter Collection contains as yet little-known repertoire ripe for revival by a new generation of singers. It is to be hoped Iona Fyffle will include the song on a CD in due course. |
| URL | https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2022/01/homegrown-plus-iona-fyfe/ |
| Description | The project has increased the visibility of the Carpenter Collection and continues to do so, even after the end of the funded period. The collection is quickly establishing a key position as a major resource for the performance, content, and history of the folk arts in Britain, especially covering, as it does, such a wide range of genres and materials. The manuscripts and recordings and contextualising information bring alive the past, in some cases for the first time, and stimulate engagement with song, language and culture among all age groups. The community and public engagement activities associated with, and deriving from, the project are enhancing this profile and bringing some of the material back into current cultural practice. In research terms, the availability of the digital images in a larger resource which allows them to be cross searched in relation to other folk song collections is central to the work of the Carpenter project team engaged in producing a critical edition of the collection. The wide range of ongoing engagement activities across a variety of contexts are impacting on the team's conceptualisation of the edition, and suggesting innovative ways to enhance its use for a wide range of audiences, from students and researchers to artistic practitioners. The use of film to communicate research findings in an accessible way has also been highly successful. We propose to build on these and to invite others to do the same in relation to the Carpenter archive. Such multimedia presentations also have the potential to form an important adjunct to the critical edition, making the research that underlies it (e.g. editing methods, editorial concepts and philosophies, and notes on the history and variants of items in the collection) accessible, engaging and interactive. We are exploring these as we move towards publication. Likewise, the availability of the collection online will form a significant complement to the published edition, allowing a dynamic view of the ways in which such collections are constructed and re-purposed by users over time and space. |
| Exploitation Route | The project was required to develop some bespoke data mapping and to enable the digital presentation of multimedia materials, linking them to related data and search tools. The system works well now and users have reported very good results. This has provided an enhanced infrastructure for research within and outside the academy, widened participation and facilitated innovative ways of connecting the material to new generations. The project's results have already led to new proposals which are being taken forward (e.g., workshops, schools work, a publication of materials selected from the collection and set for choir use). The partner organizations, including the Library of Congress who hold the Carpenter collection, remain in contact and are involved with these follow-on projects. In addition, the relationships forged continue to bear fruit in other areas with other partnership projects and events being developed. Technical and Creative Economy: The impacts of the current project will in turn inform the Elphinstone Institute team's critical edition of the collection. The availability of the collection online will form a significant complement to the published edition, creating an innovative set of affordances that can open it up to a wide range of uses and audiences, providing a model for the exploitation of mixed reality publication. Educational: The materials and the paradigms developed will be used in future schools work by the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, and by Cecil Sharp House, London. There will also be follow-on adult learning workshops building on this project's results. Social outcomes: The materials and the paradigms developed will inform our social programming (e.g., community work, old people's homes, language work in schools and communities, intergenerational communication, etc.). |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Environment,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | A number of workshops drawing on the resource have been run. Both workshop leaders and attendees have used the system. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Environment,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Title | James Madison Carpenter Collection Online |
| Description | The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library is the library of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. With support from the Heritage Lottery Fund in two previous projects, it has created an online digital archive of folk performing arts, particularly folk songs, hosting its own and third party collections of manuscripts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries on, mainly those made in England but including some material from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and America. The project involved adding the J. M. Carpenter collection to this existing resource, by converting the existing metadata created by the Carpenter Project team, and linking it to the digital images and sound files of the collection created by the Library of Congress where it was previously only available on site. The project enabled a significant upgrade of the VWML database, with the inclusion of sound recordings for the first time, personal and geographic authority files, and the ability to search on an extended range of variables, such as by gender of singer. The Carpenter collection is a major collection and fills in a significant gap in our knowledge of oral culture during the inter-war period, especially in Britain. It has introduced a significant number of songs collected in Scotland to the archive which is attracting new users, not only performers, music tutors, teachers and researcher but also the descendants of contributors and local communities where folksong and folklore collecting took place. The archive is unique in allowing users to cross-search the various collections on variables such as songs, contributor name and geographical location. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The material made available via the beta test site (launched in August 2017) has been the basis for an extensive outreach programme (documented in the Engagement activities section). It has been used as part of talks and workshops focusing on the archive and collection itself, and with schools, choirs, and community groups around Britain. It has also been made available to contributor descendants. The finalised database went live in February 2018, and we are monitoring its impacts through web statistics and personal testimony. We plan to to conduct a user survey in the near future to gather qualitative feedback. Web statistics as of March 2019: VWML Carpenter Folk Online (project) webpage - 623 page views (https://www.vwml.org/projects/carpenter-folk-online) VWML Carpenter online collection - 2189 page views. Note: The Carpenter online collection figure reflects visits to the Carpenter Collection via the "browse" page (https://www.vwml.org/archives-catalogue/JMC) only. This represents a fraction of the overall use since it is not possible to monitor which records are acceesed through searching the entire database. |
| URL | https://www.vwml.org/archives-catalogue/JMC |
| Title | The James Madison Carpenter Collection Online (updated to 2023) |
| Description | (see previous entry) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The material made available via the beta test site (launched in August 2017) was the basis for an extensive outreach programme (documented in the Engagement activities section). It has been used as part of talks and workshops focusing on the archive and collection itself, and with schools, choirs, and community groups around Britain. It has also been made available to contributor descendants. The finalised database went live in February 2018, and we are monitoring its impacts through web statistics and personal testimony. The Carpenter collection has become an established part of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive and is regularly used for research within and outwith the academy, performance and education. 2023 update - The availability of Carpenter's archival collection and the associated materials produced by the Carpenter project team in the form of publications, films and educational resources continue to have many impacts on research, teaching and performance in folk music, song, dance, and drama, and children's folklore. In previous years we have reported its use in academic research, such as Pettit, Tom, and Peter Meredith. "The Later Bassingham Plough Play: Con-Textualizing a New Text." Folk Music Journal, vol. 11, no. 4, 2019, pp. 44-75. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44987681 Last year we reported examples including its use by professional performers looking for new repertoire, such as Iona Fyffe who recorded a song from the collection as part of the Library of Congress's Homegrown Concert series, and research undertaken within and outside of higher education, such as the online resource Cecil Sharp's People (https://cecilsharpspeople.org.uk/) which profiles the many singers from whom earlier collectors noted songs, and which incorporates data subsequently collected about them by Carpenter. In the current year 2022-23, we have become aware of the use of the collection in various sea shanty publications (reviewed by Carpenter project team member Bob Walser and included in the publications section of ResearchFish) and other impacts, such as Chris Jackson, Sea Shanties? I'm singing my own praises (2021), a blog posted in the midst of the huge upsurge of popular interest in sea shanties as the result of a TikTok that went viral during the pandemic. It was written by a prominent broadcaster, previously of the BBC and now freelance, whom the Carpenter Project team had supported in 2009 to make a television feature about shanty singers recorded by Carpenter in Sunderland, and which involved tracing the descendants of one and playing them recordings of their ancestor. The blog described the programme and the importance of Carpenter's work in preserving the voices of these last shanty singers, and the collections relevance to regional cultural heritage. The blog contained a link to the film made as part of the Carpenter Folk Online project. 'Sea Shanties? I'm singing my own praises' can be found Jackson's website and is shown to have had 128 readers to date. https://www.chrisjacksonmedia.com/post/sea-shanties-i-m-singing-my-own-praises Research, film, exhibition and concert series by Dorset sea shanty group, the Wareham Whalers, focusing on the Carpenter collection shanties - this includes a YouTube film (2020, https://youtu.be/QKTlGmuQazk) of group member David Blakely talking about his research and performing a sea shanty collected by Carpenter, several CDs including shanties from the collection, and currently (March 2023) an exhibition and concert series in Dorset venues incorporating Carpenter's writings and biographies of his shanty singers as well as performances of their songs. Blakely has written to the team on several occasions to express his appreciation of the team's research and the online resource which 'have been invaluable in supporting us' (14/3/23). The collection and associated resources continue to feature regularly in courses taught at the University of Aberdeen (one of the few institutions in Britain to teach ethnology and folklore studies), and in schools education work, e.g. by the English Folk Dance and Song Society (see statistics for their educational resource based on the collection noted elsewhere in this award), and there is steady use of the collection by members of the public, including those interested in local history and genealogy. Website statistics for the period Feb 2022-Feb 2023 Any or all of the various Carpenter landing pages on the vwml.org site (including the project page at https://www.vwml.org/projects/carpenter-folk-online and the Carpenter Collection information page at https://www.vwml.org/archives-catalogue/JMC) (statistics for the English Folk Dance and Song Society educational resource shown separately elsewhere in this award): 875 views, of which 745 were new users, resulting in 1180 sessions and 7506 page views. This represents a fraction of the overall use since it is not possible to monitor which individual records have been accessed by users searching the multi-collection database of which the Carpenter data is a part. |
| URL | https://www.vwml.org/archives-catalogue |
| Description | AFC Library of Congress |
| Organisation | Library of Congress |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We contributed our subject specialist knowledge, research findings, cataloguing expertise, technical expertise, and metadata to colleagues at the American Folklife Center. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The American Folklife Center Archive provided high-resolution digital images, metadata, cataloguing expertise, additional data, subject specialist knowledge, access to information networks, researchers and practitioners. Their collaboration and support was essential to the success of the project. |
| Impact | A significantly expanded and upgraded Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive, performnces, learning and engagement activities. The project has involved library and archive staff, technical consultants, researchers, performers and practitioners in music and education. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Carpenter Folk Online partner |
| Organisation | English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have worked with both the EFDSS's Vaughan Williams Memorial Library and the Education Department. We provided the libary with access to data, subject specialist knowledge, research findings, cataloguing expertise, technical expertise, additional metadata and have worked with them to promote the resulting resource through archive study days (listed separately). We have provided the Education Department with access to data, subject specialist knowledge, and research findings, to support their work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Library provided the platform for data access, metadata and cataloguing expertise, technical expertise, data cleaning and conversion, plus access to information networks, researchers and practitioners. The Education Department provided outreach and engagement activities built on the resource and its contents which brought the material to new audiences. |
| Impact | Inclusion of the James Madison Carpenter Collection as part of https://www.vwml.org/archives-catalogue |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | School of Scottish Studies Archive University of Edinburgh |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | School of Scottish Studies Archives |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The project team provided the speakers and handled the bookings for a workshop. We also helped with the publicity. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners provided the venue (the Music Museum at St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh) and helped to publicise the event. |
| Impact | The collaboration resulted in a one-day workshop (see Engagement activities). It brought those involved in the archiving and indexing of Scottish song together with those involved in the archiving and indexing of traditional songs more widely, and those involved in the Carpenter collection specifically and the possibility of future collaboration relating to the Roud Folk Song Index and the implications of GDPR legislation for folklore archives was discussed. The event introduced project researchers to Scottish researchers and resulted in the Co-I of the Carpenter Collection project being invited to speak at the Fife Traditional Singing Festival a few months later. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland |
| Organisation | Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We collaborated to produce a one-day workshop for TMSA members, focusing on the Carpenter collection, the Vaughan Williams Memorial Librrary website and learning songs from the collection. The project provided the speakers, venue and refreshments for the event. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The TMSA provided publicity, collaborated on the programme and funded the performer who led the singing session. |
| Impact | The partnership was specifially geared to the workshop held in Aberdeen in April 2018 and reported in the Engagement activities. The collaboration brought together performers (professional and amateur) and academics. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Aberdeen Evening Express article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article on the Carpenter Collection availability online and its relevance to the culture, history and people of North East of Scotland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Aberdeen Folk Song Club |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Extended floor spot supporting a featured guest. Sang songs from the Carpenter collection and talked about the pending online presentation. Handouts taken by several dozen from the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.aberdeenfolkclub.co.uk |
| Description | Aberdeen Maritime Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Engaged with museum visitors about the James Madison Carpenter Collection online presentation. Used the accordion and songs from the collection to attract attention then demonstrated the online facility using the beta site and presented songs from the collection. Responded to specific interests and queries from members of the public related to particular maritime traditions and various localities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Aberdeen University May Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Julia Bishop presented a talk entitled The James Madison Carpenter Collection Goes Online at the University of Aberdeen May Festival 2017. It introduced the collection and the project, which had just begun, and illustrated the riches of the collection and its strong relationship to the region in terms of material and contributors. There was significant interest from members of the public and performers present, some of who lived in the locations wehre Carpenter collected. They included a number of descendants of the contributors to the collection. Many have attended subsequent project events in the Aberdeen area and are beginning to use the resource now it is live online for historical information and as a source of repertoire. The contributor descendants have provided further information about their ancestors which will be added to the online resource at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Adventures in ARchiving conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Three members of the team, Julia Bishop, Steve Roud and Laura Smyth, attended this conference organised by the Archives and Libraries Sectio of the American Folklofe Society, in Minneapolis, October 2017 and attended by archive and library professionals working with folklore and oral history collections, in the US and Europe. The presentation was entitled 'Greater than the Sum of its Parts? The J. M. Carpenter Collection Meets the Vaugha Williams Memorial Lirary's Digital Archive'. It introduced the Carpenter collection and demonstrated the betasite of the enhanced VWML archive. It also considered linnked initiatives which are supporting folk song research in the UK, such as the Roud Folk Song and Broadside indexes and suggested their relevance to support parallel work with US and Canadian folk song collections. There was considerable interest and commonalities with issues and aspirations highlighed in other presentations, and it provided a significant opportunity to showcase the project and to network among this community of practitioners, including our colleagues at the Library of Congress who have supported the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.afsnet.org/?page=Archives2017 |
| Description | Archive Study Day, Aberdeen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the event was to 1) introduce the J. M. Carpenter collection to audiences in the NE of Scotland, and to exemplify its scope and content, especially in relation to an audience in the North East of Scotland, 2) to introduce the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library's digital archive and provide hands-on experience in finding songs and other items of oral culture via its interface, and 3) to demonstrate and explore the relationship of the Carpenter collection to Scottish collecting before and after. The session involved listening, practical work online and singing. The 12 participants, many of them performers (amateur to professional) had not used the Vaughan Williams site very much previously and were keen to develop their skills when they could see how much it had to offer them in terms of repertoire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/events/11912/ |
| Description | Archive Study Day, Sheffield |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The workshop was intended to 1) introduce the J. M. Carpenter collection, its scope and content, geographical coverage, and how it came to be made, 2) provide practical insights into using the upgraded Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive, and 3) demonstrate the potential use of the songs from the collection in schools and community contexts. INformation, practical work and singing formed part of the workshop. The audience included a professional librarian an amateur performers who reported greater confidence in using the resource to find the material that they wanted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Archives Study Day and singing workshop at Cecil Sharp House - Finding Folk Music Online |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Finding Folk Music Online involved morning sessions on using the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library online resource and on the recently added Carpenter Collection. The afternoon session involved learning songs from the collection, led by folk performer Hazel Askew. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | BISA conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Julia Bishop, the project Co-I, presented a poster entitled 'The Carpenter Folk Online Project: Upping the Volume at the VWML' at the British and Irish Sound Archives conference in partnership with the National Museum of Scotland in November 2017. The poster introduced the Carpenter collection and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive, and discussed the scope and challenges of the current project to integrate the one into the other. It also highlighted future directions for online archives suggested by the project. The poster made use of augmented reality which enabled audience members to use an ipad with the poster and access multimedia examples through the use of the augmented reality app, LayAR. The poster generated a great deal of interest, in terms of its content and its means of presentation. The organisers commented that it was the first use of augmented reality at a BISA conference and that it was successful in making a wider audience of archivists and librarians working with historical sound collections aware of the Carpenter Colleciton and the VWML resource. It was an excellent networking opportunity which is leading to further engagements. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bisa-web.org/bisa-event-2017 |
| Description | Ballad Bus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 30 people attended a day-long outing touring in areas surrounding Forres, where the Findhorn Bay Arts Festival is based. The four traditional singers aboard the bus focused on regional songs local to Morayshire and, in particular, songs from the James Madison Carpenter online materials that are central to this project. A number of participants contributed to the interactive day, as well. We handed out materials at the end giving information that will help them access the collection themselves. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Carpenter Feature on The World Tonight Radio 4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 5 minutes feature on the Carpenter Collection and its importance in the history of folk song collecting in Britain was aired on BBC Radio 4 The World Tonight (see link below, 39:35-44:07). Two project team members (myself and Laura Smyth) provided information for the feature and were interviewed for it. Clips from the sound recordings and discussion of the contributors were also included, as was information about the online presentation of the collection as part of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library online archive. This was excellent publicity and must have increased awareness but we have been unable to gauge its impact on use of the resource. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0b7d0p8 |
| Description | Cecil Sharp House Choir (concerts and repertoire) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Cecil Sharp House Choir (70 people from across London), focused their repertoire on James Madison Carpenter collection, learning six new arrangements by Sally Davies of Carpenter material: Rolling home, There was an old dumman, Aunt Leah, Castle, Come fill up your Glasses and Wassail song. They performed these at the Festive Gathering concert at Cecil Sharp House (17 December) and at Carpenter Celebration Event (27 March). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
| Description | Cliff Bradshaw article on Carpenter's car in Prewar Austin 7 Club Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article by Cliff Bradshaw describing Carpenter's collecting activities in Britain and highlighting his use of an Austin 7 car. Published in Pre-War Austin Seven Club Magazine, March 2021, p. 8. The PWA7C descibes itself as 'the largest international club for Austin Seven enthusiasts everywhere' with over 1000 members. The article draws on Carpenter collection materials and research by the Carpenter project team. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.pwa7c.co.uk/ |
| Description | Cullerlie presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Julia Bishop, project Co-I, presented a poster at the Cullerlie Traditional Singing Weekend in July 2017. The singing weekend in rural Aberdeenshire brings together outstanding traditional singers from Scotland, England, and Ireland and audiences who enjoy unaccompanied traditional singing. The weekend includes ceilidhs featuring the guest singers, singarounds for everyone who wants to join in, workshops, craft demonstrations and a talk. The poster introduced the Carpenter collection and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive. It emphasised the depth of collecting undertaken by Carpenter in the North EAst of Scotland including in locations not far from the site of the festival. Julia sang songs from the collection in the informal workshops. The collection was previously unknown to those at the festival and generated interest for its songs and its relation to the local area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/documents/Culerlie_2017_Leaflet.pdf |
| Description | FifeSing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk about the Carpenter Collection as part of the Fife Traditional Singing Festival, an annual event celebrating traditional, often unaccompanied, singing, and providing informal singing sessions, a concert and talks. It attracts amateur and semi-professional singers and a number of academic researchers/performers. The Carpenter collection was unknown or little known to most of the audience and its regional relevance to the North EAst of Scotland and the richness of the repertoire it contains was of great interest. It has led to greater visibility of the collection and an increase in its use as a source of repertoire for performers for whom it provides songs in new variants and with new tunes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Film showing: 'Forty Thousand Miles in Quest of Tradition: A short introduction to the James Madison Carpenter Collection' and 'Contributors to the Carpenter Collection - The Campbell Family of Hassiewells and Forgue, Aberdeenshire'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Showing of these two films, made as part of the Carpenter Folk Online AHRC project, with an introduction by project Co-I, Dr Julia Bishop, to the Traditional Song Forum online meeting, 25 July 2021. This raised questions and discussion afterwards and further interest in using the online resource of the collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/firHmorWh2U |
| Description | Find Folk Music Online : Get help using the VWML website (Sidmouth) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was an introductory talk and drop-in session given at Sidmouth Folk Week, Aug 2018. The activity was designed to raise awareness of the resources available on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website, including the newly released James Madison Carpenter Collection, and to provide an opportunity for people to receive assistance with their search enquiries. Approximately 12 people attended the session or dropped-in. The attendees were mainly folk song enthusiasts and amateur researchers. Many were not familiar with the VWML site, and expressed their intention to use the site in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Finding Scottish Finding Scottish Songs and Ballads Online (Edinburgh) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The day-long archive study day highlighted James Madison Carpenter and the songs that he collected in Scotland. It also introduced the Roud Folk Song Index and how to access both the Index and the Carpenter Colleciton at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. It provided opportunities to explore connections between the Carpenter collection and songs from the School of Scottish Studies Archives and other collections on the Tobar an Dulchais/Kist o Riches website. It showcased examples of using songs and folklore in performance, and in communities and schools. Sessions were led by Steve Roud, creator of the Roud Folk Song Index, Julia Bishop, of the Carpenter Collection Project, University of Aberdeen, and Chris Wright, co-director of Local Voices. Chris discussed approaches to using the archival resources in projects which explore and revivify the links between people and place. The 15 participants reported that they had been inspired by all the sessions, learning more about the possibilities for accessing and performing folk songs from Scotland, and their potential for community and educational use. The workshop was held in collaboration with the School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh, and introduced by its curator, Cathlin Macaulay. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Finding Scottish Songs and Ballads Online (Aberdeen) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The event was held in collaboration with the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland. It was attended by 15 people, mainly members of the public who undertake folk singing in their local area. The morning session comprised an introduction to, and practical instruction in, using the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website, and an introduction to Carpenter and the singers in the Carpenter collection. The afternoon session was led by local singer Janice Reavell and was an opportunity to learn new songs, taken from the collection. The participants reported the event had opened their eyes both to the Carpenter collection and its extensive contents, and to the possibilities of searching for traditional songs within the VWML website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Folk at the Bothy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Extended floor spots as part of the club's regular open-mic evening. Presented songs from the Carpenter collection and talked about the coming online presentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://bothyfolk.org |
| Description | Folklife Today articles |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two posts (April and May 2018) by Stephen Winick of the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress blog, Folklife Today. One covers the launch of the online presentation of the Carpenter Collection as part of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library's digital archive, and describing the scope of the collection and how it came to be deposited at the Library of Congress. The other describes the launch event at Cecil Sharp HOuse, London, and the participation of two members of staff from the Library of Congress at the event as performers and speakers. This publicised the project and the resulting resource to a much wider audience and in particular helped to highlight the essential role of the Library of Congress in enabling the project through prior preservation and digitisation of the collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/category/james-madison-carpenter/ |
| Description | For Keeps podcast: The Sea Shanty Collection of James Madison Carpenter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 36-minute podcast featuring Carpenter research team member Bob Walser talking about sea shanties and the Carpenter Collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://forkeepspodcast.com/80-the-sea-shanty-collection-of-james-madison-carpenter-with-bob-walser |
| Description | Get Your Folk On |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | One hour presentation on working songs of the sea (shanties) in the Carpenter collection for students aged 9-14. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.cecilsharphouse.org/csh-learning/youth/get-your-folk-on-juniors |
| Description | Get Your Folk On! Summer holiday course (Cecil Sharp House) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 17 young people aged 12 - 19 years old attended 'Get Your Folk On! holiday course' from 31 July - 4 August 2017. Focus on James Madison Carpenter collection, specifically 'True Thomas' ballad and morris tune 'Glorishears'. Participants created immersive performance, with tunes, storytelling and song. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Get Your Folk On! holiday courses: Feb 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Holiday courses for 7 - 19 year olds, focusing on James Madison Carpenter collection. 7 - 11 year olds learned 'Three Craws' tune for instruments and 'Maid of the Mill' Ilmington morris dance. 12 - 19s learned and arranged 'Ranzo'. All took part in library visits and discussions about folk song collecting and Carpenter's visits to the UK in 1920s -30s. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Get your Folk On |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | One-hour presentation/workshop with 9-12 year-old students on working songs of the sea (shanties) in the Carpenter Collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.cecilsharphouse.org/csh-learning/youth/get-your-folk-on-juniors |
| Description | Harwich International Shanty Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Gave three talks and three concerts as part of a major maritime heritage festival, in each case highlighting the pending online presentation of the Carpenter Collection. Talks focused on Deepwater Shanties, the unique contributions of the Carpenter Collection and the story of the Scots Dreg Songs rediscovered in the Carpenter Collection and restored to their home waters on the Firth of Forth. Concerts took place in pubs and about the sail training vessel Excelsior. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://harwichshantyfestival.co.uk |
| Description | Herga Folk Club |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two extended guest slots at this folk club where I promoted the online presentation of the Carpenter materials through visuals (laptop only) and song. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://herga.club |
| Description | Herga Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Did two extended spots at a folk club focusing on materials from the Carpenter Collection and touting the coming online presentation. Great interest from the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://herga.club/ |
| Description | Interview on Carpenter Collection on Bauer Radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Project PI was interviewed about the Carpenter collection, the Scottish materials it contains, and its online availability on Bauer radio network, which includes Northsound, Radio Tay, Forth etc so broadcast widely in Scotland. It is hard to track the specific impact of the interview but it raised awareness among the general public of the collection and the research of the Elphinstone INstitute, University of Aberdeen. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Introduction to Ethnomusicology seminars on songs of the North East of Scotland led by Irene Watt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 2 seminars given as part of the 2nd year undergraduate course Introduction to Ethnousiology led by Irene Watt at the University of Aberdeen introduced ballads and bothy songs of the North East of Scotland to 30 international students. The seminars included songs from the Carpenter collection. The students' own assessment will be to draw on musical cultures that relate to their own cultural, geographical and musical identities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Irene Watt Lullaby Workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of 12 workshops aimed at young mothers and babies. Aims of these workshops were to engage mums and babies in the practice of singing lullabies to their babies and other children in order to facilitate good practice and establish healthy bedtime routines. the tradition of singing lullabies has largely fallen away, especially in the younger age group and my research has shown that lullaby singing can greatly improve the ease at which children accept bedtime, and can actually look forward to this time rather than fight it. By bringing lullabies into the routine helps to calm both children and mothers and results in a time of bonding and comfort for both mothers and infants. Some of the lullabies used in these workshops came from the James Madison Carpenter collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvoA9h0odv8 |
| Description | Irene Watt Singing Workshops - James Madison Carpenter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of harmony singing workshops centred around the James Madison Carpenter Collection as part of a wider project to publicize the collection and celebrate the online resource. Aims of these workshops are to reach a wide audience and use these songs and bring them back into the traditional repertoire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | James Madison Carpenter and the Ballad Capital of the World |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A talk about James Madison Carpenter's work in the North-East of Scotland, placing it in the context of two centuries of song collecting. There discussions afterwards, in which participants offered related information on the song traditions of their area. The talk also included a performance of several songs from the Carpenter collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Janice Clark North East Ballad School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The North-East Ballad School is a lifelong dream of Janice Clark, a well respected traditional singer from Aberdeen who aims to inspire a love of ballads in a new generation of singers and to support them to learn and perform the songs in their own authentic, creative voice bringing the tradition of singing back to life in the communities where it originated. As of mid-March 2021, it has 11 weekly participants and draws on the diverse multi-media materials in the Carpenter Collection. Janice attended workshops organised by the project team during the project which introduced her to the collection and the online resource. Planning is underway for a a series of 10 online workshops on North-East ballads for secondary school students, to be run by Janice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://northeastballadschool.com/ |
| Description | Language Drop Ins |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We ran a series of drop in language sessions about North-East Scots, using materials from our educational work and from the James Madison Carpenter Collection. I did a short presentation for participants on the Collection before a participatory workshop on traditional song. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Language Workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We ran a four-week series of workshops in four schools in the Forres/Morayshire area, including general work on Scots language as well as materials from the Carpenter Collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Locating Shanties: Exploring a larger context for deep sea sailors' work songs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A talk by Bob Walser and Vienna Carol on 31 May 2021, at the regular online meetings of the Traditional Song Forum, a UK-based organisation bringing together those interested in the collecting, study and performance of traditional song. The talk presented an alternative view of the origins of sea shanties, challenging the dominant white narrative, and was illustrated with singing by the presenters. Comments received included 'This may indeed not be new news, but it is often a discussion amongst white folklorists only. Thank you Vienna for bringing your voice and viewpoint. Thank you Bob for reminding us how important it is for everyone to spread more accurate versions of the story.' 'Thank you so much to Vienna and Bob. I agree that seeing chanteys as emerging primarily from black work song is a useful change of emphasis.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/6HsW9Uu9IPs |
| Description | London Youth Folk Ensemble (Cecil Sharp House) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | London Youth Folk Ensemble, made up of over-twenty 12 - 19 year old musicians have learnt and performed repertoire from the Carpenter Collection across 12 rehearsals, and performed at Music For Youth Regional Festival (23 February), Camden Music Spring Festival at LSO St Luke's (25 March) and at the Carpenter Celebration Event at Cecil Sharp House (27 March 2018). They have collaborated on 'Jacky Tar' with New Camden Jazz Ensemble, sharing workshops and performances and also 'Aunt Leah', 'Shepherd's Hey' and 'Rolling Home'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
| Description | Museum of Scottish Lighthouses |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Engaged with museum visitors around music from the Carpenter collection and the pending online presentation. Responded to queries related to maritime musical traditions, particular singers represented in the collection and songs from particular towns/villages in Scotland including New Deer, Inverurie, Aberdeen and Dundee. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://lighthousemuseum.org.uk |
| Description | Now for the Music and Now for the Fun: Carpenter's Recordings of Songs from Folk Plays |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation as part of the Folk Voice conference presented by the Traditional Song Forum in a series of three zoom meetings in Late April and early May 2021. Questions and discussions followed, especially regarding drawings in the collection that were hitherto unknown to most people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/rPUTF1YykIU |
| Description | Pecha Kucha talk by Thomas McKean at Explorathon '20 on the Ballad and Song Traditions of North-East Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Pecha Kucha talk (online) on 'The International Influence of the Ballad and Songs Traditions of North-East Scotland', as part of Explorathon '20 event (supported by Horizon 2020), 24 November 2020. The presentation included the central role of the Carpenter collection in tracing the history of the ballad and song traditions of the region and developing plans for an online portal to include the Carpenter Collection and other online resources relating to it, including that created as part of this project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/events/pechakucha/ |
| Description | Polish-Scottish Song Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Fortnightly song workshops highlighting folk song traditions of Scotland and Poland, including shared maritime traditions. Some of the Scottish song materials are made accessible through the resource funded by this grant. The biweekly meetings bring together individuals from Scotland further afield (now the the sessions are online) with an interest in folk traditions and stimulates discussion about cultural connections. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Polish-Scotttish Song Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Polish-Scottish Song Group, an ongoing partnership between the Elphinstone INstitute and local community employed singer Janice Clark to teach the group some songs from the Carpenter Collection, with the possibility of performing these at a future date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/public-engagement/polish-scottish.php |
| Description | Portsoy Salmon Bothy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Gave a two-hour illustrated talk about maritime traditions represented in the James Madison Carpenter collection and the coming online presentation of the collection. First half focused on deepwater worksongs (shanties) and the unique material in the Carpenter collection. Second half focused on the Dreg Songs of the Firth of Forth and the remarkable story of their near loss, the mid-twentieth century search for them and their rediscover in the Carpenter collection and return to the waters of the Firth in 2012. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://bothyfolk.org |
| Description | Rhyll Primary School workshops (Camden) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Two day visits to Year 1 and 2 at Rhyll Primary School (25 January & 22 March - approx 60 children), in Camden giving workshops about JM Carpenter, and teaching songs (Sally Jumped over the Stars, One-O), dances (morris dance to source recording of Princess Royal, performance of True Thomas and discussing folk collecting tradition. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Schools Visits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Initial visits to 6 schools in order to set up a series of Learning Workshops based around the songs from the James Madison Carpenter collection. Each school will be involved in future activity involving participation, performance, project work, research work, and all activities to be educational and cross curricular. The future activities scheduled for April to June 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Schools workshops and performance in Stonehaven |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A series of 6 workshops to teach songs from the Carpenter collection to Mackie Academy in Stonehaven culminating in a choral performance at prize-giving day, audience of approx. 200 which included parents, teachers and school governors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Scottish Ballad and Song School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A dozen young people took part in a series of three song workshops covering three different genres of Scottish tradition. The Carpenter Collection was used as a source for materials and the Collection was discussed in detail with the participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Shanties article in The Conversation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article highlighting the importance of communal activities for social connection and wellbeing in COVID-19 times, especially communal singing and referencing the recent shanty TikTok craze. The aim was to raise awareness of the connection between present-day activity, thought by most to be a new phenomenon, and longstanding human behavioural traditions, with deep roots. It was informed by Carpenter's shanty collecting and the materials in his collection, as well as the team's contemporary work with the public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/when-old-sea-shanties-go-viral-we-know-that-tradition-matters-154680 |
| Description | Siglufjordur Folk Music Festival, Iceland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During a visit to Iceland for another research project, I extended my visit in order to speak at the Folk Academy of the annual Siglufjordur Folk Music Festival. The theme of the festival was songs of the sea so my talk introduced the Carpenter Collection, especially the sea shanties. The talk included the opportunity to join in performances of these songs. There was interesting discussion relating to songs of the herring fishery in the NOrth East of Scotland and in northern Iceland. The audience comprised folk music enthusiasts, performers and researchers, from Iceland, Britain, China and North America. They reported that they would publicise and consult the collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Singing weekend, Craighaar Hotel, Aberdeen, 25 Oct 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 60 members of the public attended a harmony singing weekend workshop led by Irene Watt and Corrina Hewat, held at the Craighaar Hotel, Aberdeen. The workshop included several songs from the Carpenter Collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://corrinahewat.com/events/harmony-singing-weekend/ |
| Description | Singing weekend, Portsoy, led by Irene Watt and Corrina Hewat, 7 Feb 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A singing weekend at the Station Hotel, Portsoy, engaging 50 members of the public with songs from the North East of Scotland, led by Irene Watt and Corinna Hewat, and including learning and singing several songs from the Carpenter Collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/stationhotelportsoy/posts/3004170592948460 |
| Description | Song Collectors Collective Gathering |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 60 people attended the 2018 Song Collectors Collective Gathering in London, an annual event. The audience comprised amateur and semi-professional performers interested in collecting traditional music from others for preservation and further performance. I was invited to give a talk about the Carpenter Collection and its online availability and potential. Many had no prior knowledge of the collection, its contributors and songs. The contributors and the songs in particular prompted questions and members of the audience reported that they would explore the resource. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Song Workshop at Stonehaven Folk Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A targeted workshop to ballad singers attending Stonehaven Folk Festival |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Song Workshop in Portsoy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 57 Attendees at a song workshop over two days 9/10 February 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Songs from the James Madison Carpenter Collection: Freely downloadable teaching resource uploaded onto EFDSS Resource Bank |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This resource aims to introduce learners to folk songs using material from the rich and diverse collection made by James Madison Carpenter in England and Scotland in the period 1928 -1935. It is designed to support learning from Key Stage 1-4 and reflects the many different types of song within the collection - from singing games suitable for younger children and as warm ups, to longer, more complex songs and ballads suitable for older students and more in-depth work. For each song there are a range of suggested tasks and areas of study, which include musical tasks, as well as tasks related to other areas of the curriculum, such as English Literature, Art & Design, Physical Education, Maths and History. There are also background notes providing information on the history and social context of the songs, as well as ways to open up discussion on possible meanings and interpretations. The songs are primarily arranged for unison singing, with some additional vocal or instrumental harmonies, accompaniment chords, as well as suggestions for performance, composition and song re-writing. There are vocal and instrumental sound files to accompany this resource pack. These can be accessed via the EFDSS Resource Bank www.efdss.org/resourcebank. Next to all the song scores in this resource there are hyperlinks starting with http://www.vwml.org/record/ which link directly to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library's online digital archive which holds digitised versions of original manuscripts and other archival material. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.efdss.org/efdss-education/resource-bank/resources-and-teaching-tools/songs-from-the-jame... |
| Description | Songs of the Bardic Harper workshop by Irene Watt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop-performance conceived and led by Irene Watt, singer and harpist, at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, focusing on songs in the Carpenter Collection and the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection which incorporate the harp as a motif or theme of the ballad. The attendees came from all round the world and were either harp performers or interested in the harp. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://view.publitas.com/edinburgh-international-harp-festival/eihf_2019_brochure/page/34-35 |
| Description | Soundpost workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Julia Bishop, the project Co-I, led a session at the 'Old Adam' Soundpost Singing Weekend held in June 2017. The event was designed to explore song editing and writing, aspects of communication, singing style and technique, with a particular emphasis on the stories that songs can tell. The session was on 'Investigating the bllad sin the Caprenter Collection' and highlighted both the riches of the collection as a source of repertoire, especially the narrative ballads, and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library resource. The session involved singing somoe of the songs and discovering aspects of their backstory, such as about the person who contributed the song to the collection, and the way the song came to be collected, to enrich the storytelling potential. There was also emphasis on the practicalities of working with the materials in the collection. One participant's feedback stated: 'This wasn't a first choice but I am so glad I went to it...I love the connection between folk ong and social history and Jula's enthusiasm teaching experise and nowledge made it such a rich and interestig session.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Speech to the St Andrew's Society of North-East Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A speech about the North-East song tradition, focusing on the area as the Ballad Capital of the World exemplified in the work on F. J. Child and J. M. Carpenter. There were discussiosn afterwards with business leaders and local government representatives that may lead to futher funding, or at least support for funding bids. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | St Paul's Primary School Carpenter workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 2 tutors, Ben Moss and Hazel Askew, visited St Pauls Primary school to deliver an interactive assembly performance and two workshops for Year 3 and Year 4 students. They introduced J.M. Carpenter, teaching a number of songs and telling students about his life as a folk song collector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Talk at Sidmouth Folk Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This talk took place at the Sidmouth International Folk Festival, August 2017, and was led by research team members Julia Bishop and Steve Roud. Entitled 'Thousands more songs online as the Carpenter Collection goes live' it introduced the J. M. Carpenter collection. Many of the 75 people in attendance were participants in folk clubs and sessions. They were excited by the examples of the scope and content of the collection and welcomed the update on the enhancedment of the online resource at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive. There was discussion about the betasite and consultation on its functionality as part of the presentation, and the feedback indicated a high level of interest in the Carpenter collection itself. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk on Sam Bennett by Elaine Bradtke at Traditional Song Forum meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation by Carpenter team member, Elaine Bradtke, 'Sam Bennett's Songs' on song repertoire of dancer and fiddler, Sam Bennett, an important contributor to the Carpenter collection, to an online meeting of the Traditional Song Forum, comprising an international community of folk music researchers and performers, many working outside of higher education. The talk drew heavily on the digitised materials in the Carpenter Collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://tradsong.org/ |
| Description | Talk to Aboyne History Society by Tom McKean |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk (via Zoom) to 35 members of the Aboyne History Society on the song folklore of the North-East of Scotland, 10 December 2020. More than half the talk drew on the Carpenter collection, introducing the online resource, demonstrating the content, and discussing Carpenter's collecting work in detail, as well as the potential of its content for singing and listening to examples. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | The Baron o Brackley - Choral Work and Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A performance of The Baron o Brackley cantata, with introductory talk on James Madison Carpenter and the Ballad Capital of the World by Thomas McKean. The event raised awareness of the region's song traditions, and cemented our working relationship with the arts organization, St Margaret's Braemar. The regional televisions station covered the event, reaching more people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The Baron o Brackley - Choral Work and Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A performance of the ballad, The Baron o Brackley, with contextualizing poems by Les Wheeler, with an introductory talk by Thomas McKean about the Ballad Capital of the World and the work of James Madison Carpenter. The performance led to the booking of a second event. The event was covered by Scottish Television, so reached a wider national audience as well. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The Sea Shanty Collection of James Madison Carpenter, with Bob Walser |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 36 minute podcast by Carpenter Project team member Bob Walser for For Keeps: A Podcast about Collections and Connections. This was a very recent event (7 March 2022) so we will report on the impact in next year's report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://forkeepspodcast.com/80-the-sea-shanty-collection-of-james-madison-carpenter-with-bob-walser |
| Description | The Work of James Madison Carpenter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A talk to the Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre annual dinner describing Carpenter's collecting work in the North-East. Specific local songs and singers were discussed and appeals for further information made to members of the audience. There were several productive conversations afterwards regarding the song traditions of the area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The Work of the Elphinstone Institute (feat. Carpenter Collection in context) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A talk on the work of the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, featuring a focus on the James Madison Carpenter Collection and discussing specific songs from the collection that are relevant to the region in which the talk took place. These details connect present-day culture in the region with the traditions of times past. The Institute's remit is closely tied with this goal, engaging local communities in valuing, promoting and celebrating their vernacular traditions. The Carpenter Collection work of this project is an effective and engaging tool for this key community development purpose. 47 people attended. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Traditional Song and Music Association - Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A floor spot and brief presentation about the Carpenter Collection online presentation at a monthly meeting of the Traditional Music and Song Association (TMSA) of Aberdeen Scotland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Tune conference presentation - Elaine Bradtke |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation as part of the Traditional Tunes and Popular Airs: History and Transmission conference, held at Cecil Sharp House, London, October 2017. It was attended by researchers into traditional and popular tunes, many of whom undertake their research as a hobby unrelated to their profesional lives and not necessarily connected to an academic institution. The presentation was given by Elaine Bradtke on the project research team and was entitled "It's Got a Beat, You Can Dance to It.": The reuse of popular tunes for morris dancing, drawing on research undertaken with the Carpenter Collection materials and drawing attention to the importance of resources such as the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library digital archive in such historical and comparative research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.vwml.org/events/upcoming-events/3093-traditional-tunes-and-popular-airs-history-and-tran... |
| Description | UCL Academy workshops (Camden) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Tutors delivered 9 workshops (8 x Year 8 classes & 1 x Year 10 class 6 & 26 March 2018), of approx 200 students. Introducing the JM Carpenter collection, broad discussion of folk and traditional music, performances, and learning of 'Hard Times', creating further lyrics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Vaughan Williams Memorial Library online seminars series, Folk Song in England, led by Steve Roud |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Steve Roud, involved in the Carpenter Folk Online project as a cataloguing consultant, is one of the foremost authorities on English folk song. This series of 6 online seminars was organised by the English Folk Dance and Song Society, and covered the social history of traditional song and singing in England up to about 1950. Carpenter featured prominently in the sessions as the only major collector working in England in the inter-war period and as the link between the two primary periods of English folk song collecting. HIs recordings and methods were also novel at the time and were illustrated with reference to the Carpenter collection as now integrated into the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Digital Archive, enabled by the original project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.vwml.org/events/upcoming-events/folk-song-in-england-with-steve-roud |
| Description | Visit Scotland Tourism Promotion Assets |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Visit Scotland, in partnership with the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, is making a series of short films, or tourism assets, about North-East traditions and culture. A key strand of this is the song tradition, as exemplified in the collecting work of James Madison Carpenter. The media assets will be used around the world to develop the North-East of Scotland tourism 'brand', putting the Carpenter Collection into tourism professionals' portfolios, as well as into the consciousness of the general public. Future activity will draw upon and publicize the Carpenter Collection as a tourism asset. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Wighton Heritage Centre presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Gave a talk on the Carpenter Collection and the new online presentation focused on traditional songs of the sea and the dreg songs unique to the Firth of Forth. Presented examples from the collection in the context of a deepwater square-rigged voyage. Responded to queries from participants related to the collection, maritime traditions and particular singers represented in the collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.leisureandculturedundee.com/library/wighton |
| Description | William Ellis Secondary School workshops (Camden) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Tutors delivered 5 workshops (5 x Year 8 classes: 19, 21,22,23 March), of approx 120 students. Introducing the JM Carpenter collection, broad discussion of folk and traditional music, performances, and learning of 'Hard Times', creating further lyrics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Workshop on songs of the North East of Scotland by Irene Watt, The Haal Music Festival, Portsoy, June 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | irene Watt, a well known performer, led a workshop on songs of the North East of Scotland at the 10th Haal Music Festival, Portsory, held in June 2019 to an international audience of 30 people, who learnt about and sang some of the songs, including from the Carpenter Collection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Workshop on the Carpenter Collection at Stonehaven Folk Festival, 2019, led by Irene Watt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A workshop focusing on the Carpenter Collection and its songs took place at the annual Stonehaven Folk Festival. The audience, which included tourists from around the world, learnt about the collection and learnt songs from it, fro Irene Watt, a well-known performer from the North East of Scotland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |