Maud Karpeles
Encyclopedia
Maud Karpeles was a collector of folksongs and dance teacher.
Maud Karpeles was born in London in 1885. In Berlin at the "Hochschule für Musik" she studied piano for six months. In 1892 a women's settlement had been created in Cumberland Road, Canning Town
in 1892. The purpose was to enable the poorest girls to take part in sport and cultural activities. Karpeles became a Fabian
and joined the settlement as a social worker. She began look for "something creative for a girls' club to do".
Together with her sister Helen Karpeles (1887–1976) she went to the Stratford-upon-Avon
Festival in 1909, where they first encountered folk dances and songs. This inspired Maud to create a folk dance club at the Canning Town Settlement. When Cecil Sharp
gave lectures on folk dance, it was her folk dance club that demonstrated them. The English Folk Dance Society (EFDS) was founded in 1911, with Karpeles' dancers at the heart of it. Karpeles became as much interested in the songs as the dances, and joined Sharp on collecting expeditions. Sharp, a married man with children, allowed Karpeles to share his house for long periods.
. She had formed another dance group, the Espérance Club
of Morris Dancers. When Mary Neal moved in the direction of Women's Suffrage, Sharp distanced himself from her, and adopted Maud Karpeles instead, as his main assistant. Sharp returned to the Appalachian Mountains
in 1916, this time together with Maud Karpeles. They collected over 1,500 tunes (over 500 different songs) in a period of 46 weeks in isolated communities. Many of them were obviously related to songs they had encountered in England. This strengthened their conviction that folk songs were subject to a kind of Darwinian selection over generations, and diffusion across the sea. These songs and tunes were published in 1932.
At the end of the war, neither Mary Neal's Espérance Guild, nor Maud's group reformed. Effectively the folk dance movement changed from being working class to being middle class. Sharp arranged for teachers to give classes in country dance and morris, to members of the society, using his books for guidance. Choirs were created to sing folk songs in unison, even though all the singers who had provided the songs, had normally sung solo. After about 1920, Sharp ceased to collect dances - he was then in his 60s - but Karpeles was only in her 30s. She collected clog-morris dances from the north-west of England, in Royton
and Abram
. She continued to collect English country dances in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1929 Cecil Sharp House opened and William Kimber
and Maud Karpeles laid the foundation stone.
. His theory predicted that the emigrants from Scotland and England would have brought folk songs with them. They would still be found there, if anyone cared to look. Karpeles took up the challenge, and went there alone in 1929 and 1930, In 1934 "Folk Songs from Newfoundland" was published, possibly her greatest achievement. She became Sharp's legal executor, and fought legal battles on behalf of his estate. As Georgina Boyes notes in her book "The Imagined Village", there is a certain irony in placing any kind of copyright on folk songs which were given freely by people.
" (EFDSS). By this time the FSS had ceased to collect songs, and all the profits came from teaching dances and selling song-books. EFDSS elected Karpeles as honorary secretary. She continued to edit Sharp's manuscripts and was an energetic organiser of international festivals. Karpeles organised the International Folk Dance Festival and Conference in London in 1935. In 1950, and again in 1955, she returned to the Appalachian Mountains. This time she recorded singers for the BBC. Some of the people she met remembered meeting Sharp the first time around. Once the folk singer Phil Tanner was discovered in Gower, Wales, Karpeles made sure that he was recorded. Karpeles was awarded the OBE in 1961, for services of folk music. She received two honorary degrees: one from Université Laval
in Quebec (1961) and one from the Memorial University of Newfoundland
(1970).
Cecil Sharp's "English Folk Song: Some Conclusions" was considered to be a classic on the subject and Karpeles added material to the second, third and fourth editions. She never wavered from the original idea of the essential purity of folk song, free from commercialisation or vulgarity. Today a more interactive theory is widely held. Songs from the music hall
can be adopted and reused by country singers. In addition erotic songs occupy an important place in folk music, though Sharp bowdlerised texts in accordance with the social mores of his time. She never lost her concern for the less fortunate. During the Second World War she helped refugee musicians and with the Red Cross. In 1962 refugees from Tristan Da Cunha
arrived in Britain. Karpeles visited them and encouraged them to sing their folk songs. In 1967 she published "Cecil Sharp: His Life and Work". In 1974 she published two substantial volumes: "Cecil Sharp's Collection of English Folk Songs Vol 1 & 2". "The Crystal Spirit" (1975) is shorter version of the collection. Maud Karpeles died in 1976.
" celebrating the heroes of the folk-song revival. The flicker book shows a morris dance being performed by Cecil Sharp, Maud and Helen Karpeles. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in Cecil Sharp House has her unpublished papers and diaries.
Maud Karpeles was born in London in 1885. In Berlin at the "Hochschule für Musik" she studied piano for six months. In 1892 a women's settlement had been created in Cumberland Road, Canning Town
Canning Town
Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...
in 1892. The purpose was to enable the poorest girls to take part in sport and cultural activities. Karpeles became a Fabian
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
and joined the settlement as a social worker. She began look for "something creative for a girls' club to do".
Together with her sister Helen Karpeles (1887–1976) she went to the Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
Festival in 1909, where they first encountered folk dances and songs. This inspired Maud to create a folk dance club at the Canning Town Settlement. When Cecil Sharp
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century, and many of England's traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them.-Early life:Sharp was born in Camberwell, London, the eldest son of...
gave lectures on folk dance, it was her folk dance club that demonstrated them. The English Folk Dance Society (EFDS) was founded in 1911, with Karpeles' dancers at the heart of it. Karpeles became as much interested in the songs as the dances, and joined Sharp on collecting expeditions. Sharp, a married man with children, allowed Karpeles to share his house for long periods.
Collaborator with Cecil Sharp
In 1914 Sharp went to the USA to a Shakespeare production to teach choreographed folk dances to the actors, and to give lectures. Later in 1914, all folk dancing lectures and classes ceased during the First World War. Sharp's first collaborator had been Mary NealMary Neal
Mary Neal CBE , born Clara Sophia Neal, was an English social worker and collector of English folk dances....
. She had formed another dance group, the Espérance Club
Espérance Club
The Espérance Club, and the Maison Espérance dressmaking cooperative, were founded in the mid-1890s by Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and Mary Neal in response to distressing conditions for girls in the London dress trade...
of Morris Dancers. When Mary Neal moved in the direction of Women's Suffrage, Sharp distanced himself from her, and adopted Maud Karpeles instead, as his main assistant. Sharp returned to the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
in 1916, this time together with Maud Karpeles. They collected over 1,500 tunes (over 500 different songs) in a period of 46 weeks in isolated communities. Many of them were obviously related to songs they had encountered in England. This strengthened their conviction that folk songs were subject to a kind of Darwinian selection over generations, and diffusion across the sea. These songs and tunes were published in 1932.
At the end of the war, neither Mary Neal's Espérance Guild, nor Maud's group reformed. Effectively the folk dance movement changed from being working class to being middle class. Sharp arranged for teachers to give classes in country dance and morris, to members of the society, using his books for guidance. Choirs were created to sing folk songs in unison, even though all the singers who had provided the songs, had normally sung solo. After about 1920, Sharp ceased to collect dances - he was then in his 60s - but Karpeles was only in her 30s. She collected clog-morris dances from the north-west of England, in Royton
Royton
Royton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies by the source of the River Irk, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, north-northwest of Oldham, south-southeast of Rochdale and northeast of the city of Manchester.Historically a...
and Abram
Abram, Greater Manchester
Abram is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat land on the northeast bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, west of Leigh, southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester...
. She continued to collect English country dances in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1929 Cecil Sharp House opened and William Kimber
William Kimber
William "Merry" Kimber , was an English concertina player and Morris dancer who played a key role in the twentieth century revival of Morris Dancing, the traditional English folk dancing...
and Maud Karpeles laid the foundation stone.
Newfoundland and executorship
Sharp died in 1924, but just beforehand, he had expressed a wish to search for songs in NewfoundlandEspérance Club
The Espérance Club, and the Maison Espérance dressmaking cooperative, were founded in the mid-1890s by Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and Mary Neal in response to distressing conditions for girls in the London dress trade...
. His theory predicted that the emigrants from Scotland and England would have brought folk songs with them. They would still be found there, if anyone cared to look. Karpeles took up the challenge, and went there alone in 1929 and 1930, In 1934 "Folk Songs from Newfoundland" was published, possibly her greatest achievement. She became Sharp's legal executor, and fought legal battles on behalf of his estate. As Georgina Boyes notes in her book "The Imagined Village", there is a certain irony in placing any kind of copyright on folk songs which were given freely by people.
1932 and after
The "English Folk Dance Society" (EFDS) merged with the "Folk-Song Society" (FSS) in 1932 to become the "English Folk Dance and Song SocietyEnglish Folk Dance and Song Society
The English Folk Dance and Song Society was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society. The EFDSS, a member-based organisation, was incorporated as a Company limited by guarantee in 1935 and became a Registered Charity The English Folk...
" (EFDSS). By this time the FSS had ceased to collect songs, and all the profits came from teaching dances and selling song-books. EFDSS elected Karpeles as honorary secretary. She continued to edit Sharp's manuscripts and was an energetic organiser of international festivals. Karpeles organised the International Folk Dance Festival and Conference in London in 1935. In 1950, and again in 1955, she returned to the Appalachian Mountains. This time she recorded singers for the BBC. Some of the people she met remembered meeting Sharp the first time around. Once the folk singer Phil Tanner was discovered in Gower, Wales, Karpeles made sure that he was recorded. Karpeles was awarded the OBE in 1961, for services of folk music. She received two honorary degrees: one from Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
in Quebec (1961) and one from the Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
(1970).
Cecil Sharp's "English Folk Song: Some Conclusions" was considered to be a classic on the subject and Karpeles added material to the second, third and fourth editions. She never wavered from the original idea of the essential purity of folk song, free from commercialisation or vulgarity. Today a more interactive theory is widely held. Songs from the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
can be adopted and reused by country singers. In addition erotic songs occupy an important place in folk music, though Sharp bowdlerised texts in accordance with the social mores of his time. She never lost her concern for the less fortunate. During the Second World War she helped refugee musicians and with the Red Cross. In 1962 refugees from Tristan Da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying from the nearest land, South Africa, and from South America...
arrived in Britain. Karpeles visited them and encouraged them to sing their folk songs. In 1967 she published "Cecil Sharp: His Life and Work". In 1974 she published two substantial volumes: "Cecil Sharp's Collection of English Folk Songs Vol 1 & 2". "The Crystal Spirit" (1975) is shorter version of the collection. Maud Karpeles died in 1976.
Legacy
It is still possible to see Maud dancing. In 2000 The "English Folk Dance and Song Society" issued as set of 55 trading cards with a "flicker bookFlip book
A flip book or flick book is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change. Flip books are often illustrated books for children, but may also be...
" celebrating the heroes of the folk-song revival. The flicker book shows a morris dance being performed by Cecil Sharp, Maud and Helen Karpeles. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in Cecil Sharp House has her unpublished papers and diaries.