Sunday 28th October 2007

I was pondering on the nature of traditional music and the role of the session on keeping it alive this week as I was doing some more work on Folkipedia (you are all invited to browse and contribute - anything folk related). I'd finished the main Morris Dance traditions and had been re-reading Sharp and McIlwaine and Bacon plus doing some research into the likes of Mary Neal and Douglas Kennedy and Rolf Gardiner. Now I know history is always written by the winners, but there were some seriously bad vibes around folk music in the 20s and 30s.

So what should sessions be? A snug place to drink and chat? A place where you can hear really good musicians for free? A place for beginners to join more experienced musicians to learn the art and craft of traditional music? Well, outstanding musicianship is not the pre-requisite for a session and it should be a way of passing the tradition on (where else is there?) and an element of teaching is not a bad thing. So you decide.

As we no longer have those very close village communities that existed before the Industrial Revolution, the session is probably the last refuge of that community albeit arriving by car instead of walking down the road. The landlord of the local would not only welcome the participants and encourage them (as part of the community) and likely house their paraphernalia, but would very likely take part as well!

Now, one of the huge criticisms of the first folk revival is that Sharp effectively fossilized the songs, tunes and dances allowing no expression or evolution. He famously banned a Morris side from demonstrating a dance he had collected from them because they never danced it the same way twice. Good for them. Others had a more relaxed attitude to spirit of folk so there were some big fallings-out and toy-from-pram tossing.

Traditions evolve - they are meant to - and sessions are no different. They keep the music alive and allow it to evolve but only if they change themselves to bring new blood. The same old fogeys playing the same sets year after year is probably not going to win an award for services to Folk.

This theme, tempered with a degree of tolerance to both beginners and intolerant long servers I think makes a healthy mix for a session. The unpredictability of the Thursday session is one of its attractions. I have heard more versions of more tunes played in the Bear than ever at the Irish session. Maybe there is room for the Wednesday session to evolve too. It attracts a different sort of sessioneer already and has sadly lost one or two of the established and generous sessioneers who have been a part of the scene for a long time. I'm sure though that they would not want to stop evolution. They might like better acoustics though.

Enough ranting. With a 'Parish Notice' hat on:

• Tonight (Sunday) is the Irish session at the Anchor, Faversham
• It was nice to hear from Jez again (we did wonder via these scribblings what had happened to you). Yes, the Bev is the place to be on Wednesday night despite everything or maybe because of.