Fair Folk Podcast

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Finnish Kantele by Aslak Tolonen of Nest Jun 21, 2019

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Aslak Tolonen, recorded live in Riihimäki, Finland June 16, 2019. You can find more information about his music or contact him about purchasing a kantele here: https://nestfin.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/nestfinland or email him at nestfinlandia@gmail.com The intro music for Fair Folk is "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods Patreon: www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/fairfolkcast

The Wailing Of The Old Timers - Tvísöngur and Iceland's Hidden Folk Music Past May 21, 2019

Show notes

In July of 2018 I spent a month in Iceland looking for performers of a stye of Icelandic folk singing called "tvísöngur." What I found was that the history of folk music in Iceland is far more complicated than I could have ever guessed. I found myself asking: In a nation known internationally for its indie music, why is Icelandic folk music so hard to come by? Thank you to the many musicians, researchers, and friends who contributed music, personality, and information to this episode. Special thanks to Gunnstein Olafsson, Linus Orri, Eyjolfur Eyjolfson, Orn Magnusson and Marta Halldorsdottir, Kimberly Cannady, Runa Inginumdardottir, Gudny Robertsdóttir Orlygur Kristfinsson, and Gustav Danielsson. Thank you also to the Icelandic folk music centre in Siglufjordur and Herhusid artist residency for hosting and helping me while I researched this topic. My paper on tvísöngur for the International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony October 2018: www.academia.edu/37863707/Tv%C3%A…rary_Performance Fair Folk Patreon: www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast Music and Notes: 0:00 “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods :50 “Ísland Farsælda Frón” by Jean Christian 2:40 “Ísland Farsælda Frón” by Kvæðamannafélagið Rima 4:00 Guðrún Ingimundardóttir and Svanfríður Halldórsdóttir 5:22 “Húmar Að Mitt Hinsta Kvöld” by Pétur Halldórsson & Símon Þórðarson 7:25 Baroque Cello and Langspil by Gadus Morhua 8:55 “Fagurt Syngur Svanurinn (Beautifully Sings the Swan)” by Spilmenn Ríkínís (Rikini Ensemble: Marta Halldórsdóttir, Örn Magnússon, Ásta Sigríður Arnardóttir, and Halldór Bjarki Arnarson) - Recording courtesy of Arni Moller 10:45 Langspil and Symphonie by Marta Halldórsdóttir and Örn Magnússon 11:15 Spilmenn Ríkínís (Ásta Sigríður Arnardóttir) - Recording courtesy of Arni Moller 13:00 Reykjavík Trad Sessions 14:00 “Langspils Kvæðalag” by Örn Magnússon 14:55 “Fryeja” by Gadus Morhua (Eyjólfur Eyjólfsson, Björk Níelsdóttir and Steinunn Arnbjörg Stefánsdóttir) 16:15 Duo Atlantica 17:45 “Ísland Farsælda Frón” by Jean Christian 20:00 Gustaf Danielsson and Örlygur Kristfinnsson 20:30 Gadus Morhua 23:35 Spilmenn Ríkínís (Ásta Sigríður Arnardóttir) - Recording courtesy of Arni Moller 26:00 & 27:45 Gustaf Danielsson and Örlygur Kristfinnsson 30:15 Speech: Marta Halldórsdóttir 31:10 Speech and diatonic langspil: Örn Magnússon 34:30 “Björt Mey og Hrein” by Duo Svanni 35:20 Speech: Guðrún Ingimundardóttir French explorer mentioned is Paul Gaimard, author of Voyage en Islande et au Groënland 39:20 “Björt Mey og Hrein” by Duo Svanni 41:10 Spilmenn Ríkínís (Ásta Sigríður Arnardóttir) - Recording courtesy of Arni Moller 43:05 Speech: Ómar Ellertson 48:20 Speech: Linus Orri 55:00 Correction provided by Linus Orri: The author mentioned is actually Jón Þórarinsson 57:20 Spilmenn Ríkínís (Ásta Sigríður Arnardóttir and Halldór Bjarki Arnarson) - Recording courtesy of Arni Moller 58:20 Speech: Örn Magnússon 59:15 “Fagurt Syngur Svanurinn (Beautifully Sings the Swan)” by Spilmenn Ríkínís - Recording courtesy of Arni Moller 1:02:25 Speech: Linus Orri 1:03:40 Spilmenn Ríkínís - Recording courtesy of Arni Moller 1:06:30 Rímur by Linus Orri

Big Beltane: May Day Song and Custom Apr 25, 2019

Show notes

May Day, or Beltane in Scottish Gaelic, is a joyous occasion to welcome new growth and fertility in the fields, the hills and home. With its all-night bonfires, green branches, towering may poles and delicate flowers, this might be the most tactile and sensual holiday of the entire year. And it's just bursting with song. Check out my 2020 May Almanac episode and others: https://www.patreon.com/posts/generous-wood-36480866 Instagram: danica.boyce https://www.instagram.com/danica.boyce Youtube channel: Fair Folk https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw5BgVgYLuRWmEs66AHx38A/featured Music: Intro: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods "Hal-An-Tow" by the Watersons "Arise, Arise" by Robert White "Jack in the Green" by Martin and Shan Graebe "Maypole Dance" by Richard Myhill "Searching For Lambs"(feat. Graham Coxon) by Lisa Knapp "As I Walked Through the Meadows" by Magpie Lane "As I Roved Out" by The Voice Squad "Bedfordshire May Carol" by Jack Sharp "In the Merry Month of May" by Patricia Spero "The May Morning Dew" by John Lyons "Padstow Hobby Horse" on English Customs and Traditions (album) "Padstow" by Steeleye Span "May Song" by Beggars Velvet

Winter Solstice, Queen of Feasts Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

This episode traces the age-old European origins of many of the Winter Solstice traditions we enjoy today, from mother goddess worship through stories of the wizard child Jesus, to Christmas fortune telling with bones. Support Fair Folk: www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast PayPal.me/DanicaBoyce Music: “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” by the Ballycastle Players “Miri it is While Sumer Ilast” by Ensemble Belladonna “O Frondens Virga” by Augsburg Early Music Ensemble “Podblyadnye Song” by byAgrafena Glinkin “Ancient Gates” by Olga Glazova “Podblyadnye Songs” by Ensemble Joy “Persephone” by Stellamara “Tec, Peleite, Zernju Zogtu” by Kitka “The Holly She Bears a Berry” by the Voice Squad “Haugebonden” by Tiriltunga “Oi Linksta Suolaliai” by Keisto Folkloro Grupė” “Et Lite Barn Så Lystelig” by Julestemmer “The Bitter Withy” by the Valley Folk “Cherry Tree Carol” by Shirley Collins “Mari Lwyd (The Grey Mare)” by Carreg Lafar “Ecco donne la befana / Ninna nanna ninna oh (Filastrocche e canto natalizio Bologna)” by Stefano Zuffi & Pneumatica Emiliano Romagnola “Fum, Fum, Fum” by Winter Harp Ensemble “Frau Holle, Frau Holle, die Schüttelt ihre Betten aus” by Philharmonischer Kinderchor Dresden & Blockflötengruppe Bautzen “Bring Us In Good Ale” by Maddy Prior & Tim Hart

Interview with Vicki Noble, creator of the Motherpeace Tarot Oct 26, 2018

Show notes

In this episode I speak with Vicki Noble, co-creator of the Motherpeace Tarot Deck, a set of cards for divination that incorporates images of the sacred feminine from mythology and folklore. The creation of the Motherpeace Tarot in the late 1970s in Berkley California helped to kickstart the so-called Goddess movement, whose influence endures today. Links: Fair Folk Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast Paypal: paypal.me/DanicaBoyce Michael Levy, ancient lyre: https://www.ancientlyre.com/ Music: “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods “Demeter’s Song” by Starhawk & Reclaiming “The Temple of Venus (Original Composition for Replica Lyre in the Ancient Hypolydian Mode)” by Michael Levy "Hurrian Hymn No. 6 (c.1400BCE) Ancient Mesopotamian Musical Fragment” by Michael Levy

Lithuanian Kanklės Concert in a Pagan Temple: Žemyna Trinkūnaitė Aug 26, 2018

Show notes

This episode is a recording of Žemyna Trinkūnaitė playing a Kanklės, a traditional Lithuanian instrument, in a concert for a small group of people in a Baltic pagan temple in Lithuania. For more recordings, contact Žemyna Trinkūnaitė by email at zemynat@gmail.com To support Fair Folk: www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast paypal.me/DanicaBoyce

July Update and a Summer Playlist Jul 06, 2018

Show notes

A brief update about Fair Folk's summer and fall plans from northern Iceland, plus a spontaneous summer playlist to enjoy on the road or at home. To contribute to the Fair Folk travel fund: www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast paypal.me/DanicaBoyce Music: Intro: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods "Langspils - Kvæðalag" by Eyjólfur Eyjólfsson "Lenten is Come" by Briddes Roune "Aililiu Na Gamhna (Calling Home The Calves)" by Iarla O' Lionáird "The Band of Shearers" by Carla Sciaky "Två Konungabarn" by Myrkur "A Maid in Bedlam" by the John Renbourn Group "Hares on the Mountain" by Shirley Collins and Davey Graham "Nay, Ivy, Nay" by Sue Brown and Lorraine Irwing "Herding the Calves" by Noirin Ni Riain "Heiemo og Nykkjen" by Kirsten Bråten Berg "Hollin Green Hollin / Thomas The Rhymer / Young Benjie / Tam Lin" by Gordon Mooney "Rideboll" by Hallvard T. Bjørgum "Alex'Julpolska" by Daniel Peterson "Death and the Lady" by John Fleagle

Midsummer Solstice Jun 02, 2018

Show notes

This episode explores some of the better and lesser known celebrations and songs of the midsummer solstice in Europe. In the process it addresses some of the perennial questions of this holiday, like: What is a maypole? Why are all of those Russians bathing together? And how can I find buried treasure when all I’m wearing is this garland of mugwort? And what’s all this about human sacrifice? Music: Intro: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods "Sumer Is Icumen In" by Shelley Phillips "Helan går" by Polyteknikkojen Kuoro "The Fiddle: Kvitbergjen, springleik" by Petters Erik Eriksson, Hans Brimi, Mauno Jarvela & Levy Wilsen "I denna ljuva sommartid" by Frifot "Set Dance: King of the Fairies" by Tom McHaile "Oro Mo Bhaidin" by In Harmony's Way "Tansys Golowan (Midsummer Bonfire)" by Dalla "Sumer Is Icumen In" by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels "Ivan Na Rada (Ivan spoke to Rada)" by Donka Paneva and Mitka Petkova from Malomir Village, Yambol District "Ligojati, Ligojati" by Skandinieki "Midsummer Song" by Stalti Family "Kupala" by Tim Rayborn "Porushka" by Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble "Summer Solstice/Kupala Na Ivana" by Zeellia "Fern Flower" by Nutopia "Celies, Brālīti" by Skandinieki Image: Ivan Sokolov, Night of Ivan Kupala Some articles I used for this episode: Leslie Ellen Jones, “Hi, My Name’s Fox”?: An Alternative Explication of “Lindow Man’s” Fox Fur Armband and Its Relevance to the Question of Human Sacrifice among the Celts” http://celtic.cmrs.ucla.edu/22papers/jones.pdf Sandra Billington, “The Midsummer Solstice As It Was, Or Was Not, Observed in Pagan Germany, Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxon England” http://anthreligion.commons.uaa.alaska.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2015/10/Midsummer-solstice.pdf

Polyphony Worldwide feat. Joseph Jordania May 01, 2018

Show notes

The second in a series on traditional polyphonic singing, this episode visits the hunter-gatherer pygmies of the African rainforest, the peasants of pre-Christian Russia, and the possible residents of outer space, via one very special song from Georgia. It also features an interview with Georgian ethnomusicologist Joseph Jordania, organizer of the International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony in Tbilisi, Georgia, and author of several books on polyphony and early human evolution, including the award winning Who Asked the First Question: Origins of Vocal Polyphony, Human Intelligence, Language and Speech. Fair Folk listener survey: https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/R8QZJT5 Music Intro: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods “Central African Pygmy Polyphony” from Simha Arom and Rounder “Bobangi” by Aka Pygmies (from Aka Pygmy Music - UNESCO Collection from Smithsonian Folkways) “Nzombi [I]” by Aka Pygmies (from Aka Pygmy Music - UNESCO Collection from Smithsonian Folkways) “Mongombi” by Aka Pygmies (from Aka Pygmy Music - UNESCO Collection from Smithsonian Folkways) “Mo-nzombe” by Pygmees Mbenzele “U vorot, vorot solovey poet” (“There is a nightingale singing at the door”)by the Ensemble of village Krasnyi Zilim “Strela (The Arrow)” by Belyj Svet and Vyselki “Love Is Gone (feat. The Gypsy Orchestra of the Cabarets Russes de Paris & Gyula Kokas)” by Micha Thomas & Serge Nicolaieff “Typu (Stepan)” by The Women's Vocal Folklore Ensemble of Chindyanovo “Oak Forest” by Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble “Chakrulo” by Rustavi Folk Choir “Song for "Thinking: Piere” - Gbaya men (Central African Republic - UNESCO Collection from Smithsonian Folkways) “Zinskaro” by Vokal Ansambl Gordela “Hawsa” by Marewrew “Group of Nurstani singers, accompanied by harp (watj) and drum (jamba)” recorded on Sept. 10, 1968, Vienna Phonogram Archive “Dikoboda Sombe” by Aka Pygmy Singers You can find Joseph Jordania’s books and projects at http://josephjordania.com The International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony: http://polyphony.ge/en/home-2/ Learn more about Ekaterina Rets and her band Belyj Svet here: https://www.art-laguna.com/ Survival International advocates for Central African Pygmies: https://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/pygmies

Ancient Multi-part European Folk Singing - Polyphony Part 1 Mar 31, 2018

Show notes

The first in a series on vocal polyphony, this episode gives credit to the ancient origins of vocal polyphony in rural community practices, looking specifically at the polyphony of Lithuania, whose sutartinės are a symbol of the nation's strong pre-christian folk heritage. Music: "Georgia: Vocal" by Greek Orthodox Church Choir "Vay, More" (Oh, the Sea) by The Women's Folklore Ensemble of Staraya Terizmorga Chant dedicated to St. Boniface, patron saint of Germany, 10th century by Quintin Beer and John Clapham "Responsory: Favus Distillans" by Anonymous 4 "Äs Zäuerli" by Öse Schuppel Latvian Song recorded by Andres Jurian in 1895 by Ensemble Sausejas "Kaval Sviri (The Flute Plays)" by Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir "Porazh Veles" (Porazh Village) by The Women's Folklore Ensemble of Staraya Terizmorga "Trep Trepo, Martela" by Trys Keturiose "Kas Tar Taka" by Obelija "Kā Palinkai, Berželi?" (Recorded 1939) "Ka Palinkai, Berželi" by Jievaras "Daudas" by Kūlgrinda "Vakarinė Žvaigždelė" by Kūlgrinda "Responsory: Favus distillans" by Anonymous 4 This episode relied heavily on books and articles by Joseph Jordania and Daiva Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė. Special thanks to Eglė Česnakavičiūtė of the band Obelija for assisting research, translating and explaining sutartinės for me. Image: An elderly group of sutartinės singers from the village of Smilgiai dancing, by Balys Biračas, 1936. Found in Daiva Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė's "The Archaic Lithuanian Polyphonic Chant Sutartinė." Lituanus 52, 2006.

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