Popular Music of the Olden Time vols. 1-2 - Chappell, William 1715-1886; Macfarren, G.A. (London Cramer, Beale, & Chappell, 1855)
William Chappell (1809-1888) was an English writer on music, a partner in the London musical firms of Chappell & Co. and, later, Cramer & Co. In 1838, he issued his first work, A Collection of National English Airs, consisting of Ancient Song, Ballad, and Dance Tunes, in two volumes, one containing 245 tunes, the second some elucidatory remarks and an essay on English minstrelsy. The airs were harmonised by Macfarren, Dr. Crotch, and Wade. Chappell was the first who seriously studied traditional English tunes. He patiently continued his investigations into antiquarian music, and waited till 1855 before issuing an improved edition of his collection. It was renamed Popular Music of the Olden Time, and arranged in two octavo volumes, letterpress and music interspersed. The tunes were harmonised by Macfarren. Immense learning and research are displayed throughout the work, which at once became the recognised authority upon the subject. It suffers from Chappell's prejudices against Scotland and everything Scottish; and Dr. Burney, who did not appreciate Elizabethan madrigals, is repeatedly attacked with unjustifiable exaggeration, notably in the preface. A new posthumous edition, edited by Harry Ellis Wooldridge, appeared in 1893, with the title Old English Popular Music, and the tunes re-harmonised on the basis of the mediæval modes; this edition is practically a new work (see records 04I21-22)
Different edition but identical contents to 04I20 (only the first volume)
2 vols. with continued pagination
Originally published in 1838-40
A Collection of Ancient Songs, Ballads, and Dance Tunes illustrative of the National Music of England. With Short Introductions to the Different Periods, and Notices of the Airs from Writers of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. And also a Short Account of the Minstrels
Keywords: 19th Century (1801-1900); Music history; Folk music; Song; Ballade; Dance; United Kingdom