England's Folk Revival and the Problem of Identity in Traditional Music

This book explores the relationship between traditional music, English folk music history, and the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, challenging the emphasis on cultural identity and advocating for a more material understanding of traditional music. It argues that identity is a restrictive ideology that runs counter to the processes of traditional music's production and proposes a concept of traditional music that eschews the terms of identity.

Format: Hardback
Length: 220 pages
Publication date: 12 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book explores the intersection of traditional music studies, English folk music history, and the philosophical frameworks of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. It responds to the problematic emphasis on cultural identity in the understanding and valuation of traditional music. Williams traces the origins of contemporary definitions of traditional music, including UNESCO-designated intangible cultural heritage, to the theory of English folk music developed in 1907 by Cecil Sharp. By employing a Deleuzian philosophical analysis and a historical reevaluation of England's folk revival during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, Williams argues that identity is a restrictive ideology that contradicts the material processes of traditional music's production. He reimagines Sharp's appropriation of Darwinian evolutionary concepts, raising questions about what it means today to assert that traditional music "evolves" in light of recent advancements in evolutionary theory. Ultimately, the book proposes a concept of traditional music that eschews the traditional ontological and axiological foundations in favor of an identity-based principle.

For scholars and graduate students in musicology, cultural studies, and ethnomusicology, this book offers an ambitious and provocative challenge to entrenched habits of thought in the study of traditional music and the historiography of England's folk revival. It provides a rich and thought-provoking exploration of the complex relationships between music, identity, and cultural heritage.

Weight: 590g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367648152