All in the Downs

Reflections on Life, Landscape, and Song
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-1-907222-41-2
Verlag: Strange Attractor Press

Buch, Englisch, 288 Seiten, Trade Paperback, Format (B × H): 134 mm x 195 mm, Gewicht: 499 g

Reihe: Strange Attractor Press

A memoir from one of Britain's legendary singers, folklorists, and music historians.A legendary singer, folklorist, and music historian, Shirley Collins has been an integral part of the folk-music revival for more than sixty years. In her new memoir, All in the Downs, Collins tells the story of that lifelong relationship with English folksong—a dedication to artistic integrity that has guided her through the triumphs and tragedies of her life.
 
All in the Downs combines elements of memoir—from her working-class origins in wartime Hastings to the bright lights of the 1950s folk revival in London—alongside reflections on the role traditional music and the English landscape have played in shaping her vision. From formative field recordings made with Alan Lomax in the United States to the “crowning glories” recorded with her sister Dolly on the Sussex Downs, she writes of the obstacles that led to her withdrawal from the spotlight and the redemption of a new artistic flourishing that continues today with her unexpected return to recording in 2016.
 
Through it all, Shirley Collins has been guided and supported by three vital and inseparable loves: traditional English song, the people and landscape of her native Sussex, and an unwavering sense of artistic integrity. All in the Downs pays tribute to these passions, and in doing so, illustrates a way of life as old as England, that has all but vanished from this land.Generously illustrated with rare archival material.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Collins, Shirley

Weitere Mitwirkende

Lee, Stewart

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Volksmusik
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikwissenschaft Allgemein Einzelne Komponisten und Musiker

Über Autor(innen)

Collins, Shirley
Shirley Collins is a renowned folk singer. She is the president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London. Her critically lauded album Lodestar, released in 2016, marked a triumphant return to performance after a thirty-year absence. She is the author of All in the Downs: Reflections on Reflections on Life, Landscape, and Song (Strange Attractor).

Lee, Stewart
Stewart Graham Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director.