Traveller’s Joy: Songs of English and Scottish Travellers and Gypsies 1965-2005: Compiled by Mike Yates; musical transcriptions by Elaine Bradtke; editorial assistance by David Atkinson and Malcolm Taylor; audio recordings by Mike Yates.
Traveller’s Joy is a celebration of the extraordinary and ultimately unique musical legacy of the Gypsies and Travellers of England and Scotland.
The eminent singers and folklorists Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger once wrote that ‘the travelling people have become the real custodians of English and Scots traditional song’. No wonder, then, that over the years folk song scholars and collectors have been fascinated by this rich heritage. Mike Yates is no exception and has met and recorded many fine singers from the travelling people of England and Scotland. Examples from their repertoires are presented here.
Traveller’s Joy is first and foremost a songbook – a collection of over fifty songs to be learned, sung, and enjoyed by the reader. It is not meant to be a scholarly dissertation, though the intention is to portray the singers and their music with honesty and sensitivity. To enhance and complement the texts and musical transcriptions, an accompanying twenty-track CD allows the reader to hear some of the performers themselves. In addition, there is an authoritative introductory essay by Mike Yates, along with biographical sketches of the singers, notes on the songs, photographs of the singers and of travelling life, and a bibliography and discography.
Published December 2006.
ISBN -13 978 0 85418 200 8; IBSN -10 0 85418 200 4 |
