Talk:Folk baroque

Nice article

Nice article! I've got a few bits that I'm keen to add - particularly some refs from the Harper book on the folk revival. I'll try not to bugger up what you've done! Bluewave (talk) 08:53, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

I've added a bit about 3/4 AD which must be a landmark. It sounds very like what Jansch and Renbourn became famous for, but about 5 years earler. I'm not sure about the definition...and I'm still searching sources. I always understood that folk baroque referred particularly to a contrapunctal style of playing (hence "baroque") in which several (or at least 2) melodic lines are developed simultaneously. That can be achieved either in duet form (as in the Bert & John kind of format) or, if you are clever enough, on one guitar. Anji must be one of the earliest examples. I'm not sure that DADGAD tuning is a defining factor: it can support a contrapunctal style , but it is often used for just melody + drone playing. Bluewave (talk) 11:15, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Good additions. The definition was the most difficult bit as the sources were rather at odds. I wouldn't disagree with the above if it can be worked in.--Sabrebd (talk) 20:44, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Definition

I think the definition is worth some effort, even if it involves a lot of drafting and rewriting. What about something like the following for a (rather log-winded, but mostly referenceable) definition:

The term "folk baroque" was originally coined by Robin Denislow, who did not define it, but singled out Graham's recording of traditional English folk song ‘Seven Gypsys’ on Folk, Blues and Beyond (1964) as the beginning of the style. Grove's Dictionary does not offer a definition, but does make use of the term, for example in its article on the guitarist John Renbourn.

It was an acoustic guitar style which emerged in England in the 1960s, blending melodies from the British Isles with Nashville-based country picking styles; baroque ornaments such as grace notes, turns and trills; and blues techniques such as note bends. The emphasis was on interweaving, polyphonic melody lines, rather than a chordal structure. The term is often applied to a duet form of playing (such as the duet style developed by Bert Jansch and John Renbourn) in which both players pursue melodic themes, rather than playing "rhythm" and "lead" parts. Quite often, one player is playing a repetitive "riff" sequence, whilst the other plays a freer and more ornamented counter-melody (analogous to the "divisions on a ground" of Baroque music). The term is also applied to solo playing which displays similar characteristics although, for the solo guitarist, the maintaining of a polyphonic texture is far more challenging. The adoption of DADGAD tuning simplified the playing techniques required for playing modal folk songs and became a common feature of folk baroque playing.

BTW I've just realised that the person who created this article is the same one who's proposing a rework of Classical Music of the UK (or whatever it's called...I can never remember). Bluewave (talk) 13:21, 4 March 2009 (UTC)