Performer: Emmy Rossum as Deladis
Instrumentation: Voice
Culture: Appalachian Mountains (Text originally from England)
While I realize this is from a movie and not a performance, it is no different than someone trying to perform this English ballad who is not originally from England in any context. I chose this video because there was a lot of discussion in Nettl's reading this week regarding oral/aural traditions of passing on music. This song is a Ballad that originally comes from England but here it sung by people in America residing in the Appalachian Mountains. Originally the piece has a much more "proper" English tone to it, but changes based on the performance of this culture.
One of the problems that occurs with oral/aural traditions is the variations the occur when the piece is transferred from nation to nation. Little changes are naturally going to occur the more and more a certain is passed along by aural and oral traditions. This recording sort of proves that performances are going to change based on who is performing it. Clearly this piece sounded different in England in its original setting than it did in this performance. Relating back to our previous readings and discussions regarding authenticity, this performance would be argued as not being "authentic" to its origin. The more and more I study music like this, I think it is healthy for there to be variations the come from oral/aural traditions of learning music like this recording. Yes, we want to keep cultural authenticity of world music alive, but I feel like the reason certain music becomes recognized by different areas of the world is the "not-authentic" performances that occur throughout the world.
Right after Deladis finishes singing, Dr. Penleric asks Deladis where she learned the song. Deladis replies that her grandmother taught it to her. Dr. Penleric than asks if her grandmother was from England to which Deladis replies "no." Dr. Penleric is amazed by this as am I. I think this is a wonderful demonstration of how music should be shared via oral/aural traditions. The point of oral/aural tradition of learning music is for it to spread throughout the entire world, and give it a change to grow in various cultures. Clearly Deladis has joy in her wonderful performance of this ballad, and that's how music like this should be.
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