Ancient Ballads Traditionally Sung in New England, Volume 4: Ballads 250-295

With analyses by Tristam P. Coffin and musical annotations by Bruno Netti, Helen Hartness Flanders's work constitutes an invaluable source for the student of the ballad, musicology, literature, history, social sciences, and ethnology. With analyses by Tristam P. Coffin and musical annotations by Bruno Netti, Helen Hartness Flanders's work constitutes an invaluable source for the student of the ballad, musicology, literature, history, social sciences, and ethnology.

Ballads offer one of the most fascinating and revealing records of humankind—our deepest feelings and most profound experiences, our laughter and joys, our troubles and sorrows. There is no battle, no romance, no escapade, no tragedy recorded in song which is not rich both in historical significance and in contemporary experience. A ballad is a link with past generations, traditions, and the basic character traits of a people, a region, or a country. The associations formed, the recollections stirred make the study of this form of music a rewarding experience.	

The first printed collection of ballads was made in 1723-25 and entitled simply Old Ballads. That it met with warm approval is indicated by the fact that a third edition was published as soon as 1727. Since the publication of that first collection, interest in the ballad and demand for ballad texts have grown constantly. During the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, several hundred collections were published. Many of these collections have become classics in the field of balladry. With the publication of this fourth and final volume of the Ancient Ballads series, the Helen Hartness Flanders Collection took its place with the other classics in the field.

Volume IV contains child ballads 250-295 with thirty-six versions of "The Sweet Trinity," or "The Golden Vanity," alone. This is representative of the completeness of the series and reflects the years of scholarship that went into the collecting, interviewing, scoring, and editing of the collection.

With analyses by Tristram P. Coffin and musical annotations by Bruno Netti, Helen Hartness Flanders's work constitutes an invaluable source for the student of the ballad, as well as those interested in the related studies of musicology, literature, history, social sciences, and ethnology. Ancient Ballads Traditionally Sung in New England provides endless opportunity for both scholarly study and sheer fascination.

Ballads offer one of the most fascinating and revealing records of humankind—our deepest feelings and most profound experiences, our laughter and joys, our troubles and sorrows. There is no battle, no romance, no escapade, no tragedy recorded in song which is not rich both in historical significance and in contemporary experience. A ballad is a link with past generations, traditions, and the basic character traits of a people, a region, or a country. The associations formed, the recollections stirred make the study of this form of music a rewarding experience. The first printed collection of ballads was made in 1723-25 and entitled simply Old Ballads . That it met with warm approval is indicated by the fact that a third edition was published as soon as 1727. Since the publication of that first collection, interest in the ballad and demand for ballad texts have grown constantly. During the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, several hundred collections were published. Many of these collections have become classics in the field of balladry. With the publication of this fourth and final volume of the Ancient Ballads series, the Helen Hartness Flanders Collection took its place with the other classics in the field. Volume IV contains child ballads 250-295 with thirty-six versions of "The Sweet Trinity," or "The Golden Vanity," alone. This is representative of the completeness of the series and reflects the years of scholarship that went into the collecting, interviewing, scoring, and editing of the collection. With analyses by Tristram P. Coffin and musical annotations by Bruno Netti, Helen Hartness Flanders's work constitutes an invaluable source for the student of the ballad, as well as those interested in the related studies of musicology, literature, history, social sciences, and ethnology. Ancient Ballads Traditionally Sung in New England provides endless opportunity for both scholarly study and sheer fascination. Contents Transcribers of Tunes Abbreviations Used in the Headnotes to the Ballads Abbreviations Used to Refer to Tune Collections in the Musical Annotations The Ballads Sir Andrew Barton (Child 167, but including Henry Martyn, Child 250) John Thomson and the Turk (Child 266) The Suffolk Miracle (Child 272) Our Goodman (Child 274) Get Up and Bar the Door (Child 275) The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin (Child 277) The Farmer's Curst Wife (Child 278) The Keach i' the Creel (Child 281) The Yorkshire Bite (Laws L 1, similar to Child 283) The Coast of Barbary (Laws K33, related to Child 285) The Sweet Trinity or the Golden Vanity (Child 286) Captain Ward and the Rainbow (Child 287) The Mermaid (Child 289) John of Hazelgreen (Child 293) The Irish Lady, or Sally from London (Laws P9, related to Child 295) Index Geographical Index From the Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection, Middlebury College, Vermont, one of the largest and most important such collections in America