The Singing Style of Bob Hart: A Study of Performance in Traditional Song

Description

M.A. dissertation which considers the singing style of one Suffolkman, Bob Hart, based on a predominantly musicological analysis of three songs from his repertoire. A number of performances of these songs have been transcribed in detail, and then examined and compared from a specifically intrinsic musical viewpoint, that is, in terms of the technical components of song-speech and music. By reference to external factors, such as the context of each performance, the manner of voice production and the informant's own aesthetics and cultural background, the study isolates some of the musical perameters of his singing style and indicates ways in which cultural, contextual, temperamental, physical and music-technical constraints may all have a bearing on the individual's manner of rendition.


The study's first section, on the transcription of folk song, includes a critical survey of the most important developments in transcription techniques, to put both the collector's methods and results into perspective. The following section details transcriptional procedure, and includes a glossary of symbols used. There follow typed texts, tune transcriptions and commentaries for the three songs 'All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough', 'The Female Cabin Boy' and 'Banks of Sweet Primroses'.


The final section on Bob Hart's singing style includes a biographical note, sections on vocal aesthetics, performance style, vocal style and the relationship between words and music in vocal performance. An Appendix gives a table of pitch modifications.

Access and usage

Reproduction

Access

The theses and dissertations in this subfonds are available for consultation in the searchroom of Special Collections, University of Leeds, by all bona fide researchers. Conditions relating to access and use have, in a number of cases, been applied to particular items by individual depositors. These are noted within the relevant individual records.

Material in this collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can only be supplied by the Library for research or private study within the terms of copyright legislation. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.

Related material

The audiotape submitted with this dissertation is a compilation of field recordings made by Ginette Dunn as part of her 1977 Ph.D. research into popular singing traditions in and around Snape and Blaxhall, Suffolk (see LAVC/SRP/1/009 and accompanying audiotapes LAVC/SRE/A329r -407r). Ginette Dunn recorded interviews with Bob Hart, and his singing in local pubs and at home, during the period 1974-1976.


The tape also includes copies of songs taken from the commercial disc, 'Songs from Suffolk', produced by Topic in 1972 (Topic 12TS225).


See also Donald Mackay's B.A. dissertation (Leeds, 1971), 'The Tradition of Pub Singing in the Villages of East Suffolk, With Songs from Bob Hart of Snape and Percy Webb of Tunstall'( LAVC/SRP/2/170).



1 audiotape, LAVC/SRE/A535r.

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