List of folk song collections
This is a list of folk song collections including pioneer and notable work in collecting folk songs.
Many such collections were made in the 19th century. The earlier ones are often considered to be parts of the National Romanticist interests in folklore. The monumental efforts of single enthusiasts laid the foundation for the modern academic investigations of epic folk songs. The comments made by various collectors also indicate that they respected and were inspired by the work done by their counterparts. Child's comments show that he indeed could read and understand ballads in Scandinavian languages.
The following table lists comparable pioneering works from different countries or language areas, and corresponding modern scholarly collections or classifications. The 'pioneers' are not necessarily the first collectors, but they were each the first to gain widespread recognition, and to provide classification or at least useful enumeration.
| Country/region | Title | Collector | Modern classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Danmarks gamle Folkeviser (DgF) | started by S. H. Grundtvig 1853. | The original classification is essentially retained but expanded. |
| Faroe Islands | Færøiske kveder | V.U. Hammershaimb | Føroya kvæði. Corpus carminum Færoensium (CCF) |
| France | Chants et chansons populaires de la France | Théophile Marion Dumersan | The original classification is still in use. |
| Germany | ? | John Meier? | Deutsche Volkslieder mit ihren Melodien. Balladen |
| Great Britain, and American variants | Child Ballads | Francis James Child | The original classification is still in use. |
| Iceland | Íslenzk fornkvæði | Jón Sigurdsson, Svend Grundtvig | The original classification is still in use. |
| Italy:Lombardy | Canti popolari Lombardi | Giulio Ricordi and Leopoldo Pullè | The original classification is still in use. |
| Italy:Piedmont | Canti popolari del Piemonte | Costantino Nigra | The original classification is still in use. |
| Italy:Sicily | Canti popolari siciliani | Giuseppe Pitrè | The original classification is still in use. |
| Norway | Utsyn yver gamall norsk folkevisedikting (1912) | Leiv Heggstad | Ådel Gjøstein Blom , Norske mellomalderballadar (NMB) incomplete; Visearkivet Oslo CD-ROM uses TSB |
| Sweden | Svenska folk-visor från forntiden | Erik Gustaf Geijer and Arvid August Afzelius | Sveriges Medeltida Ballader (SMB). |
| China | Anthology of Yuefu Poetry (translated) | Guo Maoqian | Traditional, with some elaboration |
See also
Bibliography
- Marcello Sorce Keller, "The Problem of Classification in Folksong Research: a Short History", Folklore, XCV(1984), no. 1, 100- 104.