English Folk Music question?

Question

Does English Folk music tend to be more Anglo-Saxon or more Celtic influenced, I don't really care much, I like celtic sounding music, I would just like to hear some songs about Woden, you know? :) lol

Are there any English Folk bands that are Heathens (seeing as every other country has Heathen folk bands)?

Answer 1

Real folk music in England is jolly jigs about May Day and naughty girls and bringing in the harvest and the like.



Anglo-Saxon music has not really been preserved other than the religious stuff in monestaries. The Celtic music of England has been completely lost during the three cultural revolutions of the first millenia; ie, the Roman occupation, Anglo-Saxo-Danish rule and the Norman conquest.



Welsh, Cornish, Irish and Scottish folk is more Celtic based, English is English (ie Anglo-Saxon) based. You are not going to find direct reference to the old gods preserved in the folk music however they may hint to an older source.

Answer 2

A lot of the sounds we think of as Celtic are well and truly blended in with Saxon and Viking traditional music. If you hear Scandinavian folk music it sounds very familiar and remember Dublin was founded by the Vikings.

The Folk Rock Band "Steeleye Span" had a song about the Celtic goddess Brighid and many of their songs, like "Thomas the Rhymer" refer to faeries. "Pentangle" are a great English folk band from the 70s through till now. Martin Carthy sang heaps of wonderful traditional songs. He was in both bands at one stage.

This page has links to lots of my favourite English Folk Groups but I don't know of any heathen groups.

http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/steeleye.span/songs/harvestofthemoon.html

Geoff

Answer 3

Do you mean authentic folk music, from the past centuries, or neofolk?



Some neofolk has Heathen themes, but I sincerely doubt you're going to find any folk songs mentioning Woden.

Answer 4

'English folk music', at least what's still sung, tends to be more along the lines of murder ballads and narrations of what was once the scandalous news of the day.



I'll have a look round after work and see if I can come up with anything for you.

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Haven't come up with anything, Bobby. You might have better luck with metal. :-)



Or just come to Scotland. It's rocking here.

Answer 5

Hmmm....true English folk music doesn't really address these themes, per se. You might see what glimpses can be found in Sandy Denny/Fairport Convention, but I don't think they are exactly what you are looking for.

Answer 6

Do you recommend respected human beings music, from the previous centuries, or neofolk? some neofolk has Heathen concern concerns, even nonetheless I certainly doubt you will stumble on any human beings songs citing Woden.