Singing and Dancing Wherever She Goes: A Life of Maud Karpeles

Abstract

Simona Pakenham. London: English Folk Dance and Song Society, 2011. xii + 276pp. Illus. Bibliog. Discog. Index. ISBN 978-0-85418-216-9. [pounds sterling]10.00. Maud Karpeles is perhaps the most influential figure in the English folk revival after Cecil Sharp. She is certainly among those few in the pantheon who have shaped the course and nature of the revival, so it is both odd and regrettable that there has until now been no substantial account of her life. This book goes some way to addressing that lacuna. Its aims are modest. On the back cover we are told: 'It is not a critical biography, nor does it attempt an academic analysis of the context in which she moved and viewed the world.' [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] So what does it contain? The answer is, a very detailed and affectionate chronological description of her life. This is not to say that it is unscholarly: far from it, it is fully referenced, with over four hundred endnotes providing the sources for the account. But an analysis of the sources reveals that 90 per cent of them are from just two people: Maud Karpeles herself, and Cecil Sharp. Two thirds of those emanating from Karpeles are, not unnaturally, drawn from her unpublished autobiography, while nine out of ten of the Sharp references are to his diaries. Most of the latter relate to the visits to America in 1916-18. But very little material from outside this restricted repertoire is brought in to give a more rounded picture. This is a pity, as Karpeles was undoubtedly a figure who engendered strong opinions in many of her wide circle of friends and professional colleagues. An early focus of the book is the birth and development of Karpeles's interest in folk dance and song, and her relationship with Cecil Sharp. Pakenham traces the terms in which Sharp writes to Karpeles, from 'Dear Miss Karpeles' in mid-1911, through 'Dear Maud', to 'My dear little Maudie' by 1913 (but fails to mention 'My dear Minima' in 1915), while leaving us in no doubt of her view of the platonic nature of the friendship (and, indeed, pointing out Karpeles's strong attachments to a number of her male friends). What emerges most strongly is the enormous commitment and energy that Karpeles put into her work with Sharp and for the EFDS. The clear vision that she and Sharp shared about what was 'true' folk song, and what was not, which was to remain with her for the rest of her life, was already evident when they went to America, and so they avoided towns that were too 'advanced' or 'influenced by missionaries'. The description of the hardships and privations that Karpeles and Sharp shared in the Appalachians leaves us in no doubt about their commitment to the work and to supporting each other in it. …

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