UNTO BRIGG FAIR: BY JOSEPH TAYLOR AND OTHER LINCOLNSHIRE SINGERS RECORDED IN 1908 BY PERCY GRAINGER

Very Rare Leader LP of Percy Grangers Field recordings of traditional Lincolnshire singers. A truly fantastic and unique testament

Leader LEA 4050 (LP, mono, UK, 1972)

Produced by Bob Thomson, Bill Leader and Dave Bland.
Notes by Bob Thomson.
Disc transfers by Bill Leader and A. F. R. Lawrence.
Cylinder transfers by The Library of Congress.
Special filtering and equalisation by Nic Kinsey, Livingston Studios and D. A. Pickett, E. M. I. Studios.
LP master cut by John Wadley, E. M. I. Studios.
Sleeve and booklet designed by Janet Kerr.
Made and printed in England by Brier Press, High Wycombe, Bucks.

All tracks sung by Joseph Taylor (i.e. all of side 1 and tracks 1, 6 and 7 on side 2) unless another singer is noted.

Four digit numbers plus letter denote Gramophone Company matrix numbers; two and three digit numbers are Grainger cylinder numbers.

Side 1

Side 2

1.       Sprig o' Thyme* (Roud 3) (8747e)

2.      Died for Love* (Roud 60; Laws P25) (8748e)

3.      Brigg Fair* (Roud 1083) (8748e)

4.     The White Hare* (Roud 1110) (8750e)

5.      Lord Bateman* (Roud 40; Child 53L) (8751e)

6.      Rufford Park Poachers (Roud 1759) (8752e)

7.      The Gipsy's Wedding Day (Roud 229; Laws O4) (8752e)

8.      Worcester City* (Roud 218; Laws P30) (8753e)

9.     Creeping Jane* (Roud 1012; Laws Q23) (8754e)

10.  Murder of Maria Martin* (Roud 215) (8756e)

11.   Sprig o' Thyme* (Roud 3) (8756e)

1.       Bold William Taylor* (Roud 158; Laws N11) (2518f)

2.      Mr Thomson: Lord Bateman (Roud 40; Child 53) (95, 96)

3.      Joseph Leaning: Green Bushes (Roud 1040; Laws P2) (100)

4.     Joseph Leaning: The Sheffield Apprentice (Roud 399; Laws O39) (100-102)

5.      George Gouldthorpe: Horkstow Grange (Roud 1760) (84)

6.      Landlord and Tenant (Roud 1761) (106)

7.      Bold Nevison (Roud 1082) (110)

8.      George Wray: Lord Melbourne (Roud 233) (111)

9.     Dean Robinson: Bold Robin Hood (Roud 71; Child 140) (130)

10.  Dean Robinson: T'owd Yowe Wi' One Horn (Roud 1762) (131)

Sleeve notes by Bob Thomson

In the early years of the century a few enlightened folk song collectors took the revolutionary step of recording the actual performances of country singers and musicians, thus capturing all the idiosyncrasies of style, where before the words and music had been laboriously and relatively inaccurately transcribed on paper. The cylinder phonograph had made this huge step forward possible.

Bartok's collecting in eastern Europe is well known. Less well is the pioneer work in England by the Australian composer and pianist, Percy Grainger.

Grainger started recording on location in 1906. He visited various places in England including north Lincolnshire where he recorded several outstanding singers including Joseph Taylor whose singing of Brigg Fair was the inspiration of Delius' English Rhapsody.

Grainger revisited Lincolnshire in 1908 and in the same year brought Joseph Taylor to the studios of the Gramophone Company to make commercial disc recordings of some of his songs.

It is from these two 1908 ventures that the recordings on this LP are taken. Carefully remastered to eliminate as far as possible the technical short-comings of the period, they are not just old and rare recordings of historic interest, they are amongst the very finest performances of English traditional singing ever to be permanently collected.

The Gramophone Company recordings were made in London on July 9 and 11, 1908.

The cylinders were recorded in Brigg, Lincolnshire.
Numbers 84, 95, 96, 100, 101, 102 on May 25, 1908.
Number 111 on May 27, 1908.
Numbers 130, 131 on May 27, 1908.

GRADING: This is an EX library copy (Leybourne Hospital, Kent) and so does have a stamp on the cover and also the labels. Other than that the vinyl is in stunning condition with only faint signs of play

Vinyl is graded a Strong EX, glossy sheen and clean. Hard to locate a better playing surface
Cover grades VG, does have the stamps as above. Comes complete with thick booklet

Grading System: In order to assist everyone who buys and sells rare discs, Record Collector magazine has originated a set of standards for the condition of second-hand records, I have added a (+) or (-) to my gradings where applicable.
MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.  EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.  VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable. GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc. FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced. POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing. BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

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