Speaker Series: Edith Folke: Collecting Traditional Folk Songs in Rural Ontario

This month Allan Kirby, musician, and music scholar, performs and talks about how early folk ballads from the old countries, emphasizing Ireland, were adapted for their new surroundings. These unique songs and tunes generated interest from musicologist Charles Louis Seeger Jr. (Pete Seeger’s father) a professor at UCLA. Subsequently audio recordings were made by noted Canadian folklorist Edith Folke at P. G. Towns’ General Store in Douro, and throughout Peterborough County from 1956 to 1964. Dr. Kirby wrote his PhD thesis at Carleton University on the subject.