Afmic education in JocietyPeople do not like to be thought old-fashioned, and if the modern
city-dweller looks down upon folk music then the country person
will quickly come to do so. On the other hand it requires very little
encouragement to restore to the folk singer or dancer his faith in his
own art. But our encouragement must have nothing of patronage
about it. It would be quite ineffective to attempt to encourage the art
of folk music because we thought it was good for certain classes of
society but not good enough for us.
Folk music has its limitations as have all art forms, but within those
limitations the best folk music is comparable with the work of the
great masters.
So far I have dealt with music within the nation where there may
be supposed to be a certain community of thought and where a certain
way of life is shared. The question now arises whether folk music can
act as a social binding force internationally as well as nationally. I think
it can. But with the proviso that a person should be saturated in the
folk music of his own country before attempting to understand that
of other countries. He will then be in a position to appreciate the di-
versity which makes for unity and will not merely be cultivating a
cosmopolitan taste.
In folk song, there is of course the language difficulty, but folk song
may form a very good introduction to the study of a foreign tongue.
And it is possible to translate folk song without losing too much of the
original feeling and sense. I hope this will be shown in the folk song
book which the International Folk Music Council is now preparing
for publication.
In folk dances language does not present an obstacle and for
that reason it has a more universal appeal than folk song. Just
because of the absence of words, dance is more fundamental in ex-
pression than song, that is to say it lies more below the level of
consciousness.
Those who attend the festivals which the International Folk
Music Council holds every year in different parts of the world never
fail to find that, despite the great diversity of style, there are common
themes which run through the dances of countries several thousand
miles apart. Surely they will be reminded of the words of the New-
foundland fisherman: ‘How remarkable that these strangers should
be so much like ourselves.’
But actually it is not surprising because in folk dances all the world
over there lie embedded the rituals that were once associated with
religious beliefs which are common to all mankind. These beliefs have