dc.description.abstract | Theoretical frameworks of folk revival applied by folklorists and (ethno-)musicologists have
related revival to identity formation of social groups (divided by class or race), local
communities and national “imagined” communities. New theoretical models extend this
framework with a transnational, post-revival perspective in which the focus lies on what
happens after music traditions are revived. Instead of playing arbiter between “authentic” and
imagined/reconstructed music practices, artists and scholars now re-explore creative balances
between tradition/innovation, national/international, past/future, and even low/high art.
Progressive revival genres have abandoned the concern for “authenticity” by merging
traditional and modern musical idioms. Nonetheless, modern folk artists remain connected to
an initial revival impulse because they depend on its commercial infrastructure and musical
source material.
In this thesis I investigate the combination of British traditional music and American
minimalism through the post-revival lens. A case study of the album Pole Star by English
folk band Spiro demonstrates what compositional techniques of systems music play a role in
Spiro’s arrangements, and how they interact with historical melodies. The analysis exposes
what musical characteristics of these opposite worlds blend together, coexist or clash with one
another. The extended length and lyrical characteristic of historical melodies prove to be
crucial factors in determining the crossroad between tradition and modernity in Spiro’s
approach. | |