Frank Kidson

[1] He worked briefly with his brother in an antique business, then turned to landscape painting, for which he travelled widely, which gave him the opportunity to get to know local music.

[1] His early work on folk music, published in Old English Country Dances (1890) and Traditional Tunes: A collection of ballad airs (1891) gave impetus to a rising interest in the subject.

Other aspects of the developing folksong revival were less welcome to him, in particular Cecil Sharp’s enthusiasm for institutionalising folk music and dance in education.

[3] He published one further book of folk music A Garland of English Folk-Songs (1926); and after his death, on 7 November 1926, Ethel Kidson edited two further books from his collections, Folk Songs of the North Countrie (1927) and English Peasant Songs (1929).

A large part of his personal collection, including thirteen folio volumes of broadsides, was acquired at auction on his death by the Mitchell Library.