FREEDOM’S STRAINS
Yankee Frolics is a project by traditional singers to revive a corpus of American topical songs from the War of 1812.
An overlooked sector of folk music, the War of 1812 was a defining moment for American idealism that bequeathed to the United States a corpus of vibrant, national songs. To citizens of the early Republic, the gallant actions of American commanders, sailors, soldiers, and patriotic citizens were electrifying, and became the inspiration for sweeping patriotic narratives spun out in verse. These songs, birthed in those early days, are the heirlooms of a popular tradition that still informs our perspective on American liberty and the right to self-government.
Yankee Frolics (later amended "Yankee Frolics, brought down to April 27th, 1813") refers to a catalog-style broadside that commemorates a few signal American victories early in the War of 1812. Within a year of the ballad's composition, it was updated to include USS Constitution vs HMS Java, USS Hornet vs HMS Peacock, and the Battle of York (now Toronto).
It was notably collected in Edward Gillespie's Columbian Naval Songster (1813) to the tune of Moll Roe in 9/8. Peter revived the song using the Connemara air Na Ceannabháin Bhána.
THE REVIVALISTS
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Peter Brice
Peter Brice sings old songs in a traditional style, and plays Irish Traditional music on the button accordion. A native Annapolitan and an exponent of Baltimore, Maryland's Irish traditional music community, Peter's work blends singing and musicianship with musicology and history, humor, colorful design, and a vision for traditional culture as a foundation for an intellectual life.
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Lisa Null
Lisa Null has been a mainstay and an inspiration for singers and folk music fans in Washington, DC and on the national folk music scene for more than 50 years. Lisa performs and collects traditional folksongs from North America, Ireland, and Great Britain. She is a strong singer whose indomitable spirit shines through every song she performs. Lisa brings a deep, scholarly interest to bear on her material and has a background in folklore and history, both of which she taught at Georgetown University for several years.
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Judy Cook
Judy grew up in a family that sang for fun. She sang in the Girl Scouts, at Oberlin College, and with the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. When organizers asked her to sing at their festivals and concert venues, she was delighted to share the music she loves. She has been actively touring since 1998 and is appreciated on both sides of the Atlantic for her singing and obvious love and understanding of the old songs – and some good new ones as well.
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Greg Adams
Greg C. Adams is an archivist (MLS), ethnomusicologist (MA), and musician who has been studying the banjo for nearly 30 years. He is an acclaimed banjoist of 19th-century "minstrel" era technique (or stroke style down-picking), an accomplished player of "classic banjo" from the turn of the 20th century, and was Grand Prize winner in the old time 3-finger category at the 2009 Charlie Poole Music Festival (Eden, NC).
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