Chronicles: Volume One

Interest in defining folk music as a specific art form with connection to folklore and other cultural products of the peasant classes began in the mid-19th century, as Romantic composers turned to traditional melodies as parts of their newfound elevation of the individual, valorization of nature, and exploration of personal emotions as a guiding force for art. There are few defining formal features for what constitutes this kind of traditional music, since its genres and structures vary geographically. Instead, originally, folk music was thought of as part of an oral tradition, consisting of songs with no known composers. Typically, it was also the music of rural communities rather than cities. Finally, in subject matter, folk music was often tied to celebrations, commemorated historical events, or applied to private rituals such as births, weddings, and funerals. 

In the 1940s and 50s, the American folk music revival was sparked by a renewed interest in folk arts like square dancing. Now-iconic folk musicians like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie became popular for recording music drawn from rural musical traditions across the United States, as well as composing new songs in traditional styles. Despite folk music’s rural origins, this revival happened mainly in urban areas like New York City, where dozens of clubs, coffeehouses, and record stores catered to folk musicians and fans.