V is the Valley
Thank you to all who have joined me on this journey through the folksongs of New England -- most recently at the Danvers Historical Society's Tapley Memorial Hall, Danvers, MA, in September! You can continue to explore Flanders' collection on this site.
Find lyrics to the songs from V is the Valley here.
Find lyrics to the songs from V is the Valley here.
A Concert-Conversation
featuring New England Folksongs from the Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection
with singer-storyteller Jack DesBois
Helen Hartness Flanders (1890-1972) was a “song-catcher" who devoted her life to collecting and preserving New England folk music culture. From 1930 to the late 1950s, she collected over four thousand field recordings of folk songs, fiddle tunes and stories from the musicians she interviewed. Her collection, currently housed at Middlebury College in Vermont, is a treasure trove of living history.
Singer-storyteller Jack DesBois breathes new life into the old folk songs of the Flanders Collection. In this program, he shares the songs in all their delight, horror, humor and gravity, inviting audiences into a conversation about the enduring role of folk music in our world today.
This program originated in 2018 as “Songs for Today: A Conversation with the Folk Songs of Vermont." For more information on Songs for Today and V is the Valley, visit visthevalley.weebly.com/.
Singer-storyteller Jack DesBois breathes new life into the old folk songs of the Flanders Collection. In this program, he shares the songs in all their delight, horror, humor and gravity, inviting audiences into a conversation about the enduring role of folk music in our world today.
This program originated in 2018 as “Songs for Today: A Conversation with the Folk Songs of Vermont." For more information on Songs for Today and V is the Valley, visit visthevalley.weebly.com/.
If you are interested in booking this event for your organization, contact DesBois Tutoring & Enrichment at 978-500-8639, learn@desboistutoring.org, or via our Contact Page.
To learn more about Helen Flanders and her quest to preserve New England music culture, read our article “Prospecting for Literature" and listen to songs from her Ballad Collection here.
Find lyrics to all the songs in V is the Valley here.
Find lyrics to all the songs in V is the Valley here.
Promotional video for the educational enrichment program V is the Valley: A Concert-Conversation featuring New England Folksongs from the Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection.
Folks gathered for an August 2022 presentation of V is the Valley at historic Gould Barn in Topsfield, MA.
“The Lumberman's Alphabet," a logging camp song from Vermont, performed by Jack DesBois in 2021. Helen Hartness Flanders collected this song in 1958 from Merritt Earl in Eden, Vermont.
“I Do, Don't You," a spiritual, performed by Jack DesBois (and an anonymous cardinal) in 2021. Helen Hartness Flanders collected this song in 1946 from Martha Davenport in Manchester, Vermont.
The full 1 hr 45 min audio from the original 2018 concert-conversation in Middlebury, VT.
| dt_e_v_is_the_valley_informational_sheet.pdf |
A downloadable and printable informational flyer for V is the Valley.
