Matthew Gelbart Quotes

“The distinction between "classical" and "folk" music only really emerged in the late eighteenth and into the nineteenth centuries. The words only make sense (to the extent they do) when they're set in opposition to each other. The musicologist Matthew Gelbart has written a terrific book on the subject called The Invention of Folk Music and Art Music, in which he details how it used to be that musicians just played music: what mattered was the place and purpose, not so much who wrote the tune or played it or how they spoke. The same musicians would cover courts, pop songs and worship. These musicians travelled and shape-shifted. If dancing was required, they would play dance standards. If the mood was contemplative, they would unravel something slow and soulful.”
― Kate Molleson, Irish Pages, Vol. 12, No. 2: Scotland