En muntlig sångkultur kopplad till skrift

Abstract

An oral song culture connected to printed worksThe aim of this article is to investigate the process of diachronic transmission with reference to oral material. Departing from field recordings from the very north of Sweden this article intends to account for the transmitting of oral song traditions connected with two pious song books, Sions sånger/Sion’s Songs and Sions nya sånger/Sion’s New Songs from the 18th century. The song books were published in numerous editions up until 1975 and foremost used by religious dissenters. Only song texts were provided in the books – as for melodies the congregation had to deal with directions to contemporary melodies, mostly hymns. The recordings indicate that several both sacred and profane melodies used during the 18th century may have followed the songs for more than 200 years in oral tradition. The restricted life within the congregations is a prerequisite for this process which goes on within the collective. In the present investigation the contradictory words acceptance and avoidance/repudiation are used to make clear what elements are active as both controlling and cooperative in the dynamic transmitting process.