Ballad of Impossible Tasks  
In the early years of business, he printed a  
series of chapbooks (aka “Broadsides”), and  
invented his own printing press named the  
"Auchmedden,“ which was a pedal-  
operated device that accepted stone,  
copper, as well as type surfaces for printing.  
One of his publications, “The Annals of  
Peterhead” (1819), had copper-plate  
illustrations which he himself engraved.  
Made Public Painting of Peter Bucan.  
Scarce Ancient Ballads (1819) and Gleanings of Scarce Old Ballads (1825)  
were part of his early publications. Having compromised his health, Peter retired to  
Peterhead and devoted himself to printing a collection of Scottish ballads from oral  
sources. Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland (1828) contained  
a large number of unpublished ballads. He also created a collection called Scottish  
Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads (1845). Two unpublished volumes of  
Buchan's ballad collections can be found in the British Museum. The connection  
with Peter’s efforts is probably why many believe that the popular ballad that we  
know today as “Scarborough Faire” was from Scots origins, though that may not  
be entirely accurate.  
Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11,  
1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist  
who also collected Scots, English, and other European  
ballads. Francis J. Child was Boylston professor of  
rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he  
produced influential editions of English poetry. The  
Child Ballads were published in five volumes between  
1882 and 1898. Child was primarily a literary scholar  
with little interest in the music of the ballads, but his  
work became a major contribution to the study of  
English-language and of folk music. A version of his  
“Ballad of Impossible Tasks” is the one presented in  
this broadside.  
The melody that we associate for the ballad today first  
appeared within the works of Frank Kidson (15 November  
1855 – 7 November 1926). Frank was an English folksong  
collector and music scholar, and he was interested in  
capturing folk music, which he gathered with the help of  
his niece Emma Mary Kidson (whom he called Ethel).  
His early work on folk music was published in Old English  
Country Dances (1890) and Traditional Tunes: A  
collection of ballad airs (1891). He was also one of the  
founders of the Folk-Song Society in 1898 and this guided  
his knowledge of early ballad literature. English folk-  
song and dance by Frank Kidson and Mary Neal was  
published in 1915.  

< Page 01 ..... Page 02 ...... Page 03 >

 

Make a free website with Yola