I had never 100% identified an editor of a particular songbook, despite extensive efforts. I had his name and an address, not much more. I decided to have a final attempt at tracing him, and planned a wee trip to the archives. SURELY I’d find him there!
And I did. But still nothing to pin him down. It was a very common name.
I did rule out someone else’s theory. Their chap died when mine was clearly alive and active.
Anyway, I came home from the archives to have another go at tracking him down.
I may now also have ruled out one of my alternative theories, sadly. There was a likely tenor soloist, with the right name, consistently linked with a Fifeshire village. For a year or more, it has been my best guess. A singer might well involve himself in collecting songs.
Last night brought success in tracing the singer, but not success in proving him to be my editor! A common name and the right kind of occupation are insufficient to go on, especially when singing might not have been his day-job. I found a daughter’s wedding. Right village, right name, deceased father.
I found her parents. Wedding, census, Dad’s funeral all at the same village address. Parents both apparently sang in the same concert in the right town, as young adults, some years before they married. Looking good, I’d say. I even found the singer performing with the man who collaborated with the editor on an earlier publication.
But there are two problems.
Does a Fife fisherman – in 1910, 1911, 1921 and a retired fisherman when he died – edit a songbook jointly with a famous composer? That may be a somewhat subjective question.
But the bottom line is that I can’t connect the village fisherman, with the man at the Edinburgh address.
Hmm!
Not to worry. I have another line of enquiry, as it happens … another place, another guy with the same common name…
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 