Cecil Sharp
b. Cecil James Sharp, 22 November 1859, Denmark Hill, London, England, d. 23 June 1924. Sharp is most commonly remembered for his collecting of folk songs and dance tunes in order to preserve the tradition of popular music. He collected a wealth of material, both in Britain and the USA, where he made regular trips to the Appalachian Mountains, often with his assistant Maud Karpeles (b. 12 November 1885, London, England). Sharp was the third child of nine, having four brothers and four sisters. Cecil, always a weak child, left school in 1874. His early hay-fever turned to asthma in later life. His interest in music was largely inherited from his mother, though both parents encouraged him. He entered Clare College, Cambridge, in October 1879, where he read Mathematics. Leaving in 1882, he went to Australia, where he took a job washing Hansom cabs in Adelaide. There followed various jobs as a bank clerk and violin teacher, and eventually he became assistant organist at St. Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide. During one trip to England, a bout of typhoid caused paralysis in Sharp's legs. In early 1891 he tried unsuccessfully to get his compositions published, and returned to England the following year. He taught in England until 1896, and was Principal of Hampstead Conservatory until 1905. In 1911 Sharp founded the English Folk Dance Society, which later became the English Folk Dance And Song Society (EFDSS), having amalgamated with the English Folk Song Society. The first song Sharp collected was The Seeds Of Love, which he heard his gardener, John England, singing. This song was the first to be included in his book FOLK SONGS FROM SOMERSET. Between 1916 and 1918, often accompanied by his long time assistant Karpeles, Sharp spent one year in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of America. He collected a wealth of material and produced numerous notes, books and articles on song and dance music. It is impossible to imagine what would have gone undiscovered, had it not been for his enthusiasm and knowledge of the subject. Sharp died on 23 June 1924, in Hampstead, London, and was cremated at Golders Green, London on 25 June. A memorial service was held at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. A year earlier, his university had conferred on him the degree of Master of Music. Maud Karpeles died on 1 October 1976 at the age of 91. Sharp left his manuscript collection of songs, tunes and dance notes to Clare College, and his library to the English Folk Dance Society. The foundation stone for Cecil Sharp House, the London Headquarters of the English Folk Dance And Song Society, was laid on 24 June 1929. 
Further reading: FOLK SONGS FROM SOMERSET, with C.L. Marson. SONGS OF THE WEST, with S. Baring Gould. ENGLISH FOLK SONGS FOR SCHOOLS, with S. Baring Gould. ENGLISH FOLK CAROLS, Cecil Sharp. ENGLISH FOLK CHANTERYS, Cecil Sharp. ENGLISH FOLKSONGS FROM THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS, Cecil Sharp, edited by Maud Karpeles. CECIL SHARP, A.H.Fox Strangeways with Maud Karpeles. CECIL SHARP-HIS LIFE AND WORK, Maud Karpeles. THE CRYSTAL SPRING (ENGLISH FOLK SONGS COLLECTED BY CECIL SHARP), edited by Maud Karpeles.