Published by Aberdeen University Press for the University of Aberdeen in Association with the School of Scottish Studies, 1981 and 1983. Volume 1 and 2. Hardback books with dust jackets, books measure 25 x 19 cm. 562 and 604 pages.
CONDITION Both volumes in good condition throughout. Some fading to the titles on the spine of the dust jackets but otherwise very good. Both books very clean throughout. No names or writing to the books. Overall very good.
The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection from northeast Scotland, was the work of the schoolmaster and musician, Gavin Greig, and the minister James Bruce Duncan. The project began in 1902 and was completed between then and the First World War. Its largest contributor was Bell Robertson. A selection of the songs was published in 1925 under the title Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs collected in Aberdeenshire by the Late Gavin Greig. Greig and Duncan were originally criticised for including 'impure' versions of the songs, following uncritically the taste and sources of those providing the songs. Some verses were also thought indecent. This resulted in many songs being excluded from the 1925 edition and not being published until the 1980s. However Greig and Duncan's method of collecting without editing is now recognized for its soundness.