Dutch Folk Music
Prologue to a new FolkWorld series
Last autumn the Netherlands had the honour of hosting the Womax fair of world music. Many people hoped that finally some attention would be paid to Dutch traditional music. However, this assumption proved to be false as was clearly shown by an article, published in the Dutch newspaper "Algemeen Dagblad", in which journalist Ruud Meijer wondered if there is such a thing as a traditional music culture in the Netherlands.
He
quoted Eric Westerveld, one of the organizers of the Womax fair: "One of the
main features of this year's Womax is music from the Benelux countries". As
examples he mentioned artists such as Farida, Yulduz and Fernando Lameirinhas.
None of these artists are from the Benelux; although they are all tremendously
popular in the Netherlands.
This article gave me the last push I needed to start searching for Dutch roots music. In my opinion Dutch traditional music does exist and I think it is worth telling the world about what is going on in the lowlands of Holland. Each episode of this new FolkWorld series will be devoted to a musician or group who represent(s) one of the most important trends/ movements in Dutch traditional music. The Netherlands may be a small country, but there are significant differences between traditional music from, for example, the north and the south. By portraying a variety of musicians I hope to give you a clear picture of Dutch traditional music from both the past and the present.
This subject interests me a great deal, but there are still a lot of things I would like to find out. I would appreciate it very much if you could send me any questions you have regarding Dutch traditional music. Are there any artists you know but would like to know more about? What is your personal opinion about Dutch traditional music? Please, contact me if you have any questions or suggestions and assist me in writing an intriguing History of Dutch Folk Music.
You can contact Eelco Schilder.
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