Musicologist, Author. Born the daughter of inventor, businessman and Vermont Governor James Hartness, in 1911 she married inventor and businessman Ralph Flanders, who served in the US Senate from 1946 to 1959. In 1930 the Vermont Commission on Country Life asked her to record New England folk songs before the expansion of popular music resulting from the advent of commercial radio stations ended the practice of these traditional songs being passed down orally. For more than 30 years, she traveled New England and New York, visiting with residents, many of them elderly, and recording their music. In addition, she made numerous trips to England, mainland Europe and Australia to trace the origins of many American folk songs and document how they were changed by geography and time. The "Flanders Ballad Collection," which she donated to Middlebury College, was later transcribed, and copies of the recordings and sheet music are housed at the Library of Congress and Harvard University. She also authored eight books on folk music, as well as pamphlets and newspaper and magazine articles. The Flanders Collection comprises more than 4,500 songs which would have been lost without her efforts, and her commitment to historic preservation was recognized with honorary college degrees and other awards.
Musicologist, Author. Born the daughter of inventor, businessman and Vermont Governor James Hartness, in 1911 she married inventor and businessman Ralph Flanders, who served in the US Senate from 1946 to 1959. In 1930 the Vermont Commission on Country Life asked her to record New England folk songs before the expansion of popular music resulting from the advent of commercial radio stations ended the practice of these traditional songs being passed down orally. For more than 30 years, she traveled New England and New York, visiting with residents, many of them elderly, and recording their music. In addition, she made numerous trips to England, mainland Europe and Australia to trace the origins of many American folk songs and document how they were changed by geography and time. The "Flanders Ballad Collection," which she donated to Middlebury College, was later transcribed, and copies of the recordings and sheet music are housed at the Library of Congress and Harvard University. She also authored eight books on folk music, as well as pamphlets and newspaper and magazine articles. The Flanders Collection comprises more than 4,500 songs which would have been lost without her efforts, and her commitment to historic preservation was recognized with honorary college degrees and other awards.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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