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Whether or not classical ballads in Newfoundland are actually sung by men to any
larger extent than women, figures show little differenlation between both genders'
repcnoirc (Table IV). What they suggest is a male and female balanced repertoire when
judged on the basis of frequency as well as breadth. The top types in the frequency scale
naturally offer the most accurate indication for this evaluation (see Table IV). Of these
thirteen types, two only (eh 286, 278) show a striking majority of male singers. A
tentative explanation could be that "The Golden Vanity" (eh 286), sets the ballad situation
in a specifically male occupational environment (aboard ships), while "A Farmer's Curs!
Wire" (eh 278) is typically a man's song poking fun at a shrew. Ballads, it appears, are
mostly found scattered in male as well as female general repertoires, and limited even to a
single item. Of the twenty-seven singers, only four, including two men and two women,
count as many as three ballad types (see Table Ill). This average agrees with Doucelte and
Quigley's data for the regional classical ballad repertoires across Canada:
Many of the ballad singers had substantial repertoires of traditional song,
of which the Child ballads fonned only a small segment. Two or
three would appear to be the average number of Child ballads in a typical
repertoire. 1
As well as repertoire size, religious affiliations feature in a fair balance. That all
singers except for one declare to have a religion is no surprise for Newfoundland. Of
these, there are eighteen Protestants and eight Roman Catholics. A majority of Anglicans
in the Protestant group is also understandable considering the representation of the different
denominations across Newfoundland as a whole. Pam Morgan gives support to a mostly
English/Anglican background for the genre. The musicologist and folksinger has extensive
experience of ballad singing, which she has acquired from touring the province with
"Figgy Duff' and acquainting herself with local singers and their repertoires:
Some communities in Newfoundland are totally taken over by Pentecostals
and Jehovah's Witnesses, and they don't want singing or dancing or
anything. It's a shame too because they've got a stranglehold on a lot of
communities. Ballads, a lot of limes, come from Protestants; this is why
Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals can't get in any Catholic community
because, I guess, the religion is so strong, but they usually penetrate
communities that are Protestant to begin with, like the Church of England,
for instance, are the ones where a lot of the English folksongs come from,
the Child bal1ads and things like that. So, yes, I think the evangelical
religions did a lot of damage 10 ballads in particular, because they mostly
IDoucellc and Quigley 12.