Music of Cornwall

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Cornwall has been historically Celtic, though Celtic-derived traditions had been moribund for some time before being revived during a late 20th century roots revival.

Celtic music	Music of the United Kingdom
Brittany and Northern Spain	England
Cornwall	Scotland
Man	Wales
Ireland	Northern Ireland
Celtic Canada and Celtic America	Caribbean and Indian

1 History
2 Instrumentation
3 Modern scene
4 References
5 External Links
6 See also

[edit] History

In medieval Cornwall there are records of performances of ‘Miracle Plays’ in the Cornish language, with considerable musical involvement. Also (as frequently mentioned in the Launceston borough accounts) minstrels were hired to play for saints day celebrations. The richest families (including Arundell, Bodrugan, Bottreaux, Grenville, and Edgecumbe) retained their own minstrels, and many others employed minstrels on a casual basis. There were vigorous traditions of morris dancing, mumming, guising, and social dance. ^[1]

Then followed a long period of contention which included the Cornish Rebellion of 1497, the 1549 Prayer Book Rebellion, the Persecution of Recusants, the Poor Laws, and the Civil War and Commonwealth (1642-1660). The consequences of these events disadvantaged many gentry who had previously employed their own minstrels or patronised itinerant performers. Over the same period in art music the use of modes was largely supplanted by use of major and minor keys. Altogether it was an extended cultural revolution, and it is unlikely that there were not musical casualties. ^[2]

However, a number of manuscripts of dance music from the period 1750 to 1850 have now been found which tell of renewed patronage, employment of dancing masters, and a repertoire that spanned class barriers. Seasonal and community festivals, mumming and guising all flourished. ^[3]

In the 19th century, the nonconformist and temperance movements, frowning on dancing and music, encouraged the demise of many customs, but fostered the choral and brass band traditions. Some traditional tunes were used for hymns and carols. Church Feast Days and Sunday School treats were widespread - a whole village processing behind a band of musicians leading them to a picnic site, where ‘Tea Treat Buns’ (made with smuggled saffron!) were distributed. This left us a legacy of cheerful marches and polkas. Records exist of dancing in farmhouse kitchens, and in fish cellars Cornish ceilidhs called troyls were common, they are analogous to the fest-noz of the Bretons. Some community events survived, such as at Padstow and at Helston, where to this day, on May 8th, the townspeople dance the 'Furry Dance’ through the streets, in and out of shops - and even through peoples' houses. Thousands converge on Helston to witness the spectacle. ^[4]

Folk songs include Sweet Nightingale, Little Eyes, and Lamorna. Few traditional Cornish lyrics survived the decline of the language. In some cases lyrics of common English songs became attached to older Cornish tunes. Some folk tunes have Cornish lyrics written since the language revival of the 1920s. Sport has also been an outlet for many Cornish folk songs, and Trelawny in particular has been taken up an unofficial national anthem by Cornish rugby fans.

Cornish dances include community dances such a 'furry dances', social (set) dances, linear and circle dances originating in karoles and farandoles, and step dances - often competitive. Among the social dances is 'Joan Sanderson’, the cushion dance from the 19th century, but with 17th century origins. ^[5]

Cornish music is often noted for its similarity to that of Britanny; some older songs and carols share the same root as Breton tunes. From Cornwall, Brittany was more easily accessible than London. Breton and Cornish were (and are) mutually intelligible. There was much cultural and marital exchange between the two countries and this influenced both music and dance. ^[6]

[edit] Instrumentation

Cornish musicians have used a variety of traditional instruments. Documentary sources and Cornish iconography (as at Altarnun church on Bodmin Moor and St. Mary's, Launceston suggest a late-medieval line-up might include an early fiddle (crowd), bombarde (horn-pipe), bagpipes and harp. The bodhrán (crowdy crawn in Cornish) and fiddle (crowd in Cornish) were popular by the 19th century. In the 1920s there was a serious school of banjo playing in Cornwall. After 1945 accordions became progressively more popular, before being joined by the instruments of the 1980s folk revival. In recent years Cornish bagpipes have enjoyed a progressive revival. ^[7]

[edit] Modern scene

The most famous modern Cornish folk performer is likely the singer Brenda Wootton. Other well-known musicians include the Cornish-Breton family band Anao Atao and the 1980s band Bucca who are recognized as pioneers in the popularization of Cornish music.

It has been estimated that there are over 100 bands playing mostly or exclusively Cornish tunes in Cornwall at present. As the traditional music corpus is not as large in some other countries (though still a great number of tunes) many bands will fill some specific niche in the style, giving great variation in an event.

The town of Cadgwith (on the Lizard Peninsula) is known for an informal, weekly gathering of singers; their material includes a number of common folk songs, as well as their anthem "The Robbers Retreat". The Camborne Town Band is a long-renowned band, formed in 1841 in a tin mining town.

Bands such as Dalla and Sowena have spearheaded the noze looan movement of Cornish dance and music, which focuses on audience participation whilst negating the need for a caller. This scene has produced many new bands, often displaying modern influences and using a more contemporary style. There are regular nozow looan now across Cornwall, including 'club noze looan' in Truro.

Troyls (generally with a caller) are popular and occur across the duchy, led by bands such as Asteveryn (formerly Cam Kernewek), the Bolingey Troyl band, Ros Keltek and Pyba. Such dances are also a popular choice at events such as weddings.

The Cornwall Songwriters organisation has since 2001 produced two iconic folk opera 'The Cry of Tin' and 'Unsung Heroes'

The Cornwall Folk Festival has been held annually for more than three decades. Other notable festivals are the pan-Celtic lowender perran and midsummer festival golowan. Numerous other festivals and annual events embrace Cornish music, including pan-Celtic festivals in the other Celtic nations.

Cornwall won the PanCeltic Song Contest three years in a row between 2003 and 2005.

2003: Naked Feet
2004: Keltyon Byw
2005: Krena [1]

Skwardya and Krena are linked by being fronted by Matthew Clarke. Both bands play rock, punk and garage music in the Cornish language.

'The Cornish musicians collaborative' [2] distributes Cornish musicians albums and provides online database of Cornish bands and albums.

A record label, Top of the Hill Recordings [3] was set up in 2003 to promote Cornish music and Musicians.

[edit] References

^ R. Hays & C. McGee, S. Joyce & E. Newlyn eds., Records of Early English Drama, Dorset & Cornwall (Toronto, 1999)
^ M. J. O'Connor, Ilow Kernow 3 (Lyngham House, St. Ervan, 2005)
^ M. J. O'Connor, An Overview of Recent Discoveries in Cornish Music (Journal of the Royal Institute of Cornwall, Truro, 2007)
^ Helston, Home of the Furry Dance. Borough of Helston.
^ Cornish Dancing. An Daras.
^ K. Mathieson (Ed.), Celtic music (Backbeat Books, San Francisco, 2001) pp 88-95
^ Cornish Bagpipes. An Daras.