Cornwall is aCeltic nation with a long musical history. Strengthened by a series of 20th century revivals, traditional folk music has a popular following. It is accompanied by traditions of pipers,brass and silver bands,male voice choirs, classical, electronic and popular music.
In medieval Cornwall there are records of performances of ‘Miracle Plays’ in theCornish language, with considerable musical involvement. Also (as frequently mentioned in theLaunceston borough accounts) minstrels were hired to play for saint's day celebrations. Therichest families (including Arundell, Bodrugan, Bottreaux, Grenville, and Edgcumbe) retained their own minstrels, and many others employed minstrels on a casual basis. There were vigorous traditions ofMorris dancing, mumming, guise dancing, and social dance.[1]
During the Twelve Days of Christmas in 1466-67, the household accounts[2] of theArundells of Lanherne, Mawgan-in-Pydar, record expenditures to buy white bonnets for minstrels, cloth and bells forMorris dancers, as well as materials for costumes for the "disgysing" (mummers orguise dancers), an activity which involved music and dancing.
Then followed a long period of contention which included theCornish Rebellion of 1497, the 1549Prayer Book Rebellion, the Persecution of Recusants, the Poor Laws, and theEnglish 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.[3]
A number of manuscripts of dance music from the period 1750 to 1850 have been found which tell of renewed patronage, employment of dancing masters, and a repertoire that spanned class barriers. Seasonal and community festivals, mumming andguise dancing all flourished.[4]
In the 19th century, the nonconformist and temperance movements were strong: these frowned 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 a legacy of marches and polkas. Records exist of dancing in farmhouse kitchens, and in fish cellars Cornish ceilidhs calledtroyls were common, they are analogous to thefest-noz of theBretons. Some community events survived, such as atPadstow and atHelston, where to this day, on 8 May, the townspeople dance theFurry Dance through the streets, in and out of shops, even through private houses. Thousands converge on Helston to witness the spectacle.[5] The "Sans Day Carol" or "St Day Carol" is one of the many Cornish Christmas carols written in the 19th century. This carol and its melody were first transcribed from the singing of a villager inSt Day in the parish ofGwennap: the lyrics are similar to those of "The Holly and the Ivy".
In Anglican churches the church bands (a few local musicians providing accompaniment in services) were replaced by keyboard instruments (harmonium, piano or organ) and singing in unison became more usual.
Folk songs include "Sweet Nightingale", "Little Eyes", and "Lamorna".[6] 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, andTrelawny, the unofficial Cornishnational anthem, is often sung byCornish rugby fans, along with other favourites such as "Camborne Hill" and "The White Rose".[7][8] The Cornish anthem that has been used byGorseth Kernow for the last 75 plus years is "Bro Goth Agan Tasow"[9] ("The Land of My Fathers", or, literally, "Old Country of our Fathers") with a similar tune to theWelsh national anthem ("Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau") and theBreton national anthem ("Bro Gozh ma Zadoù").[10] "Bro Goth Agan Tasow" is not heard so often, as it is sung inCornish. Other popular Cornish anthems are "Hail to the Homeland" and Cornwall My Home by Harry Glasson written in 1997.
Sabine Baring-Gould compiledSongs of the West, which contains folk songs from Devon and Cornwall, in collaboration withHenry Fleetwood Sheppard andF. W. Bussell.Songs of the West was published by Methuen in conjunction with Watey and Willis; the first edition appeared both as a four-part set, undated, and as one volume dated 1895. In a new edition songs omitted from the first edition were listed, and the music was edited byCecil Sharp. The second edition mentions the third collaborator, the Rev. Dr. F. W. Bussell, a scholarly eccentric who later became Vice-President ofBrasenose College, Oxford. Sheppard was Rector ofThurnscoe, Yorkshire, and his parochial duties limited the amount of time he could spend on the work. In Plymouth City Library are two manuscript volumes containing the material as collected, in all 202 songs with music. In the published work it was necessary tobowdlerise some songs so that the book would be acceptable to respectable Victorians.[11]
In Cornwall, the carol "While shepherds watched their flocks" is popularly sung to "Lyngham", a tune usually associated with "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing". Another tune traditionally used for it in Cornwall is "Northrop".[12]
Cornish dances include community dances such a 'furry dances', social (set) dances, linear and circle dances originating in carols and farandoles, and step dances – often competitive. Among the social dances is 'Joan Sanderson', thecushion dance from the 19th century, but with 17th-century origins.[13]
The English composer SirMalcolm Arnold composed "Four Cornish Dances" in 1966 which is influenced by characteristically Cornish types of music.[14]
Cornish music is often noted for its similarity to that ofBrittany; some older songs and carols share the same root asBreton tunes. From Cornwall, Brittany was more easily accessible than London. Breton and Cornish were (and are) mutually intelligible.[clarification needed] There was much cultural and marital exchange between the two countries and this influenced both music and dance.[15]
Cornish musicians have used a variety of traditional instruments. Documentary sources and Cornish iconography (as atAltarnun church onBodmin Moor and St. Mary's,Launceston) suggest a late-medieval line-up might include acrwth (orcrowd, similar to a violin),bombarde (horn-pipe),bagpipes andharp. Thecrowdy crawn (a drum) with a crwth or fiddle were popular by the 19th century. In the 1920s there was a serious school ofbanjo playing in Cornwall. After 1945accordions became progressively more popular, before being joined by the instruments of the 1980s folk revival. In recent yearsCornish bagpipes have enjoyed a progressive revival.
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Modern Cornish musicians include the lateBrenda Wootton (folksinger in Cornish and English),Dalla who specialised in Cornish Celtic dance music and also traditional songs in Cornish and in English, the Cornish-Breton family band Anao Atao, the late 1960s bandThe Onyx and the 1980s bandBucca. Recently[when?] bands Sacred Turf, Skwardya and Krena, have begun performingBritish folk rock in theCornish language.[16]
Kyt Le Nen Davey, a multi-instrumental Cornish musician, established a not-for-profit collaborative organisation,Kesson, to distribute Cornish music to a world audience. Today, the site has moved with the times, and now provides individual track downloads, alongside traditional CD format.[citation needed]
PioneeringTechno artist Richard D. James (akaAphex Twin) from Lanner is a contemporary Cornish musician, frequentlynaming tracks in the Cornish language. Along with friend and collaboratorLuke Vibert and business partnerGrant Wilson-Claridge, James has crafted a niche of 'Cornish Acid' affectionately identified with his home region.
Bands such asDalla and Sowena are associated with thenos lowen style of Cornish dance and music, which follows the Breton style of uncalled line dances.Troyls, usually called in a ceilidh style, occur across Cornwall with bands including the North Cornwall Ceilidh Band, The Brim, the Bolingey Troyl band, Hevva, Ros Keltek and Tros an Treys. Skwardya and Krena play rock, punk and garage music in theCornish language. TheCornwall Songwriters organisation has since 2001 produced two folk operas 'The Cry of Tin' and 'Unsung Heroes'. Also Cornwall has a selection of up and coming young bands such as "Heart in One Hand" and "The small print".[citation needed]
3 Daft Monkeys (Tim Ashton, Athene Roberts, and Jamie Waters) combine vocals, fiddle, 12-string guitar, bass guitar and foot drum to play a fusion of Celtic, Balkan, Gypsy, Latino, dance, dub, punk, reggae and traditional folk music. The band have played at venues and festivals all over the UK and Europe, includingEden Project, the 2008BBC Proms,Guilfest,Glastonbury Festival and theBeautiful Days festival, as well as supportingThe Levellers.[citation needed].
Black Friday, a six piece Celtic-folk-punk band have been a constant part of the live music scene in Cornwall for two decades and a popular highlight of a number of Cornwall festivals[17] includingPort Eliot Festival, Little Orchard andBoardmasters as well a number of major UK and European festivals such as Donous Insel Fest,Electric picnic,Boomtown andGlastonbury.[18] The band have led mass sing a longs to songs popular in the Cornish singing traditions such asLittle Eyes and South Australia and they have supportedMadness,Ralph McTell andThe Mahones. The band performs across numerous smaller venues every weekend of the year, sometimes up to five or six times and there industrious live schedule and constant touring is perhaps why they have only ever released live recordings and never produced a studio album yet have managed to achieve aGuinness world record playing 30 gigs in twelve hours.[19]
Crowns are a 'fish-punk' band originating from Launceston, playing a mix of traditional Cornish songs and their own compositions. They have playedReading and Leeds festivals, theEden Sessions and gained support slots withThe Pogues,Blink 182 andBrandon Flowers. Their music has featured onRadio 1 andXFm.
The underground scene includesrappersHedluv + Passman, multi-instrumentalistJulian Gaskell andalternativefolk/skiffle duoZapoppin’.
Sic, the singer of theDutchpagan folk bandOmnia hails from Cornwall and wrote a song namedCornwall about his homeland. During gigs by Omnia theCornish flag is displayed on stage when this song is performed.
In 2012 the folksinger and writerAnna Clifford-Tait released 'Sorrow', a song written in Cornish and English.[20]
Fisherman's Friends is a male vocal group from Port Isaac specialising in thesea shanty repertoire.[21]
TheCornwall Folk Festival has been held annually for more than three decades and in 2008 was staged atWadebridge.[22] Other festivals are the pan-CelticLowender Peran[23] and midsummer festivalGolowan. Cornwall won the PanCeltic Song Contest[24] three years in a row between 2003 and 2005.[25]
The Welsh musicianGwenno Saunders has written and recorded songs in Cornish, notably Amser on her albumY Dydd Olaf, while her albumLe Kov was recorded entirely in Cornish.[26] Gwenno's sister,Ani Glass, also records in Cornish, and the title song of her albumMirores is in Cornish.[27] Both are bards of the Cornish Gorsedh.[28]
Classical musicians from Cornwall include baritoneBenjamin Luxon, born in Redruth,[29] and composerGraham Fitkin, born in Crows-an-Wra.[30]
Cornish traditional music can be heard at various festivals includingGolowan in Penzance and Lowender Peran[23] in Newquay, at Cornish cultural events, and at Cornish music pub sessions.[31]
Lanner and District Silver Band is a CornishBrass band based inLanner,Cornwall,United Kingdom, and well known for its concerts. There are many other brass and silver bands in Cornwall, particularly in the former mining areas:St Dennis andCamborne are notable examples.[citation needed] There is a log of over 100 Brass Bands in Cornwall that are now extinct.[32]
Triggshire Wind Orchestra, an amateur orchestra for wind players primarily fromSir James Smith's School,Wadebridge School,Budehaven Community School, was set up in 1984. After the success of the wind orchestra, Triggshire String Orchestra was set up, to cater for the string players from these schools.[33]
Boardmasters Festival is a modern music festival held inNewquay, Cornwall celebrating surfing and music held every summer.[34]
The Cornish language radio stationRadyo an Gernewegva broadcasts Cornish music on severalcommunity radio stations and online.[35]
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