Cornish Music anyone?

[Forest Dweller]

I guess a lot of people here are into, or at least have heard of Celtic Music. However, how many people know there are 7 Celtic Nations in Northern Europe? Most are familiar with Scottish and Irish music, whilst Breton and Welsh music is also stealing a March on the Gaelic speaking Nation's music in terms of familiarity. Bands like Calan have been spreading the word about traditional Welsh music in recent years, whilst Breton music have a great many traditional musicians that are almost household names now- Alan Stivell for instance, Soig Siberill for instrumental guitar music (my favourite player actually).

However, I wonder how many people are familiar with the other three Celtic nations- Galicia (Spain), Isle of Mann (a small Island in between England and Ireland) and the subject of this post, Cornwall?

Cornwall's traditional music scene is still fairly young, and has been helped in no small part by bands such as Dalla, and musicians such as the Davey brothers in particular through their research and development of an authentic Cornish tradition known as Nos Lowen (the Cornish equivalent of a Celidh). Unfortunately Dalla split a few years back but have released several very exciting albums of dance music and song, and their Bouzouki player Neil Davey has gone some way in collecting Cornish Folk tunes for posterity. Neil is a very fine musician (his son is also a very fine instrument maker of mandolins, tenor guitars, banjos and acoustic guitars). Neil's book of traditional Cornish tunes called Fooch is well worth searching out and over the years I have arranged a lot of tunes from here for solo guitar and mandolin ensemble, including the tune Oll En Garriow E'N Beaz below. That reminds me, Cornwall has its own language, similar to Welsh. Cornwall is known as Kernow in the Cornish Langauge.

Another member of Dalla is the Bass Clarinetist and vocalist Hillary Coleman, from whom I got the tune of the first video below, Turning of The Tide. This stunningly beautiful tune has lyrics in both English and Cornish all about Cornish people across the world making the crossing back home over the river Tamar, the strip of water that separates the counties (or states) of Devon and Cornwall. Born in Devon, I have always considered myself to have been born on the wrong side of the river and I grew up on the banks of the Tamar during the 70s.

This tune was arranged in CGCGCD and I wanted to recreate the way the original arrangement grew and grew, from a simple monophonic statement of the tune to something with a little more harmonic movement. My new Huss & Dalton seems to really suit arrangements like this- not too many overtones and harmonics to get in the way and muddy the waters (if you forgive the pun).



Some years ago when the above arrangement was made I got really into Cornish Music. I had this mad desire to do for Cornish music what Tony McManus has done for traditional Scottish music. Oll En Garriow E'n Beaz is a Kebm Pemp, or 5 step tune, a traditional dance tune in 5/4, that has a wonderfully easy dance step to it that can be done in a kind of line dance. In this respect Cornish tunes have much in common with the wonderful dance tunes of Brittany. It was arranged for my mandolin orchestra at the time, but here I recorded all the parts myself, in a rather poignant time of my life when I had some very fine instruments, including mandolins, octave mandolins and a wonderful acoustic bass, all heard here. It is probably my one youtube recording I am immensely proud of, as this is the sort of music I have always wanted to create and play. The footage was recorded in Padstow on Boxing Day, when the locals have a rather odd tradition of blacking up and going around the town playing Grandfather's Clock on accordions and drums. I faded the footage out before the end as I did not want the faces of the locals to offend. Thankfully some of these traditions (that have existed for hundreds of years now) are beginning to move with the times and accommodate a different sensitivity of those that observe the traditions.



BTW if anyone would like to get involved in producing a collaborative recording of Oll En garriow I have a complete score and set of parts for this

[Rick Jones]

Ah Robbie, this is so cool!

I am out and about without my headphones at the moment, but as soon as I get home I'm going to give these a listen. I can't wait!

I'm Welsh by birth and almost entirely Cornish according to two different brands of those DNA analysis companies... which makes sens as quite a few of my relatives still dwell down there.

I also live in the Channel Islands and up until Brexit was regularly making the half-hour boat trips across to Cartret (Normandy) and St. Malo (Brittany) to play gigs and, whenever I could, attend sessions, mostly to listen but I start to get to join in some years ago when I got to know a fiddle player there.

I also have a lingering fascination with the things that make things sound (to use a non-technical description) what people often call 'Irish'... the drones and ornamentation, grace notes and such. I adore Irish music.

So I've been wondering forever about what 'Celtic' means. I speak some Welsh still from childhood. I see almost the same language used in Cornwall. Irish is different, I can't understand almost any by way of my own Welsh... yet the 'Tre' prefix found often in Cornish (especially surnames and place names) is also there in Ireland.

When I go to Northern France and listen to 'Breton', there's barely any words that sound like things I deeply recognise. In my home Island 'Norman French' is popular (Jerrias) and it has a ton of Scandinavian or Old Norse in it.

Yet the music of these places all has that recognisable 'Celtic' sound.

It's been a fascination of mine, and I literally cannot wait to listen to what you're doing here. It helps massively that both your touch and that beautiful H&D are just fantastic to hear.

[ReneAsologuitar]

Lovely tone on your guitar.
Very crisp and clear playing.
I love your guitar sound.
Simply beautiful.
Rene

[Forest Dweller]

Thank you Snorse and Rene and all who have listened.

Snorse we must discuss this whole 'celtic' thing further as I too have a deep rooted fascination with the whole culture and language and what celticness means.
Robbie

[Forest Dweller]

Here is another one that I had forgotten about, recorded a few years back on a lovely Weber octave mandolin. These tunes are from the aforementioned Fooch book by Neil Davey

[MikeMcKee]

Excellent work Robbie. Great tunes...Turning of the Tide sounds so good on that H&D, and your playing and recording quality are always top notch.

[JL5555]

Beautiful arrangement and playing Robbie, really enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing

[Bob Womack]

My parents enjoy the Isles and in particular fell in love with Cornwall. They found a little cottage in Mousehole and returned there over and over from the States for times of refreshment.

Bob

[Forest Dweller]

Originally Posted by MikeMcKee

Excellent work Robbie. Great tunes...Turning of the Tide sounds so good on that H&D, and your playing and recording quality are always top notch.

Thank you Mike

Originally Posted by JL555

Beautiful arrangement and playing Robbie, really enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing

Thank you very much for listening

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

My parents enjoy the Isles and in particular fell in love with Cornwall. They found a little cottage in Mousehole and returned there over and over from the States for times of refreshment.

Bob

Thank you Bob- my sister lives in Padstow, so North coast of Cornwall. For anyone who's interested (!) Mousehole is pronounced "Mow-zull". Bizarre I now!
Robbie

[blakey]

Very nice indeed! Just holidayed in Padstow. Enjoyed the picturesque estuary walk from Little Petherick into town. Fed a cow along the way. We were buds by the end of the hols.
Beautiful music for a beautiful place. Beautifully played.