In this edition: Merv Davey, Julian Goodacre, Alan Rosevear, Sevenoaks, Brenda Wootton and Sue Aston.
Picture – Large round stones on Porth Nanven beach, Cornwall.
Today I am exploring Cornish music. It’s been a while since I did an exclusive in one of the Celtic nations. I love the music of Cornish bagpipes as you can see and hear in the Cornish music session. When I think of Cornish music I remember my introduction to it through the late Brenda Wootton,the band Dalla and Sue Aston. They all come to mind because they’re the artists that got me started. Cornish music continues to grow as you can see here.
If you want the biggest online music store devoted to Cornish music then you just visit http://www.kesson.com and EVERYTHING is there!
Cornish trad session
Cornish music session in the Barley Sheaf, Liskeard, Cornwall. ‘Coer Elath’ (Choir of Angels) is a traditional tune with additional parts composed by Merv Davey, seen here playing bagpipes.
Now for those who are wondering about the Cornish bagpipes, one of the commenter made a clarification:
The Cornish bagpipes are a traditional instrument in both Cornwall and Briezh. The oldest depictions of Cornish Bagpipes being played date from c.1400AD. The pipes have likely been played in Kernow/Cornwall for at least 2000 years. I am sorry to disappoint anyone who believes incorrectly that they are a recent invention or have been ‘made up’.-The Cornubian
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The Cornish Pipes:
Now it has a distinctive sound. More mellow and sonorous than the Scottish bagpipes or the uilleann pipes.Check out how it is being played! With two reeds. This tune is however a traditional English tune called Shepherd’s Hey. But you get the idea of what it sounds like. Anyone interested to learn the Cornish bagpipes?
Video info: Shepherds Hey; traditional English tune played by Julian Goodacre, played on Cornish double bagpipes in D
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Lamorna – a Cornish folk song
I have always been fascinated by the beauty of folk singing. Especially when sung without instrumentation. It gives you that soul of the song because it becomes intimate. The simplicity is what gives it a pleasure to sing. This is one beautiful song I would love to learn. I am posting the lyrics here and the video as performed by Alan Rosevear
LAMORNA
So now I’ll sing to you , it’s about a maiden fair,
I met the other evening at the corner of the square;
She had a dark and roving eye, and her hair was covered over,
We rowed all night in the pale moonlight
Way down to Lamorna.
(Chorus)
T’was down in Albert Square; I never shall forget,
Her eyes they shone like diamonds
And the evening it was wet, wet, wet;
And her hair hung down in curls
Her face was covered over,
We rowed all night in the pale moonlight
Way down to Lamorna.
As we got in the cab, I asked her for her name,
And when she gave it me, well with mine it was the same;
So I lifted up her veil, for her face was covered over;
To my surprise, it was my wife
I took down to Lamorna.
Cho
She said I know you know, I knew you all along,
I knew you in the dark, for I did it for a lark;
And for that lark you’ll pay, for the taking of your donna,
You’ll pay the fare, I do declare
Way down to Lamorna.
about the song:
A folk song popular in Cornwall. There are several candidates for where you could have a night of pleasure in Lamorna – Lamorna Cove near St Just is probably the most likely. Sung by Alan Rosevear in Exeter.
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Sweet Nightingale (Cornish folk song)
What an amazing tune. Especially that it is enhanced by natural sounds like the birds and rustling leaves and even an audience coughing. There lots of amazing Cornish talents. You just have to look.
According to Mark Potts who uploaded the video:
Recorded at the Eden Project in April 2007. I was in a local folk trio called “Sevenoaks”. The guitar arrangement was based on McCartney’s “Blackbird” style and I reference my source at the end of this piece! I’d forgotten what a lovely voice Charlie the singer had
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Brenda Wootton – The Trees They Are So High
What is Cornish Music without Brenda Wootton? This one is from the 1975 Sentinel album. A duet with Dennis Bartlet.
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The Home Coming by Sue Aston Celtic Music with Classical Twist from Cornwall
The Amazing Sue Aston closes our episode with The Home Coming. I made an interview with her when this site was new. That was memorable. makes me smile when I think of it. She has released a couple of album already and is very much active in the Cornish music scene these days. Visit http://www.sueaston.com
In this edition:Máirtín de Cógáin, Karl Nesbitt, Richard Trethewey, Great Big Sea and Blue Rodeo
So what makes fascination and inspiration happen? I think these two go together. First you get fascinated with someone’s talent. Then you get inspired to do what you do. Musicians are artists who help fuel inspiration. Give me a moment in a day listening to music and I will start typing away. Do you also get inspired by musicians?
I have to admit, the past few months were tough but it was music that pulled me out of the labyrinth. I want to share that enthusiasm and passion to you all. We are all connected in a way that we can’t imagine. I am glad for musicians! You are what makes the world a better place to live. And yes, we the listeners get to do a LOT of things because of you musicians. We paint, design software, build buildings and write novels because of the music. It is a symbiosis of goodness!
The Bardic Hypnosis of Máirtín de Cógáin
Máirtín de Cógáin has a way of getting you engaged when he is onstage. Whither he is playing music or talking, there is something about him that is charismatic. His anecdotes never fail to bring out giggles. He draws the magnetism from the long line of Irish bards since the time of the High Kings. I think Máirtín can talk about anything all day and I will definitely listen sipping my hot tea! Enjoy the videos below folks.
“ I’m thrilled to be writing/performing some music for this new film entitled Blind Pass, directed by Steve Tatone. Thanks Fintan Lucy and Edel Sullivan “:)
-Karl Nesbitt
Hmm..looks like our favorite instrumentalist/composer/producer and arranger is out to make waves in the Irish movie scene. I would love to see this movie. I am sure if the music is from Karl then it will be amazing.
And what’s a Karl Nesbitt article without his music?
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New Releases from Cornish Music label Kesson feat: Richard Trethewey
I love the music of Cornwall. It has its own identity and beauty. Cornwall has its own folk and traditional scene and its new representative is Richard Trethewey. He sings, and plays fiddles, mandola, triangle,and other brass instruments. A man of good vocal range and perfect pitch. You can listen to samples of “ Dig Where You Stand” off Cornish music site Kesson: http://www.kesson.com/album.php?account=1&album=134
Plus: Newgrange by Tina Negus and Corrina Hewat CDs
We have Philip Knight on board this week as he explains his reasons for creating a Cornish language album. I also attached an ‘artwork’ I did to further support the importance of such musical release. We have a great wealth of musical talents from Cornwall. You will know more about it as you read further. It was fun catching up with Phil. He’s been in Spain lately bringing us the Spanish sunshine and giving us a glimpse of what’s in his own and Cornish music in general.
• Omdowl Morek is an album composed of melodic songs all in Cornish. How long did it take you to complete the album?
The album is the culmination of over thirty years of writing and performing songs in Kernewek. It’s a selection of the best of my own compositions, a combination of contemporary music and folk. I aimed to blend lyrics carrying traditional folk themes with those with a personal and modern flavour. Since the album comprises contemporary themes, I wanted to update my treatment to avoid a dated sound and be sure that the songs were suitable for the 21st Century. The whole process of adapting to these constraints and recording them took the equivalent of a month of concentrated recording of my vocal and instrumental work. The arrangements took a further three months of careful editing, special effects and production.
• I like the crisp production that your son Paul Knight-Malciak has achieved. I understand he also arranged, engineered, mixed and mastered this album. How was the working experience with him?
As Paul is my son, he has a knowledge and insight regarding my love of Kernewek, my style of material and my musical aims. In view of his acumen, I was flattered that he had long pressed me to make a high-quality album. He has had ample experience with a top-flight band of both making music, arranging it and recording it and has worked with several leading technicians and producers. http://www.paulknightmusic.co.uk/ As a result I was more than confident in his abilities to direct, arrange and offer me advice. We trusted each other’s abilities and our working relationship was surprisingly civilized! Paul spent a further three months finalizing the results of my recordings, consulting with me once he had a draft album at the ready. We never once fell out during the process and I hope this shows in the finished product of which I am extremely proud.
• All of the songs in this album are in Cornish but there is a corresponding translation to English in every song. It must have been a challenge putting everything in detail on the liner notes.
The difficulty in making an album purely in Cornish was that my potential listenership was bound to be limited as it’s a lesser-used Celtic language. With the lyrics playing such an important part in my songs, I wanted them accessible to as many as possible. Thanks to MAGA (the Cornish Language Partnership), I was able to provide an accompanying booklet in parallel translation, Cornish alongside English. Unfortunately, any such lyrics booklet proved too bulky to include in the CD. I was advised that outlets would be likely to place the album with a separate lyrics booklet in literature sections rather than music. MAGA helped me overcome this by creating a webpage where the lyrics could be accessed, http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=624 whilst they also have available hard copies for distribution. I owe a debt of great thanks to them for that and their part in helping me to make the album.
• How is Cornish music different from Irish or Scottish music in terms of melody and delivery?
Well, every language has its own lilt, cadence and rhythm and such is the case with Kernewek. It all comes down to the position of the stress, the type of the consonants and the length of vowels. In general, Cornish words are stressed on the penultimate syllable (e.g. Kernewek ). Often the most important part of a Cornish sentence tends to be placed first but there it also has great variety and subtlety of meaning according to the word order. These facts tend to dictate the way Cornish music sounds, particularly if we are talking about traditional, folk music. I suggest that Irish and Scottish music have their own distinct qualities for this reason but, in view of the many grammatical structures inherent in all Celtic languages, there are also many similarities. All the same, my own music is an attempt to bring a contemporary sound to Kernewek as a modern yet authentic, revived language. I have paid close attention to its non-English pronunciation but I hope the melodies will appeal also to English-speaking ears. The melodies of my self-penned English songs definitely have a totally different quality from my Cornish ones and only one of the songs on this album could also be sung in English (Track 5 – Karoryon Porthgwarra). In spite of that, Paul feels this is his favourite track, maybe because it is the least English-sounding, and a quirky, though folksy, tune.
• www.kesson.com is selling your recording. I understand it also represents the best in Cornish music.
I have nothing but praise for Kesson (Harmony) as an excellent portal for all Cornish music, whether in English or Cornish. Its creator, Kit Davey, himself one of an accomplished Cornish family of active musicians and Cornish speakers, offers a professional outlet but does not seek to run the site purely on a commercial basis but rather to promote all Cornish musicians and music. He makes Cornish artists’ material available on a non-profit-making basis and, according to their requirements, offers albums as CDs or as downloads or both. Perhaps, readers might find the answer to the last question re Cornish music by trying a few samples on the Kesson website.
. Are you planning to tour your music?
I have no plans as such. The whole purpose in making this album ‘Omdowl
Philip: This was a beat group I sang and played the single-manual organ with (I’d have looked silly sitting on a tree, holding my organ!) back in about 1969-72. They were called the Velvet Touch and were Devon Pop Poll Champions.
Morek’ was to record to the best of all my creative powers with the help of my son Paul ‘s technical know-how a handful of my Cornish language songs. I have been a very active musician pretty well all my life since my teens in a wide variety of music, whether as a drummer, organist, guitarist vocalist. I have been folk singer, played in rock bands and beat groups, sung in a male voice choir, taught music to primary school kids, played in Country Dance bands. In a Cornish language capacity, I have been performing since the early eighties. With this album, I didn’t want my music in this vein to die and felt that, in some humble way, that it would be of benefit to the Cornish language world if it were to be there for all to be able to hear and access, and make their own. It is important for a revived language to be “sexy” so that young people want to take it up so it was important that the sound should appeal across age groups and, I hope, have a timeless quality. Otherwise there is always the risk that the language will become moribund and confined to traditional folk modes. It would not be to my liking to do a karaoke job of singing my songs to backing tracks though I obviously have these. I would need a band to reproduce the songs on stage as I might like. In the studio, I could form instrumentation as full as a whole band and, where vocals are concerned, multi-track my voice or even be a male voice choir as I was on the last track ‘Spyrys Agan Tir’.
. What are your major musical plans for this year?
Given funding, ideally I’d like to record a further ten or twelve songs that I’ve written in Cornish but, more than anything, I’d love to record a polished, updated, digital version of a song that I wrote for the Pan Celtic Festival in Galway, 1991, and which won Kernow first prize in the Pan Celtic Song Contest of that year. It was called ‘Deus Y’n Rag, Dolli’ (Come on, Dolly!) and was an attempt to create a Cornish language equivalent of ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, whereby I hoped to resurrect the language with a rocking appeal to Dolly Pentreath to come alive again. She was the then-supposed, last-recorded native speaker of Kernewek in about 1770, and she berated an English philologist, called Daines Barrington, who was searching Cornwall for surviving Cornish speakers, in true fishwife style by calling him ‘Ty gronek hager du!’ or ‘You ugly, black toad!’.
If I can once more enlist the recording and producing expertise of my son, Paul Knight-Malciak, this will be my project, together with an upbeat ‘b-side’ ofanother of my songs, ‘Hunlev an Omsettyans’ (Nightmare of the Invasion), which recalls the reprisal raid on Dolly Pentreath’s village of Mousehole by a section of the failed Spanish Armada.
Bolonjedhow a’n gwella/Very best wishes, Phil Knight
Well there you have folks. Another fine addition to our ever growing musical exploration. Be sure to visit kesson and if you like Phil’s new album, have a copy yourself.
1. Men Selevan (St Levan’s Stone) 00:00 2. Tamsin (Tamsin) 03:35 3. Maria Wynn a Gernow (Blessed Mary of Cornwall) 06:46 4. Dhe Vlamya yw Hi (She is to Blame) 10:43 5. Karoryon Porthgwartha (The Lovers of Porthgwarra) 13:49 6. Dehwelyans an Marner (The Sailor’s Return) 18:50 7. Myrgh an Mor (Daughter of the Sea) 22:59 8. Kyns ty dhe vos (Before You Go) 26:56 9. Spyrys agan Tir (The Spirit of our Land) 31:14
Today in pictures: Newgrange by Tina Negus watercolour/ink/pastel/waxed crayon 2007.
I love mixed media. This is an amazing painter by Tina Negus. My friend Paulabrought this to my attention. We both love nice pictures and I found this heart warming. The colors are really vibrant and it is very Celtic. More interpretation can be found here: http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/newgrange/Interesting
An Derow is a band made up of family and friends from Cornwall. The music is rooted in the tradition and atmosphere of the place. The style reflects the fusion of different influences that shaped the musical upbringing of each member. This makes An Derow hard to pigeonhole but has that undeniably Cornish style.
I really enjoyed the tracks because you can really feel the maritime breeze of the Cornish seaside. As a Celtic music lover, understanding the language is secondary to the beauty of the sound that the language produces.
I think people who only listen to English songs because they can only understand English, fail to appreciate the musical value of the Celtic languages.They are missing out on other songs that they’d still appreciate because they sound beautiful.
Members:
Stuart MacQuarrie (bass)
Matthew Clarke (crowder crawn/voice/whistle)
Sue Aston (violin)
Dan Aston (guitar)
Phil Aston (guitar)
An Derow means “The Oak” or it can mean “The Beginning”. We sing mainly in Cornish and perform a Celtic/fusion style.
Biography
Just launched as of February 2012
Description
Cornish language songs, up-tempo Cornish folk on voice and fiddle, with hints of other Celtic cultures, combined with electric bass grooves and electric guitars.
Cornish artist Dick Twinney is giving love back to nature with his wonderful wildlife artworks. You see his works in this video, featuring ‘The Home Coming’ by Cornish violinist Sue Aston. Enjoy the healing qualities of the music and enrich your soul with the colors of nature through the eyes and hand of Dick Twinney.
the importance of such musical release. We have a great wealth of musical talents from Cornwall. You will know more about it as you read further. It was fun catching up with Phil. He’s been in Spain lately bringing us the Spanish sunshine and giving us a glimpse of what’s in his own and Cornish music in general.
Celtic Music Fan 