Culture of Cornwall: Encyclopedia II - Culture of Cornwall - Music and Festivals

Culture of Cornwall - Music and Festivals

Cornwall has a rich and vibrant folk music tradition which has survived into the present. Cornwall is well known for its unusual folk survivals such as Mummers Plays, the Furry Dance in Helston, and Obby Oss in Padstow. Often short Cornish festivals are called dy goel, feast day in Cornish, this term survives also in the English dialect of Cornwall as 'duggle'.

Cornish players are regular participants in inter-Celtic festivals, and Cornwall itself has several lively inter-Celtic festivals such as Perranporth's folk festival.

Golowan festival in Penzance is part of a much wider tradition of midsummer festivals where bonfires were lit on hilltops on Midsummer's Eve. The tradition of midsummer bonfires continues, albeit to a lesser extent than when fires could be seen on every hilltop, throughout Cornwall.

Cornish Celtic music is a relatively large phenomenon given the size of the region. A recent tally found over 100 bands playing mostly or entirely Cornish folk music. Traditional dancing is associated with the music. These dance events are either troyls (a Cornish ceilidh) or Nozow looan, (literally "happy nights", a dance night more similar to a Breton fest noz, and generally appealing to a younger audience).

There is a long tradition of processional dance and music in Cornwall. The best known tradition is the Helston Furry, but in reality this is just one such tradition. The term 'furry' is used generally to describe such a dance or associated tune. These bands have been referred to as 'crowders and horners' and generally have a motley mix of instruments with folk instruments such as the fiddle, bagpipe or crowdy crawn mixed up with brass, reed and anything that can be carried.

Kneehigh Theatre is one of the most high profile theatre companies in Cornwall. Their recient production of the Cornish legend Tristan & Yseult has toured thoughout the UK and internationally.

Historically Cornwall has had close links with Brittany and this is reflected in the music. The Cornish and Breton languages were mutually intellegible in Tudor times and there were many Bretons living in Cornwall before the prayer book rebellion. Myths, saints, dances and tunes are often shared with Brittany. It has been noted that the Breton duchy flag is the exact inverse of the Cornish flag , whether there is a reason for this is unkown. Breton flags are popular in Cornwall and are often seen alongside the Cornish flag on car bumpers and musical events. This link continues today with Cornish-Breton festivals such as 'aberfest' in Falmouth (aberfal) and the twinning of Cornish and Breton towns.

The Cornish Gorseth (or gorsedh) is similar to the welsh Gorsedd, and indeed was formed by the welsh gorsedh at the request of Henry Jenner. The Cornish Gorsedh promotes the arts and the cornish language through competitions at the open gorsedh.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Music and Festivals", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki