Thomas Carlyon paid E. and M. Trethewy for dancing. The material in John Old’s music book Dance tunes suggests that he played the harp and violin. Of the 96 tunes in the book, some are Scottish, by the Gows and William Marshall. Others are Scottish in style, but may not be so in origin, as from they are named after figures in London society. But as many are dance tunes from south of the Mike O’Connor introduces some of the probable that Ann and her friends were taught Tweed. Obviously, the latest music from across traditional tune collections to be found in by an itinerant singing master called Peter the country was accessible to Old. Cornwall. Quiller. William Allen The Courtney Library of the ecent years have witnessed many new Frances Prideaux The music book of Royal Institution of Cornwall contains a book insights into social music in Cornwall. We Frances Prideaux is in the private library of that was probably compiled by William Allen Rcan identify minstrelsy, morris, carols, Prideaux Place, . Frances played piano (1791-c1859) of St Ives, a clerk who and some social music and dance in medieval and probably violin, and her book, compiled eventually became a land and mine surveyor. times. But also, several recently discovered about 1788 to 1796, has ninety tunes, some His book has 45 songs and 42 dance tunes music notebooks tell of the social music of with dance instructions. Like the Morval dance from about 1815 to 1858. None seems of local recent centuries. This article focuses on these book, it has material well known in social origin, apart from the lyric of the ‘Hal an Tow’ books. centres such as Bath, but also has a few tunes and the tune of the . The Notwithstanding its distinctive cultural and local in flavour or origin. repertoire tells of an enthusiasm for popular linguistic identity, little has been written about songs and dance tunes, especially waltzes, in Cornwall’s social and early music. Also, until John Old The 1807/8 music book of John the second quarter of the nineteenth century. the very recent publication of Scoot Dances, Old, a dancing master from Par, was , Furrys and Tea Treats: The Cornish remaindered at a jumble sale in about 1970 Gregory Tom The slender 1825 Dance Tradition by the Daveys, recent and, for sixpence, it was saved from the manuscript of Gregory Tom of St. Ervan, near collection has been largely unknown. Even with bonfire. John probably lived at Par to be near Padstow, is also now in the Courtney Library. Lady Mary Trefusis as first president of the the homes of the wealthy Carlyon, Rashleigh Entitled Psalms and hymns for use by church English Folk Dance Society, there was not and Treffry families. According to accounts bands 1825-1830, it contains ‘Zennor’, a enough known about music in Cornwall to give books of the Carlyon family, now held in the modal psalm tune of conspicuous beauty. a coherent chronological or geographical Cornwall Record Office, money was paid to ‘Jn Sabine Baring Gould wrote that the culture picture, and that situation prompted my Louis’ in 1766 for teaching a young family surrounding non-conformism suppressed research. member music and dance, and in 1797, much vernacular music. Riding and the Six sets of manuscripts from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries illustrate the range of music from Cornwall.

John Giddy In the Cornwall Record Office is a tiny, 64-page, music notebook, which belonged to John Giddy (c1707-1759), a farmer from Kea, near . His letters tell that he played the violin for recreation and dancing, and his notebook was probably compiled between about 1730 and 1750. It contains some songs from operas and the odd piece attributed to Handel, but much of the material is unattributed and unknown dance music, such as minuets, rigadoons and . Most use conventional major and minor scales, but there are some lovely modal tunes.

The Morval Manuscripts and Ann Little The private archive of the Carew Pole family holds four manuscript music books, and a companion volume is in the Cornwall Record Office. They were originally owned by the Buller family of Morval House near . One book has 42 dance directions, tunes and songs from about 1740 to 1770. Many of the tunes are little-known and some are local, and the collection may have been associated with the wedding of John Buller to Anne Lemon in 1770. The other books have instructional material, polyphonic psalms and anthems, most unknown. The most complete bears the name of Ann Little: dated 1767, it gives an insight into parish harmony singing. It is Untitled, known as ‘Come to Good’. [page 5]

summer 2009 page 12 Reproduced by permission of Cornwall Record Office, DG/95. Hamlets, 1695-1745. ‘Mr Ravencorft’s ’[page51]. This probablyreferstoJohnRavenscroftof Tower analogous tothe‘snaps’and‘rolls’ofScotland completely bleak. nineteenth-century vernacularmusicisnot manuscripts confirmthatthepictureof fostered localmusicians.Thenewlydiscovered Creep’. Churchandwestgallerybandsalso such istherecentlycollected‘RescorlaSnail and serpentdanceswereverypopular:one Community processionaldancessuchasfurry andmarcheshavebeenpreserved. inevitably ledbyaband.Consequentlymany involved processionsorprocessionaldances, founders’ daysorpatronalfestivalsoften were largelyunaffected.Churchtea-treatson May DaycelebrationandHelston’sFlora though theirmusicsurvived.ButPadstow’s Hal anTowceasedinthenineteenthcentury, Untitled, knownas ‘Echoes ofOldKea’[page7] Music inCornwallhasnofeatures Ancient andModern William Sandysinhis1833 Welsh. ‘ANewChristmasCarol’ ambivalence, soundingBretonorperhaps considered Cornish. asymmetrical phraselengths,mayallbe modal songandpsalmtunes,oftenwith (when playedattraditionaltempi)andbeautiful dances, theeasygraceofdancetunes social music.Thepervasiverhythmofthefurry ‘fingerprints’ inmanyareasoftheDuchy’s a uniqueculturalprofile.ThereareCornish that theCornishrepertoiretogethercomprises identifying characteristic.Butitcanbeargued make unlikelytheexistenceofanysingle diverse inform,originandinfluence,asto and .TheCornishrepertoireisso Some Cornishtuneshaveamajor/minor as fromthewestof Christmas Carols , described by the Breton Cornwall andstillinuse,sharesitstunewith Giddy tunebook. permission toreproduceimagesfromtheJohn especially theCornwallRecordOfficefor music booksreferredtointhisfeature, Mike isgratefultoallthecustodiansof Institution ofCornwall. awarded theHenwoodMedalofRoyal Cornish Gorseddin2002and2009was Cornish Lads operas - been centraltotheproductionofthreefolk music ofCornwallforoveradecade.Hehas storyteller, whohasbeenresearchingthe Mike O’ConnorOBEisafolkmusicianand and poise. slowly themusichasacharacteristicgrace fast andyoucan’tfitthemin!Playedmore tells usaboutthetempi-playmusictoo of gracenotes,trillsandmordents.Inturnthis language wasverysimilar. minority oftheCornishpopulation,and century. Bretonsthencomprisedasizeable modal naturesuggestiveofthesixteenth Breiz-Izel According toP.Montjarretinhisbook Goulmig’, sungforthedance‘AnDro’. 01841 540042. Contact forallpublications: Pride ofPlace The tunestranscriptsareallfromMike Covath Mike O’Connorhaspublishedanexcellent The manuscriptsshowevolutionintheuse Barbara Griggs. featuring MikeO’Connorandharpist Frances Prideaux-BruneofPadstow, music fromthe1788bookof Mike O’Connor. music, produced in2003, andfeaturing O’Connor, (Lyngham House, 2007). The Resource Kernow: CornishInstrumental Tradition: resource bookforCornishmusic Truro. John Giddytunebook, fromKeanear House, 2001), andoriginallyfromthe The CryofTin,UnsungHeroes (Lyng 222) isaCDofCornish (Rennes, 1984),thetunehasa Further Information chanson dedanse . Mikewasmadeabardofthe Echoes ofOldKea (Lyng 231) isanewCDof in nowitsfourthedition summer 2009 ‘Me An’vezUr (Lyngham . Ilow Toniou page 13 tunesand Scoots, Troyls and Tea Treats Cornishman Merv Davey Mur, the cycle of mystery plays performed in Orchesographie than to the Oxfordshire introduces the Duchy’s folk dances. Cornish during the late medieval period. They dances of the early twentieth century. Indeed were used as the finale for various sections it is Arbeau’s mattachins (sword dancers) of the play and introduced by the master of which link us to the ultimate icons of early ceremonies issuing the instructions: music and dance in Cornwall, the sixteenth century bench end carvings at Altarnon Minstrels growgh theny peba Church on . These carvings May hallan warbarthe downssya depict a bagpiper, a crowder (the ‘crowd’ is Del ew an vaner han geys an early form of ) and three dancers

Photo: Derek Schofield Photo: including the geysor. Minstrels, do ye pipe to us That we may together dance Guize Dances As is the manner and the jest Nineteenth-century Cornwall provided rich Merv and Alison Davey pickings for the folklorist and antiquary, and In the Cornish of the time, geys (pronounced they were in no doubt about the links olk dance is more than just a collection geeze) had the meaning of a jest or mock between the medieval geys dancer and the of steps, movement and music; it is a and geysor had the meaning of jester, so the guize dancing customs they observed which, Fform of human expression and its above could be interpreted as a call for all to they were quick to point out, was pronounced essence lies within its community role and join in with the dancing or for a specific as geeze dancing. The guize dancers social context rather than purely commercial troupe of geys dancers to perform. There is disguised themselves by blacking up, cross or artistic interests. certainly thought to be a firm link between dressing, wearing veils or masks and Sharp was riding the crest of European the mystery plays and the travelling players generally outlandish costume. The guizers romantic nationalism when he collected, and and dancers of the fifteenth and sixteenth processed around their local area stopping mediated, folk dances as an expression of centuries which show up in parish, town and off every so often at a suitable venue, such Englishness in the first quarter of the country house accounts. The ‘geys’ nature of as the inn or farmhouse kitchen, where they twentieth century. At much the same time the play or dance is hinted at by descriptions performed their piece. The dances were there was a parallel, but Celtic, revivalist such as those of the household accounts at sometimes integrated into a folk play, movement in Cornwall. As well as identifying Lanherne (1466/7): ‘paper for disgysynge’; sometimes a solo step dance performance with the revival of the and ‘whit bonnets for mynstrells’; and ‘dosyn and sometimes a for all. The links with the other Celtic communities, this bellis for the Morrushe of Betty’. Although Padstow guizers, for example, incorporated a movement was proactive in recording and morrushe is clearly morris, caution must be step dance into their play to the song of ‘Tom promoting folk customs, including dance. The exercised with drawing conclusions about the Bowling’ and the Madron guizers rounded off story of folk dance in Cornwall, from activities concerned, as the term was used their performance with a dance for all to join medieval roots, through narratives of the as a description that would have been closer in called ‘Turkey Rhubarb’. nineteenth-century folklorists, the activity of to the French morris of Arbeau’s ‘Turkey Rhubarb’ is a mazurka and the Celtic revivalists and on to the present day, is a fascinating one that reflects the distinct cultural profile of Cornwall.

Medieval Dance A tantalising glimpse of medieval dance in Cornwall is provided by a twelfth century Cornish- Latin vocabulary which was written Derek Schofield Photo: to aid the learning of Latin. It is a short vocabulary of common words people were expected to be familiar with and includes the translation of the Cornish lappior as saltator and lappiores as saltatrix - male and female dancer respectively. Lapyeor continued to be used as a dialect term for dancer in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and, by the early twentieth century, was associated with step dancing. The small boys employed as surface workers in the tin industry were called lapyeors because one of their first tasks was to aid separation of the ore as it was washed, by ‘dancing’ on it, ankle deep in the cold water. Dancing held pride of place in the Gwary Ros Keltek caption????

summer 2009 page 14 ( best knownandearliestrecorded fer, performed onfairdays(theCornishforis processional danceformixedcouples Scoot dances.TheFurryisasimple Cornish danceitwouldbetheFurryand If oneweretoidentifytwodistinctiveformsof Furry Dances Europe, IrelandandWales. maintain closeculturallinkswithmainland provided seacommunicationsthathelpedto the railway,butitsgeographicposition remote fromLondonbeforethecomingof is areminderthatCornwallmighthavebeen travelled Europeandance.‘TurkeyRhubarb’ Ireland. Themazurkais,ofcourse,awidely found acrosstheCelticSeainsouthern ‘Patsy Heeny’or‘FatherMurphy’sTopcoat’ interchangeable, toadancevariouslycalled similar, almosttothepointofbeing from HelstonandGrampoundthe dance toimproviseupon. followed byasimplefigure,itisaneasy basic formulaofamovementforward, popularity throughouttheDuchy.Witha nineteenth centuryandcurrentlyenjoy West Cornwall,atthebeginningof nevertheless quitewidespread,certainlyin Gentleman’s Magazine, Gorsedh: Francis, HarpistfortheCornish theHonorary Cornish dancecommunitybyMrsEsme Cornish dancesandwasintroducedtothe The NewlynReelisoneofthemostpopular Plethen Lulynn / Dance tomein1971. Heremembered Nanquido, describedtheNewlynReel Williams, wholivedatBoscregganFarm, A neighbourofmine, farmerJohn thus Cecil Sharpcollecteddifferentversions Furry dance), ofwhichHelstonisthe 1790). Theywere (1873): William Bottrell’sdescriptionofawedding against slatefloorslabs,wellillustratedby satisfying musical prolong theirlife.Theseshoesmakeavery used onthetoeandheelofworkingshoesto Scoot dancingisnamedafterthemetalplate Scoot Dancing obscures theoriginsofdance. process thismaybe,butunfortunatelyit Floral 1977, hasencouragedthesubstitutionof brass bandbyBrighouseandRastrickin Floral Dance’,andthelaterarrangementfor Furry Dancetunetohercomposition,‘The Moss’s 1911incorporationoftheHelston whenever theopportunityarises.Katie practice todayistowriteanewvariation side. nearest shoulderofthedanceroneither right. Arms outstretched andrestingonthe Couples inacircle, ladyonthegentleman’s Formation remembered them. voice, anddemonstratethestepsashe would bringforththetuneinhisgruff would havebeentheearly1900s. He danced bythefishermenthere. This when hewasachildandseeingit travelling toNewlynonahorseandcart much order. quickly whirling,inreels,without lightning; andallthecompanywere heels ofhisboots,likeflashes followed, makingthefireflyfrom Young JanofSantust(StJust) footed itouttothedelightofall. though hewasneareighty,and Up hejumpedaslivelyakid, Uncle Will,’saidtheyoungpeople. . ‘Leshavethedoubleshuffle, Presently thefiddlerstruckupwitha for Furry . Aninevitablepartofthefolk ‘ lc’whenstruck clack’ and publisher. Tradition, and Furrys Tea Treats: theCornishDance Reproduced from gradually gettingfaster. repeated asoftendesiredwiththemusic having movedononeplace. The danceis The circlehasnowreformed, theladies Allsteprightandleft(astheladies 57-64 Allsteprightandleft, turntoface 49-56 Allsteprightandleftturnto 41-48 Allsetrightandleft, turn180 33-40 Gentlemenadvanceraiseright 25-32 Ladiesadvance, clapandretire. 17-24 AllSteptorightandlefttwice. 1 -16 Bars again, kickleftfootacrossit. three times;movetherightfootto right andisjoinedbytheleftfoot;repeat The stepislively. The rightfootmovestothe Step Another Cornishdancetraditionfromthis Troyls broom dances. the serpentdancetogetherwithstepand dance, culminatinginsocialeventssuchas or village,sometimesintheformofafurry comprised ofaprocessionaroundthetown popular wellintolivingmemory.They nineteenth totwentiethcenturyandwere in theirheydayduringtheturnof temperate guizingcustoms.Teatreatswere for promotingtraditionaldanceastheless chapel culturewereasimportantavehicle and the‘teatreats’associatedwithCornish Things areseldomwhattheyseem,however, discouraged traditionalmusicanddance. the receivedwisdomthatreligiousattitudes and costusourculture’ Wesley cametoCornwallhe‘savedoursouls extraordinaire, oncecommentedthatwhen Our ownBrendaWootton,folksinger Tea Treats some extentforsocialdancesaswell. composition, notonlyforscootdancesbutto and havebeenusedasthebasisfornew core materialofCornishdancingtradition have beencollected.Theserepresentthe memory, andanumberofdifferentsteps This danceformalsoenduredwellintoliving circle reforms). partner’s righthandsidewhenthe so thattheywillbeontheir forward topasstheirnewpartner, step lefttheymoveonslightly new partner face originalpartner. degrees tofaceanewpartner. all turntofacepartner. hand fistandshout ‘hoy’ andretire with permissionfromtheauthors Scoot Dances, Troyls, , and itiscertainly summer 2009 page 15 dance period is the , a word meaning a reel, a spiral or a turn in the Cornish language which was used in dialect to describe an evening of social and step dances accompanied by good food and, unlike the tea treats, strong drink. These were smaller affairs than the tea treats, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the space in empty barns or fish cellars at certain times in the season. The atmosphere of the troyl is captured by an entry in the North Hill Old Cornwall Society’s records of 1933: There be dancing of all zorts gain on. Heard told how one girl who was dancing, had the misfortune to dance on a rotten part of the barn floor and it gived way. One leg went through and she found herself standing on the back of a cow that was standing beneath.

kekezza caption????

Merv Davey is a post-graduate researcher in folk tradition at the Institute of Cornish Studies. He performs with his family group, the North Cornwall Troyl Band, does duty as the Bodmin town piper and is also honorary piper for the Cornish .

Further Information

Scoot Dances, Troyls, Furrys and Tea Treats: The Cornish Dance Tradition by Merv, Alison and Jowdy Davey. A history pengueezers caption???? and associated events, which included on of dance in Cornwall, from the earliest one occasion an evening of Breton and references in to the Cornish dancing which followed the dances of the folk revival today, collected Celtic Revival performance of a Cornish Mystery Play. by members of the Davey family. Notations The Old Cornwall Societies were born out of Against this background there was a for 45 dances – social, broom, snail the activities of the Celtic revivalists in renewed interest in Cornish dance in the creeps, guise and furry dances – with Cornwall in the early 1900s. Not only did the mid-1970s, inspired by the growth of Celtic tunes. Published in August 2009 by revivalists seek to promote the such as the Pan Celtic, then held in Francis Boutle Publishers language and have Cornwall recognised as Killarney and the Festival Interceltique in www.francisboutle.co.uk one of the , they also wished to L’Orient, , to which Cornwall was record and revive Celtic traditions such as invited to send representatives. Two dance the guize dancing. The Old Cornwall Societies display teams formed as a result of this were set up as locally based groups who interest: Cam Kernewek and Ros Keltek would record their own experiences and (translated as Cornish Step and Celtic Circle recollections of local traditions, together with respectively), who were able to build up a that of their contemporaries. They were repertoire of dances collected from both instrumental in reviving such customs as and reconstructed from Hal An Tow at Helston, the St Ives Guize archival sources. Thirty years later, there are dancers, the Midsummer ‘Golowan’ bonfires eight groups that can field dance teams, and the Crying the Neck ceremony at harvest including two for young people, together with time. As a roots organisation, which retained a number of bands using Cornish material for ownership of their own traditions, they were social dance. In the twenty-first century, quite different from other Cornish dance nevertheless continues to be movements of the time. Their activities found in its traditional settings of the guize sowed the seeds for the inter-Celtic festivals dance, the processional furry and even the held in 1950s together with dance classes occasional tea treat.

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