Re: The Celtic Mandolin - Tunes for May 2021
Thanks for the latest tunes - more musical homework. On your comments about the cultural/ historical context for British Isles music, I think the eighteenth century (e.g. the Airds collection) is an interesting period for the promulgation of folk music from different parts of the islands. There seems to have been a craze for folk dance tunes for use in respectable society as well as a growth in performance of such by the 'middling sort' in society, hence the many publications of 'Scotch' Irish etc tune books.
Part of this, in my view, may have been as a reaction against the dominance in elite musical circles across western Europe of 'classical music', for instance a growth of more populist musical theatre in London in response to the dominant Italian Operas in the West End. So you get The Beggars Opera (which gave Brecht and Weil the basis for their Threepenny Opera during the Weimar Republic), The Wapping Landlady (the story of Jack Tar ashore, source of 'The Sailor's Hornpipe') and these both mined folk tunes and added to the the folk repertoire as their tunes were widely published, played in pubs and by buskers etc. I have a theory that English folk music was overlooked by publishers in favour of more exotic folk music, especially the extremely popular Scottish tunes (which can be seen across NW Europe in the forms of the schottische, reels and jigs) and I dare say a few English tunes were classified as Scottish to help them sell.
The later importance of 'celtic' music as a means of reinforcing distinct national identities by nationalist politicians is another interesting story.
Anglocelt
mainly Irish & Scottish but open to all dance-oriented melodic music.
Mandos: Gibson A2, Janish A5, Krishot F5, Taran Springwell, Shippey, Weber Elite A5; TM and OM by Dave Gregory, J E Dallas, Tobin & Davidson.
Bookmarks