AccordionUprising post_id=59747 time=1528071342 user_id=718 said:
Im no expert, but Ive read some interesting stuff on the history of the Irish/British/Scottish dance music (and various diaspora from these countries.) I wrote up a bit about some of that here:
I would love to read smarter peoples responses to Pendleburys research.
Hi Bruce,
Sorry I definitely dont fit into the smarter people category, as like most people where I was brought up, unless your folks were wealthy your school years ended when you were 15. That was in the 60s, and things have improved dramatically over the years here in Scotland. The kids are now not allowed to leave school until theyre 16!
Im led to believe that somebody from the US once said:- The problem with Europe is that its such a small country, and it only takes a few days to see it all.
The fact that Pendlebury makes reference to the various dance styles being the prerogative of the upper classes probably has some degree of truth, as the overwhelming majority of Europeans would have been illiterate until the early 20th century, when literacy became a desirable skill. As such, only the wealthy would have been able to read and write music, and afford to buy the musical instruments necessary to play it.
As to the origins of the tunes and dance styles of the British Isles, there was always a considerable movement of peoples between our beautiful rainswept shores and mainland Europe since the 15th century, and possibly before. The East of Scotland had a long established sea trade with The Netherands and Belgium, and several Scots words are derived from Dutch or Flemish as a result of that.
Scots people also tended to flit back and forth to Ireland looking to better their lot in times of famine, and Irish people often came to Scotland annually to work helping farmers with the harvest.
When Scotland had the privilege of being independent from England, their royal family was linked with France, so the Scottish French Connection existed long before Popeye Doyle landed in Marseille. The word privilege is so highlighted as the Scottish people were about 10 times poorer than their English neighbours during the period of home rule. It was all about upper classes, and unfortunately religion.
Ill not bore you with all the details, but my own Scottish family were obliged to flee to Ireland from south west Scotland in the late 17th century to avoid what was politely referred to as religious persecution. Then while they were there, they met up with German religious refugees in a similar plight from Mecklenburg, who had originally settled in Scotland, but then also fled to Ireland.
What has all that to do with music and dancing?
Well it should already be apparent that there would probably have been at least some influences from western mainland Europe in the folkloric styles of the British Isles. Unfortunately I know almost nothing about folk music, as I have indicated elsewhere, but I wouldnt even begin to try and research any localised folk music or dancing style in Europe, as the chances are there would probably be some sort of outside influence that had never been documented.
With regard to the critic who chastised Pendlebury for not playing a tune as it was written, then the first thing I would have done was challenge the literacy of the composer and/or any other person who assisted in the composition and subsequent compilation of the score.
In my very limited experience of European folk music, most players learn the tunes from others and then put their own little variations into them. In older times any bits of paper with illegible musical scrawls on them would probably have been used to light the fire, or may even have been used for another purpose which Ill leave to your imagination! Incidentally, I havent actually researched the likely use of such a piece of paper.
If I were to really stir things up, how do we know whether the works of the great classical composers have been faithfully reproduced note for note over the years? Are there any certificates of continuity that would guarantee that that they are indeed the genuine article, or have some of them possibly been subtly amended over the centuries for whatever reason?
From what Ive read, it would appear that nobody really knows the precise composure dates of any of Bachs Brandenburg concertos, so how can anybody claim to have played a piece correctly, or be criticised for playing it not as written ?
Im now going to play a concerto precisely in the manner that it was written by Bach, and I believe he wrote it about 1713.
Anybody fancy lighting a fire?
Most people call me sceptical, but theyre only half right!
