Archive 2003

Forbidden Fruit at Eden

Visitors to the Eden Project on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September, 2003, partook in a magical musical celebration involving a huge serpent and luscious fruit.

The Forbidden Fruit Festival, organised by Cumpas (Cornish Music Projects), returned to Eden for the second year, offering up a joyous mixture of traditional Celtic music from Cornish favourites, Dalla and the gallant - 33-member strong - Galician band Do Lusco o Fusco.

Following a packed weekend of musical workshops combined with performances and dancing, the finale focussed on the formation of a huge 'serpent'. This was created by a long line of visitors and dancers, joining in the traditional Cornish snake dance, before indulging in a mouth-watering fruity feast. On their way they were amazed by the beautiful Rangoli floor decoration, created that afternoon by artists Kate Green and Catherine Grimaldi with plenty of participation. Materials from the Eden Project and elsewhere were harvested and skillfully combined to create the stunning design.

Galician Celtic cousins Do Lusco o Fusco, from north west Spain, have toured in many different countries and this was their first appearance at Eden. They were invited by Cumpas and hosted at the Golant Youth Hostel during their weekend performances. Their music features the sound of the Gaitas (Galician bagpipes) and various intriguing percussion, particularly huge deep bass drums whose music heralded their arrival in procession for their appearances, as a prelude to wild dancing in colourful traditional dress. Their highly professional performances were a spectacular pageant in themselves and the audience joined with enthusiasm to try their dances and percussion including scallop shells and pine cones!

Dalla have re-ignited the traditional music of Cornwall by creating a dynamic, infectious, contemporary twist to some of the most stirring airs and danceable tunes. Their performances over the weekend won the hearts of many new fans and had everyone dancing, locals and visitors alike. Dalla's usual line up of clarinet, bouzouki, fiddle, guitar, accordion, percussion and singing was augmented with local guests on Cornish bagpipes, bombarde and brass. Other Cornish bands included inspirational young bands Bude Youth and Pentorr, making their Eden debut, innovative fiddle group Bagas Crowd and traditional Cornish dance group Ros Keltek in their historical costumes inspired by paintings of the Newlyn School.

"Galician Triumph! Superb!" was one visitor's comment after the final serpent dance had discovered the magnificent abundance of the Forbidden Fruit feast to round off the weekend's events.

Further information about the event and the performers involved can be obtained by contacting Frances Bennett of Cumpas on 01872 275058

Galicians Visit Truro Area

Fresh from triumphant performances at the Eden Project for the Forbidden Fruit festival, organised by Cumpas, the 33-strong Galician dance group Do Lusco o Fusco, from north west Spain, spent a happy three days being hosted in the Truro area as part of a cultural exchange visit.

On Monday Truro College invited the group, consisting mainly of teenagers, to visit and perform for students and staff. The occasion was organised by Spanish lecturer Antonio Gomariz who encouraged students to get up and join in percussion and dance workshops, which they did with great enthusiasm! Vice Principal David Humphries welcomed the group and was delighted to be presented with a selection of fruit liqueurs from Galicia before the group left to be welcomed by their host families.

The rest of their stay included an educational visit to the Tate Gallery and the Barbara Hepworth Museum by courtesy of Kerry Rice, a visit to Porthleven CP School with music teacher Sian Blunt, and a final farewell evening on the Lemon Quay Piazza, by kind invitation of the City Council and organised by council member Philippa Vivian. The streets of Truro resounded to the stirring sounds of the pipes and drums as the Galicians processed around the piazza in full traditional costume, and their final performance of spectacular music and dancing provided a fitting culmination to six days of music and sunshine as Cornwall.

Crowders and Horners Project

"Wherever there were mining villages there were bands . . . the "marches" were often entitled "polka march". Such marches were played to short, slow steps with one or two beats of the big drum to the bar. I consider these old village bands to have been the descendants of the older Crowders and Horners." H. Bolitho, quoted in R. Dunstan's Cornish Song Book, 1929.

Funded by Arts Council England Southwest, 'Crowders and Horners!' piloted and popularised a new approach to brass and reed music during 2003. The idea was to recruit people from the many existing brass and wind bands in Cornwall and use traditional Cornish dance music as inspiration, leading to a sound that is at once familiar and highly danceable! This was put to the test at 3 major festivals in Cornwall: Trevithick Day, Camborne in April, Golowan, Penzance in June and the third, the finale of the Caradon Festival, at the Sterts Theatre, Upton Cross, in October. A stand of several dozen musicians, playing by ear took to the streets with crowds of enthusiastic dancers swirling about them. The dancing is the infectious 'Noze Looan' style of Cornish roots dance currently sweeping across Cornwall. The musicians are a wonderful assortment of players from across Cornwall and have worked through improvisation, creativity and good humour to produce a stonking great sound! This material forms the core of this book and CD package.

As one dancer put it: "The Horners blast out their opening notes and capture everyone within earshot. Even more people press forward, intent on watching the band. I start to feel the momentum from the Horners and they sound great, syncopating a wave of sound. The drums beat the final rhythm and the music ends, leaving a ringing void in the ears and hearts beating wildly." (Golowan 2003)

Golowan

"An eye! An eye!" was the cry for Golowan's Mazey Day in Penzance, but "Crowders & Horners" was the cry for Sunday's Quay Fair Day, a chance to dance in the streets to a collective stave of string, brass, reed and percussion instruments, played by artists and musicians from Cornwall.

Golowan, or the Feast of St. John, is Cornwall's biggest midsummer festival. The summer solstice in Penwith is still celebrated with fire and Serpent Dancing, so what better occasion could there be for Cumpas' "Crowders & Horners" project to run the second leg of their innovative 9 month enterprise, promoting Cornish music and dance. The flavour is set in a street session style, and was first played out successfully at Trevithick Day in Camborne, last spring.

The inspiration for the project was a quote from Dunstan's Cornish Song Book (Lyver Canow Kernewek):

"Wherever there were mining villages there were bands . . . composed of instruments which could be played while marching slowly so that the children and old people could keep up. The "marches" were often entitled "polka March". Such marches were played to short, slow steps with one of two beats of the drum to the bar. I consider these old village bands to have been the descendants of the older Crowders and Horners". Horton Bolitho.

Through school and community based workshops, music and dance artists working with Cumpas, delivered the core repertoire of 4 tunes from 'Fooch', learned and played by ear, and developed the associated Noze Looan dances. Each leg of the project features a different set of tunes, so that the end of the project in the autumn will have explored 12 Cornish pieces. 12 pupils from Cape Cornwall and 8 from Mounts Bay schools took part in music workshops: and 40 Y9 & Y10 pupils from Bolitho School danced their way through the basic Noze Looan formulas and rhythms. 'Horners' workshops were held at Penzance Junior School for brass, reed and percussion instruments, and were attended by 14 musicians of various musical abilities - the core repertoire gaining much 'artistic licence'! Festival dance workshops held at the Acorn Theatre in the weeks leading up to about 25 local participants, including members of Penwith W.I, attended Golowan. A handful from St.Just Violin Group bought up the numbers for the 'Crowders' and string based Bagas Crowd led the way.

As with Trevithick Day, the workshops would lead to performances of individual groups, and a finale with all participating groups playing and dancing a shared repertoire. Quay Fair Day was the ideal setting, "the old harbour, with it's huddled courts, and quays and warehouses was once the heart of Golowan. Public houses enjoyed 24 hour opening during the feast. It was from this old part of town that youths and maids made their excursions with burning tar ropes and wound the Serpent Dance through back streets and alleys. Today's Quay Fair is set a few yards from the old quayside site. Traditionally, country families would take their one and only annual 'pennorth of say' excursion around the bay and enjoy the fair stalls and street entertainment".

Midday, and despite dire weather predictions, it is sunny and warm. The last day of Golowan and a last chance to party. The festival had supplied plenty of that in the previous 10 days, especially at the Thursday night Noze Looan in the marquee. About 250 revellers crammed into the marquee for what was billed as THE Noze Looan of Nozow Looan. It was that and ten times more! Two Cornish bands, Dalla with guest Horners, and Bagas Degol alongside Breton Bagad A Bout De Souffle had the crowds dancing, grooving, bending and looping from the first note played, right through to midnight and a big last number session with all musicians in 'G' playing a massive last Serpent of the evening. This bodes well for "Crowders & Horners" as this is the flavour that will take to the streets.

Half past midday, and its 15 minutes until the first group, Bagas Crowd are due to start. Where's Bagas Crowd? Where are the Horners and Dancers? Did they all peak too soon at the Noze Looan, did they overdo Mazey Day and Serpent themselves out? Finale Day always has a life of it's own, so that you know things might not happen to schedule, but you know SOMETHING will happen - just what remains a mystery until it happens!

Amazingly, the sound of fiddles reaches the ears from a distance. Drawn by the sound, I track them to the South Pier where Frances Bennett with Bagas Crowd is tuning up (en route my path is crossed by Hilary Davey-Coleman rounding up the Horners, you can't timetable creativity and musicians keep their own time!). What! Only 4 dancers, but we carry on regardless. The Crowders draw the first audience of the day, launching into a polished repertoire, and we start a processional dance, people are still taking it easy and we only persuade 3 other people to join in. The promise of the day has yet to unfold, but it still bodes well.

I still cannot find any of the teenagers who took part in the workshops, and keep faith that they will manifest in time for the finale at 4.00pm. Meanwhile, the Horners are graduating towards the designated street spot for their first 'blast' of the day. I can tell they feel under-rehearsed, but the drums start a few beats and the crowds draw round with interest. The Horners blast out their opening notes and captures everyone within earshot. Even more people press forward, intent on watching the band and I work hard to create the dance space so we can get a Heva Cornisch going. 2 teenagers recognise the tune and step forward to join the dance, then a handful of Joe Public decide to give it a go, I start to feel the momentum from the Horners and they sound great, syncopating a wave of sound. The dance increases round the outside, and now some of the W.I. have turned up along with some of our Noze Looan regulars, I can see them down the line as it curves round the Horners, grooving as they're moving! More youngsters jump in and it's a bit of a crush as the audience are still pressing forward, but we Serpent our way through, keeping the rhythm going. Have Cornish tunes ever had so much life in them?

The bands are all playing half-hour sets before the grand finale, just to wet the appetites, so next on are the Crowders, a great circle of fiddle players. The workshop participants are all arriving now and the sound swells, but dancers have disappeared into the crowd, as there's no more room to dance. I go and check the space outside the Meadery, yes it's going to be very suitable for en mass musicians and enthusiastic dancing. Even from further down the Quay I can hear the Crowders, and the thrill of hearing Cornish music at a Cornish festival runs through me. This is what "Crowders & Horners" is all about, taking to the streets in a natural setting and raising the profile of Cornish music and dance, making it accessible to everyday people.

Just time for a half of Guinness and catch my breath as the finale approaches. The Crowders and Horners have gone off for a last practice, I can still hear them in the distance, always room for improvement but they sound great to me, I can't wait The first drops of rain plonk in my glass. Looking up, the weather has done a sharp about turn. May be it will pass. It gets worse. People are running for cover. We will not be thwarted and Cumpas find each other to discuss what's to do. Hilary has come up with 'wet-weather' plan, everyone to the Gallery Bar called The Space. Frances and Hilary speed off to re-direct the musicians, and now, in pouring rain, I parade up and down proclaiming the change of venue with a dripping sign, a dancer with a bellowing voice beside me announcing the re-direction. Gathering up some of the teenagers as we go, we all converge in The Space, which is now full to capacity, a festival free-for-all! It seems like chaos but I know that when the music starts, the Finale that has a life of it's own will become it's own animal. The pupils from the school workshops are here, more of the dancers have turned up, the air is electric with anticipation, and the animal is a thoroughbred under starter's orders.

The drums start the beat, the Crowders string an introductory harmony, and the Horners kick in with the Heva Cornisch. The dancers cannot get near the musicians so we stake a claim to a bit of space somewhere in the middle of the melee. The Finale was underway. The tunes became extended as musicians entered the spirit of the session, becoming bolder and even more inventive. Notes and chords that had troubled them in rehearsal now flew to the dancers with ease, and we danced and sweated and danced and were drenched with music. The Heva Cornisch finished, and seamlessly the Crowders & Horners played on with An Culyak Hos to which we danced a Hand-in-Hand, whirling under each others arms and yelling our excitement, the music swelling all the time. Now we had quite a crowd of people joining in the dance, not just the workshop participants. Families having a last day at the festival, more teenagers supporting their friends who were playing with the bands, Grannies and Grandpas, toddlers just able to walk, everyone having a go!

And the bands played on. Oll an Gerriow, a 5/4 tune had us weaving and curving to a Cabm Pemp (Step 5) that jumped the high spots and stamped the low spots, we were cooking! The rain continued to pour outside, but inside was a haven of harmony. One more tune to go, the BIG one. 9 Brave Boys has become the definitive last chance to dance, a grapevine Serpent to trance to. The rhythm takes over and the Finale has climaxed into a natural high. The Serpent spirals in to accommodate more people, then loops out again through the door, into the rain and back in another door, the line seems endless and a tribal chant from the dancers matches the dynamism of the musicians.

The drums beat the final rhythm and the music ended, leaving a ringing void in the ears and hearts beating wildly. The sense of achievement and a great happiness fills The Space. Teachers from the schools are keen to book more for the autumn to continue building on this, over-awed at their pupil's development with "Crowders & Horners". People are falling over themselves to sign up for more dance classes. Joe Public wants more, and to continue this, they will get more.

Just before I leave, I pause at the door and look back…and smile at everyone hugging and congratulating themselves, at strangers talking to each other, artists seeking further collaborations, youngsters with positive attitudes, at Love and Harmony, at Cornwall coming together.

Trevithick Day Review.

"It's going to rain." . . . "No, it's not." . . . "It's really grey, it'll bucket down." . . . "NO it won't!"

The scene is set in Camborne, it is Trevithick Day again. Black and gold bunting flutters in the wind, the very faint smell of steam wafts elusively and the crowds are gathering in an air of anticipation. Today the first phase of Cumpas' project "CROWDERS & HORNERS" Cornish Street Sessions is about to have it's primary run. The concept behind the project is a quote from Dunstan's Cornish Song book:

"Wherever there were mining villages there were bands . . . composed of instruments that could be played while marching. . . so that the children and old people could keep up. The 'marches' were often entitled 'polka march'. Such marches were played to short, slow steps with one of two beats of the big drum to the bar. I consider these old village bands to have been the descendants of the older Crowders and Horners". Horton Bolitho.

Inspired by this and the new wave of Cornish music and dance in Cornwall today called Noze Looan, Cornish Music Projects devised, produced and managed a series of school and community based workshops involving a team of professional Cornish musicians, dancers and singers. Drawing on a core of Cornish material, 3 different groups led by Bagas Crowd for string instruments, Kescana for singers and Bagas Degol with drum and reed instruments and each with their own dance leaders, were generated in Camborne School.

Pupils from Y9, 10 & 11 took part in sessions held in school time, working hard to produce a performance level of excellence for Trevithick Day.

At the same time, weekly community sessions were held at the Thomas Holman Centre for Horners which featured brass and reed players, as well as drum percussion. The overall vision for the project was stated as:

"These elements will be brought together in community celebration (with a core of professional practitioners providing focus and structure). Imagine a central strand of several dozen musicians, playing by ear, with many hundred enthusiastic dancers swirling about them."

The streets of Camborne most certainly saw that happen at this year's Trevithick Day. Beginning at 11.00 in the morning with 3 Daft Monkeys outside at Iceland and Bagas Crowd in Market Square, (keeping an eye on the weather!) the first tunes and dances were played. Arrivals to the event were greeted from the start with the sight and sound of Cornish music. At different times and locations, as the day unfolded, Dalla, Kescana, Bagas Degol, 3 Daft Monkeys, Bagas Crowd and a group of Horners took to the streets. A hand full of people danced, the sun shone and everyone looked up. When we looked again, more people were joining the dance and it was everywhere, blocking where people walked. A posse of teenagers, friends of the Camborne School Band, ran from group to group to catch the next dance - eyes alive to something bigger than themselves.

The grand finale to the day in Market Square at 4.30 saw the vision really become reality. All of the participating groups and a big fan club of dancers converged to all play together and match their versions of the same tunes. Cue cards proclaiming 'Horners!', 'Singers', 'Crowders', 'Band' gave the music varying flavours, and took a huge ring of people, stepping and stamping round the outside, into a trance of a dance. And they danced. And they danced; the serpent grew big enough to join the ends up, at one point spiralling in tight to get more people in. The musicians played on, each piece 15 or more minutes long. The Square was packed. The surrounding street had an overspill of people still trying to see what was happening, and then the last note was played, sung and danced.

The magic lingered, and you could see everyone feeling it: something Cornish happened today. As people realised it was over and began taking their leave of each other, you could hear over and over "Brilliant, when can we do that again?" . . . "Phew! That was great" . . . "I didn't stop all day".

I stood there, soaking it up and reflected. From the very first tune and dance in the morning, only stopping long enough for the Procession and Steam Engines to go through, right up until this moment, it all happened. Non-stop Cornish Music and Dance. In the street. In Camborne. With the smell of steam. With the people of Cornwall. In Cornwall.