Scottish folk music
Scottish folk music (also Scottish traditional music) is a
The earliest printed collection of secular music comes from the seventeenth century. Collection began to gain momentum in the early eighteenth century and, as the Kirk's opposition to music waned, there was a flood of publications including
After World War II, traditional music in Scotland was marginalised, but remained a living tradition. This was changed by individuals including
Celtic rock developed as a variant of British folk rock by Scottish groups including the JSD Band and Spencer's Feat.
Development
There is evidence that there was a flourishing culture of popular music in
The first clear reference to the use of the
There is evidence of ballads from this period. Some may date back to the late Medieval era and deal with events and people that can be traced back as far as the thirteenth century, including "Sir Patrick Spens" and "Thomas the Rhymer", but for which there is no evidence until the eighteenth century.[7] Scottish ballads are distinct, showing some pre-Christian influences in the inclusion of supernatural elements such as the fairies in the Scottish ballad "Tam Lin".[8] They remained an oral tradition until increased interest in folk songs in the eighteenth century led collectors such as Bishop Thomas Percy to publish volumes of popular ballads.[8]
Early song collection
In Scotland the earliest printed collection of secular music was by publisher John Forbes, produced in
Revivals
First revival
From the late nineteenth century there was renewed interest in traditional music, which was more academic and political in intent.
This revival began to have a major impact on classical music, with the development of what was in effect a national school of orchestral and operatic music in Scotland. Major composers included
Second revival
After World War II, traditional music in Scotland was marginalised, but, unlike in England, it remained a much stronger force, with the Céilidh house still present in rural communities until the early 1950s and traditional material still performed by the older generation, even if the younger generation tended to prefer modern styles of music. This decline was changed by the actions of individuals such as American musicologist
There was also a strand of popular Scottish music that benefited from the arrival of radio and television, which relied on images of Scottishness derived from tartanry and stereotypes employed in music hall and variety. Proponents included Andy Stewart (1933–1993), whose weekly programme The White Heather Club ran in Scotland from 1958 to 1967. Frequent guests included Moira Anderson (born 1938) and Kenneth McKeller (1927–2010), who enjoyed their own programmes.[24] The programmes and their music were immensely popular, although their version of Scottish music and identity was despised by many modernists.[25]
The fusing of various styles of American music with British folk created a distinctive form of
Though perhaps not as popular as some of their Celtic fusion counterparts, traditional Scottish artists are still making music. These include Hebridean singer
Celtic rock
Celtic rock developed as a variant of British folk rock, playing traditional Scottish folk music with rock instrumentation, developed by Fairport Convention and its members from 1969. Donovan used the term "Celtic rock" to describe the folk rock he created for his Open Road album in 1970, featured a song with "Celtic rock" as its title.[28] The adoption of British folk rock heavily influenced by Scottish traditional music produced groups including the JSD Band The Natural Acoustic Band (1970) and Spencer's Feat. Out of the wreckage of the latter in 1974, guitarist Dick Gaughan formed probably the most successful band in this genre Five Hand Reel, who combined Irish and Scottish personnel, before he embarked on an influential solo career.[29]
From the late 1970s the attendance at, and number of, folk clubs began to decrease, as new musical and social trends, including
Successful Scottish stadium rock acts such as Simple Minds from Glasgow and Big Country from Dunfermline incorporated traditional Celtic sounds onto many of their songs. The former based their hit "Belfast Child" around the traditional Irish song "She Moved Through the Fair" and incorporated accordion into their line-up, while the latter's guitar and drum sounds on their early albums were heavily influenced by Scottish pipe bands, particularly on songs such as "In a Big Country" and "Fields of Fire". Big Country also covered Robert Burns' "Killiecrankie".
One by-product of the
References
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 130–33.
- ISBN 0748602763, pp. 187–90.
- ^ ISBN 3039109480, p. 22.
- ISBN 0748614559, p. 169.
- ISBN 3039109480, p. 35.
- ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 140–1.
- ISBN 0-86241-477-6, pp. 9–10.
- ^ ISBN 1551116111, pp. 610–17.
- ISBN 140869784X, pp. 119–120.
- ISBN 978-0-7486-2027-2, pp. 193–4.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-6142-9, p. 28
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-517478-6, pp. 31–8.
- ISBN 0879306238, p. 55.
- ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 434–5.
- ^ a b c Gardiner, Modern Scottish Culture, pp. 195–6.
- ^ "Alexander Mackenzie" Scottish Composers: the Land With Music, retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ J. Stevenson, "William Wallace", Allmusic, retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ "Learmont-Drysdale" Scottish Composers: the Land With Music, retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ISBN 0191622435, p. 197.
- ^ Gardiner, Modern Scottish Culture, p. 196.
- ^ a b c d Sweers, Electric Folk, pp. 256–7.
- ISBN 1845020847, p. 246.
- ^ a b Broughton, Ellingham and Trillo, World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp. 261–3.
- ISBN 1843532298, p. 140.
- ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 157–9.
- ISBN 0634055488, p. 120.
- ISBN 1858286352, pp. 267.
- ISBN 0099487039, p. 259.
- ISBN 1882267028, p. 869.
- ISBN 0306810077, p. 366.
- ^ Sweers, Electric Folk, p. 259.
- ^ ’Wolfstone – Honest endeavour’ Living Tradition, 43 (May/June 2001), retrieved 22/01/09.
- ^ "Gaelictronica and Beyond". Creativescotland.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ J. Herman, "British Folk-Rock; Celtic Rock", The Journal of American Folklore, 107, (425), (1994) pp. 54–8.
Bibliography
- "Popular Ballads", in The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century (Broadview Press, 2006), ISBN 1551116111.
- Baxter, J. R., "Culture, Enlightenment (1660–1843): music", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN 0-19-211696-7.
- Baxter, J. R., "Music, Highland", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN 0-19-211696-7.
- Broughton, S. ,Ellingham M., and Trillo, R., eds, World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East (London: Rough Guides, 1999), ISBN 1858286352..
- Craig, C., "Culture: modern times (1914–): the novel", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN 0-19-211696-7.
- Dawson, J. E. A., Scotland Re-Formed, 1488–1587 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), ISBN 0748614559.
- DeRogatis, J., Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock (Milwaukie MI, Hal Leonard, 2003), ISBN 0634055488.
- Gardiner, M., Modern Scottish Culture (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005), ISBN 978-0-7486-2027-2.
- Herman, J., "British Folk-Rock; Celtic Rock", The Journal of American Folklore, 107, (425), (1994).
- Hutchison, I. G. C., "Workshop of Empire: The Nineteenth Century" in J. Wormald, ed., Scotland: A History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), ISBN 0191622435.
- Larkin, C., The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Guinness, 1992), ISBN 1882267028.
- Leitch, D., The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Macmillan, 2007), ISBN 0099487039.
- Lyle, E., Scottish Ballads (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2001), ISBN 0-86241-477-6.
- MacDougall, C., Scots: The Language of the People (Black & White, 2006), ISBN 1845020847.
- Mathieson, K., Celtic Music (Backbeat Books, 2001), ISBN 0879306238.
- Millar, P., Four Centuries Of Scottish Psalmody (1949, Read Books, 2008), ISBN 140869784X.
- Porter, J., "Introduction" in J. Porter, ed., Defining Strains: The Musical Life of Scots in the Seventeenth Century (Peter Lang, 2007), ISBN 3039109480.
- Sawyers, J. S., Celtic Music: A Complete Guide (Da Capo Press, 2001), ISBN 0306810077.
- Simpson, P., The Rough Guide to Cult Pop (London: Rough Guides, 2003), ISBN 1843532298.
- Sweers, B., Electric Folk: The Changing Face of English Traditional Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), ISBN 978-0-19-517478-6.
- Whetter, K. S., Understanding Genre and Medieval Romance (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008) ISBN 978-0-7546-6142-9.
- Wormald, J., Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763.
External links
- John Playford's Collection of original Scotch-tunes, (full of the highland humours) for the violin
- Walter Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border