Free public lecture on Manx music history

Free public lecture on Manx music history

Thu, 30 May 2019

W. H. Gill, author of The Manx National Song Book

A rare free public lecture on two of the great unsung figures in Manx musical history:

“I am longing for another voyage of discovery in the summer”:
The Gill brothers and their collecting of folk songs from the Isle of Man (1894-98)

One of the leading scholars of Manx studies today, Stephen Miller, will give a rare public lecture on Manx music history on:

Thursday 13th June, 7pm
Atholl Room, Centenary Centre, Peel

The Gill brothers - W.H. Gill (1839–1923) and Deemster J.F. Gill (1842–99) - have remained marginalised and neglected figures in the collecting of Manx folk song, overshadowed by A.W. Moore, whose own 'Manx Ballads and Music' appeared in 1896, and by Dr John Clague, whose collection was published in large part in the 'Journal of the Folk-Song Society'. Ironically, the Gills have left more manuscript material behind than any of these collectors, found amongst the personal papers of Deemster Gill when they were released in 2000. Pulling on new research carried out over recent years, this talk will readdress the place of the Gill brothers and offer a reassessment of their place in Manx cultural history.

Currently based in Vienna, Stephen Miller has a BA in history and an MA in folk life studies from the University of Leeds, and he takes a special interest in Manx folklore, folk song, folk dance and the figures and collectors involved with the Celtic Revival. He recently delivered the paper at Cecil Sharp House in London.

Organised by Culture Vannin, this lecture is free of charge to attend - just come along and take a seat!