Manx, Welsh and Cornish musical collaboration!

Manx, Welsh and Cornish musical collaboration!

Tue, 03 Sep 2024

Ruth Keggin Gell in a promotional video for Môr / Mooir / Mor

An exciting new international music collaboration has been announced, and you’re invited to take part!

Culture Vannin has joined forces with similar organisations from Wales and Cornwall to present a folk music exchange created especially for European Folk Day on Monday the 23rd of September.

Development officers Chloë Woolley & Ruth Keggin Gell from Culture Vannin have teamed up with Jordan Price Williams from the Welsh folk development organisation, TRAC Cymru, and Jowdy Davey from Cornish cultural organisation, Lowender, to present a special challenge for singers and musicians - to learn each other’s folk songs or tunes, and interpret them in their own way. Individuals or groups are then asked to record or film their performances and share them on their own social media channels on European Folk Day tagging #europeanfolkday

This collaborative project has the wonderful title, 'Môr / Mooir / Mor.'

A common theme found in both the landscape and cultural heritage of all three nations is the ‘sea’, and interestingly, the Celtic cousins share a very similar sounding name for the sea in each language: Môr in Welsh, Mooir in Manx and Mor in Cornish!

The Manx song and tune for the project are now online and ready to learn through video tutorials from Manx Gaelic singer Ruth Keggin and traditional fiddle player Laura Rowles.

MANX SONG: “Shiaull Ersooyl” (Sail Away) is a short Manx Gaelic song collected by Mona Douglas in the 1920s and it can be performed in lots of interesting ways:

https://manxmusic.com/learn/songs/shiaull-ersooyl/

MANX TUNE: “Three Little Boats” is one of the most popular jigs from the Isle of Man, and as well as being a session favourite and also a simple Christmas song, it is often used to accompany dances; Ladies’ Jig, Men’s Jig and Dance for Three:

https://manxmusic.com/learn/tunes/three-little-boats/

WELSH TUNE: "Morgawr" is a tune by Simon Owen, the Welsh title of which means, Sea Monster.

Sheet music: Morgawr
Video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svPvaznkqpY

WELSH SONG: "Ar Lan y Môr," by its English translation, has many names including “Down by the Sea”, “On the Seashore”, “Beside The Sea”. It is a descriptive song, that illustrates a colourful and delicate scene upon an unknown, coastal location.

Video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsgq-MqrGlY

CORNISH TUNE: "Tom Bawcock's Eve" (pronounced 'bow' to rhyme with 'glow') is a tune associated with the story of the Mousehole Cat (pronounced 'Mowzle') and triumph against adversity in the small fishing village in West Cornwall.

Sheet music: Tom Bawcock's Eve
More information: https://cornishnationalmusicarchive.co.uk/content/tom-bawcocks/

The Cornish sea-themed song will be revealed soon.

Now in its second year, European Folk Day highlights the value of the traditional arts, reinforcing that each diverse nation is an essential part of Europe’s rich cultural spectrum. From grassroots communities to national organisations, and from individual musicians to companies involved in traditional arts at any level, anyone can get involved!

Dr Chloë Woolley, Manx Music Development Officer for Culture Vannin, said:

“Annual events like European Folk Day are a great excuse to make international links and musical connections, whilst reflecting on what makes each nation unique”.

Ruth Keggin Gell, Yn Greinneyder - Manx Language Development Officer, added:

“Learning and performing music is such a fun and enriching way to engage the community in the cultural heritage of our respective nations; we hope that through this lovely collaborative project, more people will enjoy finding out about Manx, Welsh and Cornish music and language!”

Culture Vannin’s own Manx music youth group, Bree, will be having a go, with a special workshop for young musicians on Saturday 7th September. It’s free to attend and open to all singers and musicians aged 10 – 18. Contact Chloë for more details: manxmusic@culturevannin.im

As a new collaboration for this particular trio of Celtic cousins, it is hoped that Môr / Mooir / Mor will inspire creatives from Wales, Cornwall and Isle of Man to learn from one another and spark enthusiasm for similar projects in the future.