Somerset is a county in the southwest of England. The county has a well-documented and still vibrant folk music heritage, as it was studied by one of the earliest British musicologists, Cecil Sharp, who cut his teeth on the rich vein of folk music tradition in Somerset. Sharp began his career of collecting folk songs in Somerset in 1903. Cycling around the county during holidays, Sharp ultimately collected more than 1,500 songs from Somerset. The folksinging tradition in Somerset centers on solo, a capella singing and playing -- at home, at work, and at gatherings, small or large. [1] Sharp's five volume collection of Somerset folk songs formed the basis for his English Folk Song: Some Conclusions, a seminal 1907 publication. Some of Sharp's collections formed the basis for Songs of the West (with Sabine Baring-Gould) and Somerset Rhapsody by Gustav Holst and the "March from Somerset" in Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite.
There are many music institutions that play a major part in the musical life of Somerset. Halsway Manor is the only residential centre for folk music and culture in the United Kingdom. Youth groups include the Somerset County Youth Orchestra, the Somerset County Youth Choir and the Somerset County Youth Concert Band. The Taunton Area Centre and the Yeovil Music Centre are two affiliated institutions, as are the Cheddar Valley Music Club, the Yamaha Music School and COSMIC, the Centre of Somerset Music Club. Other groups include the Somerset Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1979, the Mid-Somerset Orchestra, the Winscombe Orchestra, the Yeovil Town Band and the Wincanton Town Band.
Well-known musicians from Somerset include Acker Bilk, a jazz musician from Pensford (who formed the Paramount Jazz Band), Weston-super-Mare-born Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and local folk legends Adge Cutler and The Wurzels (simply The Wurzels after Cutler's untimely death), who were the most prominent Somerset band in the Scrumpy and Western music scene. The Wurzels began their long career in 1966, with the release of "Drink Up Thy Zider", which sold more than 100,000 copies. After losing their songwriter, they turned to novelty songs and eventually topped the singles chart with "Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)" in 1976.
More recently, bands that have originated, or have some connections in Somerset include Reef, Kula Shaker and Toploader. All of these have played at the Glastonbury Festival -- the largest and richest annual event in Somerset's music scene.
References
- ^ Songs of Somerset Folk, Traditional Songs from the Sharp Archives performed by Eddie Upton, Folk South West, 1998. Halsgrove, Tiverton, Devon. Audio CD, ISBN 1841140112, ISBN 978-1841140117
Songs of Somerset Folk, Traditional Songs from the Sharp Archives performed by Eddie Upton, Folk South West, 1998. Halsgrove, Tiverton, Devon. Audio CD, ISBN 1841140112, ISBN 978-1841140117
External links
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