Wp/nth/Music o Northumbria

Iv a musical context Northumbria is taen te mean Northumberland, the maist northren coonty iv England, and Coonty Durham. Accordin te 'World Music (Warld Music): The region is weel-knawn for its borders ballad tradition, the Northumbrian smaapipes (a kínd o bagpipe at is unique te the region), and a strang fiddle tradition at wes aariddy weel-establisht bi the 1690s. Northumbrian music wes influenced biv other musical traditions i the British isles, wi maist influence comin frae Scotland, Ireland, and other pairts o Northren England.

Local musical forms an styles

Northumbria and the Scottish mairches baith hes a lang history o border ballads, sic as 'The Ballad o Chevy Chase'. Northumbria hes its awn repertoire o folk dances forby, the twe maist weel-knawn is rapper dancin and Durham and Northumberland style clog dancin. Traditional Northumbrian dance music soonds varra different te the traditional dance music ov other pairts ov England. Wiv its rare-brokken drivin quaver rhythms, it is mair similar tiv Irish and Scottish dance music nor that frae sooth o the Tees.

Rapper Sword Dancers

Mony Northumbrians tuins is shared wiv other musical traditions, particularly Ireland, Scotland and other pairts o Northren England. Hooaniver, there is varra offen a difference atween a Northumbrian varsion ov a sang and a variety frev another pairt o the warld. The Irish tuin, 'The Chorus Jig', at hes three strains, is fund i the Northumbrian tradition as 'Holey Ha’penny', an ornate five-strain variation set. A Scottish strathspey, 'Struan Robertson's Rant' appears, wivoot the Scotch snap, as a smaapipe tuin caad 'Cuckold come oot o the Amrey', a lang variation set. These twe examples shows hoo we offen cannet be çartain aboot where an aud sang comes frae; ilk can be played wiv a primitive instrument, and might hae been played for a lang time afore their first publication, mebby even langer nor they hae been sin. Assumptions aboot regional origins can gan again the study o music undertaen biv enthusiastic musicians (at might hae their awn allegiances) hooaniver, regional varsions and styles (sic as Northumbrian) is quite a different matter, acause they hae reliable and establisht soorces.

Tuins i hornpipe rhythm is weel-appreciated i the region, baith for playin and for dancin, especially clog dancin. A popular rhythm i the region is the rant, used for figur dances sic as The Morpeth Rant wiv a characteristic step; musically it is similar tiv a reel, though a bit slawer, and wi mair ov a lilt.

Bagpipe music

Northumbrian Pipers

I the late medieval period pipe music appears te hae been characterised bi the use o the Northumbrian 'war pipe', at might hae been the ancestor o the Greet Heeland Bagpipe, but ne examples on't hes survived. It appears te hae been replaced i the region bi the eighteenth century biv a variety o pipes, rangin frae the conical bore, oppen-ended border pipes, te the cylindrically bored smaapipes; the closed-ended kínd wiv its single octave compass and closed fingerin is knawn te hev existed sin the sivinteenth century, but oppen-ended kínds wes knawn an aa. The Union or Pastoral pipes, the precursor te the Irish Uilleann pipes, is knawn te hae been played and made i the region forby. The earliest knawn bagpipe manuscript frae the UK is a tuinbeuk bi William Dixon o Stamfordham i Northumberland, frae 1733. This includes forty tuins wiv extensive sets o variations. Some o these tuins corresponds te later varsions o knawn smaapipe tuins; others, wiv a nine-note compass, munnet hae been played on owther the Border pipes or oppen-ended smaapipes, like the Scottish smaapipes.

I the early nineteenth century, pipe makers sic as John Dunn and Robert and James Reid added keys te the closed-ended smaapipe, extendin its range tiv aamaist twe octaves. Wiv its greeter flexibility, the instrument becam mair fashionable aroond this time. Hooiver, Border pipes disn’t seem te hae been used i Northumberland that often efter the middle o the century, though they war revived as the 'hauf-lang pipes' i the 1920s and mair successfully i the 1970s and 80s.

Fiddle music

The earliest source o fiddle music frae Northumberland is Henry Atkinson's tuinbeuk frae the 1690s. This includes tuins fund i baith the soothren English and Scottish music o the time. A later soorce, unfortunately lost, wes John Smith's tuinbeuk frae 1750. Some tunes frev it wes copied oot bi John Stokoe i the nineteenth century: these includes an extended set o variations on the sang The Keel Row for fiddle (the earliest knawn varsion), pipe tuins wi variations sic as Bold Wilkinson, and a varsion o Jacky Layton wi variations for the fiddle. It is çartain that, like i Scotland, the playin o extended variation sets on the fiddle wes present i Northumberland at the time. A bit ov a later soorce, the William Vickers manuscript, frae 1770, at is for the fiddle an aa, contains 580 simple dance tuins, but nobbut a few variation sets.

I the nineteenth century, the maist notable featur o the region's music wes the popularity o the hornpipe i 4/4 time, and in particular the varry influential playin o the publican, fiddler and composer James Hill. His compositions includes 'The High Level Bridge', 'The Great Exhibition', 'The Beeswing', 'The Hawk' and mony others. Many other fine tuins hes been attributed tiv him, but these includes some he cannet possibly hae written. Another local composer, i the later 19th century, wes the fiddler and dancin maister Robert Whinham, aboot 60 o whese compositions survives, notably the hornpipe 'Remember Me', and 'Whinham's Reel'.

I the early- and mid-twentieth century, influential fiddlers included Ned Pearson, Jim Rutherford, Adam Gray, George Hepple and Jake Hutton, feyther o the noted piper Joe Hutton. John Airmstrang o Carrick played wi the piper Billy Pigg. I the later pairt o the century, Willy Taylor wes aiblins the maist weel respected o the mony fiddlers i the region.

Other instruments

Other musical instruments at hes been used i the region includes the flute and piccolo. Some nineteenth-century manuscripts contains tuins at is i keys and registers appropriate te the flute. Billy Ballantine wes a piccolo player frae the west o the region, at played for dances i the mid-twentieth century. The style ov his playing wes varry distinctive, mixin staccato notes for rhythmic emphasis wi mair ornate passages. He made recordings o tuins like the Kielder Schottische and The Gilsland Hornpipe for the BBC. Billy Conroy made some recordins on hame-made whistles.

Free reed instruments hes been o growin importance sin their development i the nineteenth century. I particular the mooth organ or "moothie" wes played notably bi Will Atkinson. Like elsewhere iv England, the melodeon hes been used for dance music.

Folk revivals

The first folk revival i the region tended te revolve aroond folk dance, the collection o border ballads and, frae the later 1870s, the revival ov interest i pipe music.

John Bell collected mony tuins and sangs frae the region i the early nineteenth century. Later on, i the middle o the century, the Ancient Melodies Committee o the Newcastle Society o Antiquaries attempted a mair comprehensive collection, maistly based on manuscript and printed soorces; this wes later edited for publication by John Collingwood Bruce and John Stokoe.

The Northumbrian Small Pipes Society wes foonded i Newcastle i 1893; though it wes short-lived, nobbut continuin til 1900, it ran a series o competitions, won by Henry Clough and Richard Mowat. The Northumbrian Pipers' Society wes foonded i 1928, and is generally credited wi helpin te keep the distinctive tradition alive. The first recordins o the Northumbrian smaapipes wes made i the late 1920s, includin the HMV recordin o Tom Clough.

Border ballads wes a mickle pairt o them collected by Francis James Child and makes up maist o the sixth volume ov his ten volume collection o The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882–98).

The second folk revival saw a number ov acts drawin on this wark, and enjoyin a bit success. Probably the maist influential piper frae the region wes Billy Pigg, but other important pipers i the mid-twentieth century includes G. G. Armstrong, George Atkinson, Jack Airmstrang, and Joe Hutton. Figurs sic as Lou Killen, The High Level Ranters and Bob Davenport browt Northumbrian folk te national and international audiences.

The maist successfu folk group frae the region i the 1970s wes Lindisfarne, at played progressive folk music wi some local styling. Far mair conçarned wi traditional music frae the region wes the group at splintered frev em i 1973 Jack the Lad, and another group at they gained some members Hedgehog Pie frae, that, for a time, provided a regional answer te the British folk rock o bands like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. These groups hes been seen as continuin an exploration o regional identity through folk music.

Colin Ross, hes been influential nut oney as a player and teacher o the Northumbrian pipes, but hes been an important pipemaker an aa, like David G. Burleigh wes. Distinctive local soonds wes far mair marked i the next generation o traditional Northumbrian folk musicians sic as Ed Pickford and Jez Lowe, at hes reinvigorated the local scene and artists like fiddler Nancy Kerr and piper Kathryn Tickell hes gained international reputations, appearin on records wiv artists like Kate Rusby, Eliza Carthy and even Sting. In 2003 June Tabor stimulated interest i the Border ballads wiv her weel regairded album An Echo of Hooves.

Thenks te the efforts o musicians like these i 2001 Newcastle University wes the first te offer a performance-based degree programme i folk and traditional music iv England. Nooadays the region hes ower thirty active folk clubs and hosts sindry mikcle folk festivals, includin the Traditional Music Festival at Rothbury.

Contemporary music in Northumbria

There is mony airtists and acts at hes formed i the North East sic as the Lighthouse Family and Dubstar (Newcastle upon Tyne), Maxïmo Park (Singer frae Billingham, other band members met i Newcastle) The Futureheads and Field Music (Sunderland) and China Drum (drae Ovingham an aa). Musicians and singers that were born and raised in the region include Sting, Bryan Ferry, Dave Stewart, Mark Knopfler, Cheryl Tweedy, Andy Taylor o Duran Duran, Jimmy Nail (Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Spender), AC/DC's Brian Johnson, Neil Tennant o Pet Shop Boys, Paddy McAloon, and Moloko's Mark Brydon.