The author Walter White provides a window into mid-19th century Cornwall and its traditions in his travelogue “A Londoners Walk to the Land’s End”. The chapter on St Austell describes a Cornish Wrestling match in some detail including the employment of a drummer and clarinettist. [i] The musicians were used to create a sense of excitement and anticipation by leading the combatants in a procession through the crowds to the contest area. This is a good example of jobbing musicians providing music for a community event. Not being the principle focus little is recorded of these musicians or their music, but it seems likely that there was a dual role here for chapel musicians and village bands.[ii] Michael Harris for example was a flutist who played in a chapel band at St Stephen in the 1850s. Kresen Kernow hold some of his music manuscripts, mostly hymn tunes arranged in four parts, but pinned in between these he has included the score for two reels “Stony Steps” and “I’m not too Young to Marry Yet” [iii].
“Stony Steps” is also found in the manuscript collection of John Old of Par. Perhaps the ultimate “jobbing musician”, John Old was a dancing master in the early 19th Century who taught the families of the newly wealthy industrialists the finer country house arts of music and dance.[iv] It contains a mixture of popular local dance tunes and well-known standards with a strong dash of music and dance that would later become part of Scottish Country Dance repertoire.
[i] Walter White, A Londoners Walk to the Land’s End, (London, C Whiting, Beauford House, 1861) pp134-135
[ii] See Mike O’Connor, Ilow Kernow 5, (Wadebridge, Lingham House Music, 2009), p97
[iii] Kresen Kernow, Reference number: AD1384/2/1
[iv] Mike O’Connor, No Song No Supper! the music of John Old, Dancing Master of Par (Wadebridge: Lyngham House Music, 2002)