The Roseland with Trewince indicated
Trevince March relates to an area in Gwennap, some distance from the Roseland but at some point the name became corrupted to Trewince and adopted into the repertoire of Roseland bands, including St Anthony’s Noyse Band. Whether the slight change in name was deliberate or accidental no one knows, but the traditional Cornish tune deserves inclusion here.
Trevince March – melody
The melody would have been played more or less as the sheet music with the harmony improvised by traditional musicians such as this modern tea treat band.
It was felt that the march would also have been played by reed and brass bands, and by brass bands, so the CNMA commissioned Hannah Hawken to arrange the music for a full brass band.
Trevince Sheet Music for Brass Band – copyright Hannah Hawken
Trevince March played by St Austell Town Band
The end game was a video which was made during the Covid Pandemic lockdown with the parts individually played by members of St Austell Town Band and the results electronically merged.
Trewince, the place, certainly does exist and Nev Meek wrote: “Trewince (wind[y] farmstead) was a medieval settlement and is now a farm. There is also a large Georgian house there and in the 19th century the families who occupied it were regarded as the squires of Gerrans, they had the sort of status whereby people would doff their caps to them.
There is a musical connection in that the various bands which existed in Gerrans, would march to Trewince to entertain the squire and his family. On occasions they were treated to a tea in the gardens, and of course the squire would contribute to their funds. Perhaps there is some community memory in play, with people recalling the band marching to Trewince, which influenced the re-interpretation of the name of the march as Trewince March.
The route from Gerrans to Trewince was lined on both sites by large elm trees, the branches of which covered the road forming an arcade which became known as Trewince Avenue. It was well-known locally, but the trees were decimated in the 1970s by Dutch Elm Disease.”
“On Whit Mondays … The Friendly Society used to parade there with a band – they used to march up from Portscatho and out to Trewince, and there they used to have drink and play outside the big house. We used to go up there. We used to get some sweets and an orange.” (The Past in St Gerrans (1975) containing reminiscences of older residents, so possibly recalling events c.1900)