“Colan Williams was baptised at Halsetown in 1858. His father was from Gwinear Downs (Gwinear, Redruth) and his mother was born Tregu/erthen (baptised at Zennor). They were married in St Ives, this was his second marriage.” (Margaret Stevens of St Ives) Considering the inclusion of some of his music in
This page is under construction pending receipt of the Williams Family Tree Zacharias Williams was born circa 1855, in Cornwall, to Zacharias and Elizabeth Williams. He married Lydia Down who was Devon born circa 1860. They were the parents of Edwin J Williams (24th Feb 1881-21st Nov 1945) and
It was while he was in South Africa, however, that Aldovrand Maynard began to study the production of his voice, and there he studied under Mr. Bassett Nicholls. He was a member of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Musical Society, and the Kimberley Diamond-fields Musical Society. His fame as a tenor gained
Lastly, could you tell me more about Cornish Bagpipes? I’ve heard the pairing of the words many times, but not much about their history. The earliest reference to pipers and bagpipes in Cornwall are found in the Cornish Mystery plays where the piper is told to play for dancing.
I want to talk to you about the recently established Cornish National Music Archive. How and why was this formed? The inspiration really came from the Cornish Music Guild. This was set up in the 1980s to highlight the work of Cornish musicians and composers and create a platform
Could you tell us more about yourselves: How you & and Alison introduce Cornish Step Dancing to local schools? Yes, Alison and I take on various persona and costume from history to tell the story of Cornish dance, people like Harry and Carrie. They were itinerant entertainers in
How were you discovering Cornish tunes? Travelling to the Pan Celtic Festival in Ireland encouraged us to look out for Cornish tunes and dances, it created a demand for performance material if you like. There was already a small cannon of material there anyway, people like Ralph Dunstan and
On the 25th November, Chris Trevena met with Merv Davey in St. Austell. This is the first article. We cover when music first happened, finding a Cornish community in London, and some Cornish music roots. Pur dha, I’m Merv Davey I usually describe myself as an itinerant bagpiper. I’m
Kevin Mackenzie, Camborne Town Band Musical Director. Kevin was born on the 1st March 1977, in Middlesex, and in 1989 he and his family moved to Cornwall. Kevin’s mother and her father are musical and they were very supportive when he showed an interest in joining a brass band.