Music of Somerset
Encyclopedia
Folk music
The county has a well-documented and still vibrant folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
heritage, as it was studied by one of the earliest British musicologists
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, Cecil Sharp
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century, and many of England's traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them.-Early life:Sharp was born in Camberwell, London, the eldest son of...
, 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. 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
Sabine Baring-Gould
The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...
) and Somerset Rhapsody by Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
and the "March from Somerset" in Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
' English Folk Song Suite
English Folk Song Suite
Written in 1923, the English Folk Song Suite is one of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams's most famous works for military band. Although it is commonly known by the title given above, it was actually published as "Folk Song Suite" - the title which is used on the score and parts...
.
Classical
The City of Bath Bach ChoirCity of Bath Bach Choir
The City of Bath Bach Choir , based in Bath, Somerset, England, is a choir, founded in October 1946 by Cuthbert Bates, who was also a founding father of the Bath Bach Festival in 1950. The choir gave its inaugural concert in June 1947 in Bath Abbey, a performance of J. S. Bach's great Mass in B...
(CBBC) was founded in October 1946 by Cuthbert Bates, who was also a founding father of the Bath Bach Festival in 1950. The choir gave its inaugural concert in June 1947 in Bath Abbey
Bath Abbey
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England...
, a performance of J. S. Bach's great Mass in B Minor. Cuthbert Bates, as well as the founder, was also the choir's principal conductor.
Venues
Halsway Manor
Halsway Manor is a manor house in Halsway, Somerset, now used as England's National Centre for Traditional Music, Dance and Song. It is the only residential folk centre in the UK. It is situated off the A358 road between Taunton and Williton on the edge of the Quantock Hills.-Buildings:Halsway...
is the only residential centre for folk music and culture in the United Kingdom.
Youth groups
Youth groups include the Somerset County Youth OrchestraSomerset County Youth Orchestra
The Somerset County Youth Orchestra is a music ensemble from Somerset, England. It was founded to offer high quality orchestral playing to younger people who live in Somerset, and is open to anyone resident or attending school in the county, of Grade V ABRSM standard, or equivalent, and above. It...
, 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 artists
Well-known musicians from Somerset include Acker Bilk, a jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician from Pensford
Pensford
Pensford is a village in the civil parish of Publow and Pensford in Somerset, England. It lies in the Chew Valley south of Bristol and west of Bath...
(who formed the Paramount Jazz Band), Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
-born Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
and Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...
guitarist Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, and local folk artists Adge Cutler and The Wurzels
The Wurzels
The Wurzels are a British Scrumpy and Western band...
(simply The Wurzels after Cutler's
Adge Cutler
Alan John 'Adge' Cutler was an English singer who had as his backing band the country and Western folk group The Wurzels. Cutler was known for his songs, but also his dry, West Country humour, and gained the unofficial title of "The Bard Of Avonmouth".-Early life:Alan John Cutler was born in...
death), who were the most prominent Somerset band in the Scrumpy and Western
Scrumpy and Western
Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect...
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.
Rock and pop
More recently, bands that have originated, or have some connections in Somerset include ReefReef (band)
Reef are an English band from Glastonbury. The band members includes Gary Stringer on vocals, Kenwyn House on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass and Dominic Greensmith on drums.-Early days:...
, Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
and Toploader
Toploader
Toploader are an English band from Eastbourne who formed in 1997, with over two million album sales to their name and a string of top 20 hits both home and abroad. Their debut album, Onka's Big Moka, sold over 1 million units and remained in the Top 5 of the UK album chart for over six months...
. All of these have played at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
-- the largest and richest annual event in Somerset's music scene.
In addition to the more traditional style of music, Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...
based progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
/indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band, The Pineapple Thief
The Pineapple Thief
The Pineapple Thief is a progressive/indie rock band, started by Bruce Soord in 1999 in Somerset, England.-Early years:Founder Bruce Soord started "The Pineapple Thief" as an outlet for his music back in 1999. Bruce released the debut Abducting the Unicorn on Cyclops records, which created enough...
, released their latest album, Someone Here Is Missing
Someone Here Is Missing
Someone Here Is Missing is the eighth studio album by The Pineapple Thief, featuring cover art by Storm Thorgerson.-Track listing:*All songs written by Bruce Soord.# "Nothing at Best" 4:08# "Wake Up the Dead" 4:23# "The State We’re In" 3:18...
in 2010, their eleventh album in a career spanning thirteen years. Their constant UK and International tours (particularly in Poland) attract a small but dedicated fanbase. Having played at London Venues such as “Underground” Camden, “The Half Moon” Putney and more recently “Shepherds Bush Empire” where they were supporting Steven Wilson’s “Blackfield” they receive persistently positive, and often glowing, reviews in stalwart magazines such as Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
and Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
for both their musical offerings and their energetic live performances. Their favourable comparisons to bands such as Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
and Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band from Kilmarnock, comprising Simon Neil , James Johnston and Ben Johnston...
, together with Someone Here is Missing sleeve being created by Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson is an English graphic designer, known for his work for rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, 10cc, Dream Theater, The Mars Volta, Muse, The Cranberries, and Biffy Clyro.-Biography:...
the man behind much of the iconic artwork for these industry giants, ensures that this bands reputation and popularity is maintaining its steady progress into mainstream awareness. The Pineapple Thief are regulars at The Orange Box a venue in Yeovil.
Portishead are a musical group named after the town of Portishead, Somerset
Portishead, Somerset
Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset England. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess...
. Portishead consists of Geoff Barrow
Geoff Barrow
Geoffrey Paul Barrow is the producer, disc jockey, and instrumentalist for Portishead.Portishead—formed in 1991—was named after the small town near Bristol where Barrow grew up...
, Beth Gibbons
Beth Gibbons
Beth Gibbons is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist for the iconic British band Portishead.-Early life:...
, and Adrian Utley
Adrian Utley
Adrian Francis Utley is an English musician and a member of the band Portishead.-Biography:Utley is self-taught on guitar, bass and keyboards, and played professionally from the age of 18 in working men's clubs, night clubs, holiday camps, and in cabaret, backing soul artists...
, while sometimes citing a fourth member, Dave McDonald, an engineer on Dummy
Dummy (album)
Dummy is the debut album of the Bristol-based group Portishead. Released in October 22, 1994 on Go! Discs, the album earned critical acclaim, winning the 1995 Mercury Music Prize. It is often credited with popularizing the trip-hop genre and is frequently cited in lists of the best albums of the...
and Portishead
Portishead (album)
Portishead is the second album of the Bristol-based group Portishead, released in 1997. The album reached #2 on the UK Album Chart and #21 on the Billboard 200 chart....
.
Festivals
The first Glastonbury Festivals were a series of cultural events held in summer, from 1914 to 1926 in GlastonburyGlastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
. The festivals were founded by English socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton was an English composer who became well known in the early 20th century as a composer of opera and choral music....
and his librettist Lawrence Buckley. Apart from the founding of a national theatre, they envisaged a summer school and music festival based on utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n principles.
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or Glasto, is the largest green field open-air music and performing arts festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in the world. Organiser Michael Eavis
Michael Eavis
Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE , is an English dairy farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place on his farm.-Personal life:...
stated that he decided to host the first festival, then called Pilton Festival, after seeing an open air Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
concert at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music 1970
Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music 1970
The Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music was a music festival held at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England on 27–28 June 1970.-Overview:...
at the nearby Bath and West Showground
Royal Bath and West of England Society
The Royal Bath and West of England Society is a charitable society founded in 1777 to promote and improve agriculture and related activities around the West Country of England. Based at the Royal Bath and West of England Society Showground near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, the society is a...
in 1970. The Big Green Gathering
Big Green Gathering
The Big Green Gathering was a festival with an environmental focus which happened during most summers between 1994 and 2007. It was held at various locations in Somerset and Wiltshire in England...
(BGG) was a festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
with an environmental focus which happened during most summers between 1994 and 2007. It was held at various locations in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. The event grew from the Green Fields area of the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
.
The Bath International Music Festival
Bath International Music Festival
The Bath International Music Festival, also known as the Bath Music Fest, is held each summer in Bath, South West England. Inaugurated in 1948, the festival includes many genres such as orchestral, contemporary jazz, folk and electronica...
, also known as the Bath Music Fest, is held each summer in Bath. Inaugurated in 1948, the festival includes many genres such as orchestral, contemporary jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
.
There are also small festivals with a music focus within the county such as the Farm festival
Farm festival
Farm Festival is an annual two-day music festival held near Bruton, Somerset, England. The festival retains a very rustic feel with no corporate sponsorship and has increased in popularity since its inaugural event in 2006, with mentions in several national newspapers including The Guardian and The...
, Frome Festival
Frome Festival
The annual ten-day Frome Festival usually starts the first Friday in July, in Frome, Somerset, England.The Frome Festival was conceived by Martin Bax and the inaugural event was held in 2000. He stepped down as Director in 2007, having received the MBE for his services to the Festival...
, Sunrise Celebration
Sunrise Celebration
Sunrise Celebration is an ethical living and music festival that takes place in Bruton Somerset, England on an organic farm. It first started in 2006 over the summer solstice as an alternative celebration to the Glastonbury Festival that was cancelled that year...
, Trowbridge Village Pump Festival
Trowbridge Village Pump Festival
Village Pump FestivalStarted over 30 years ago in a barn at the lamb Inn Trowbridge, it then moved to Stowford Manor Farm, Farleigh Hungerford, England...
and the Two Moors Festival
Two Moors Festival
The Two Moors Festival is an annual classical music festival based in Devon and Somerset, England.The festival covers the largest geographic area of any United Kingdom festival, being based in the towns and villages of Dartmoor and Exmoor.-History:...
.