The Marches music

The Music of The Marches

Style summary

A capella harmony singing, no-nonsense, boisterous and earthy, simple folk and morality tales, minimal instrumentation, heavy ryhthms on guitars, bouzoukis or concertinas. Themes of working the land, agriculture and fishing, harvest, enjoyment of food and drink, recognition of obligation to the land and its people. The music of the Marches is drawn from the folk traditions of Devon and Cornwall: wassails, shanties, drinking songs, and work songs.

Commonly known songs

• Pretty much everyone in the Marches will know one version of a Wassail

Musical traditions

Wassail Wassail

Rough Music In the Marches, misdeeds are sometimes rewarded with a public shaming using noise, music, even satirical performance of some kind, called Rough Music: see Marches Culture and Customs. Some chants are known throughout the Marches such as those below, some songs/performances are written especially for the occasion!

One for the kids

• Whose Pigs Are These? a fun round

Further examples

More examples for keen bards.

Songs

• Bringing in the Sheaves
• John Barleycorn
• Wassail
• Tom A'Bedlam's song

Instrumentation

Songs are usually unaccompanied in the Marches, typically sung in raucous harmony rather than using instruments. However sometimes drums, guitars, fiddles, and whistles/recorders are used.

Other performance traditions

Marches Tales

How to adapt your repertoire

Suggestions of how someone could talk an existing song and make it fit the nation's style.

Our sources

Credits, links to artists, further material etc.