The
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
are located in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, by
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The two
bailiwick
A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...
s,
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
and
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
, are not a part of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, but since the 20th century are majority English-speaking and part of the British cultural sphere. They also share a historic cultural (and musical) identity with the people of Normandy.
Little is known of the history of music in the islands. The
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
brought
Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
to the islands and the later strong influence of
Methodism
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
suppressed dancing and secular music. A number of traditional songs and dances have been recorded, although some gentrified dances were collected in the 19th century in Guernsey. Some traditional folk songs such as ''Jean, Gros Jean'' and ''J'ai pèrdu ma femme'' (
Jèrriais
(french: Jersiais, also known as the Jersey Language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an island i ...
)/''J'ai perdu ma faumme'' (
Dgèrnésiais) have survived. Periodic fieldwork by collectors such as Peter Kennedy (1957; 1960), Claudie Marcel-Dubois (Sark, 1970) and Martin J. Locke (Sark, 1976) revealed a number of folk songs which were mostly in French, with parallels or variants also present in the folk traditions of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and French-speaking
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. There were a smaller number of songs in
Jèrriais
(french: Jersiais, also known as the Jersey Language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an island i ...
,
Dgèrnésiais,
Sèrtchiais and English. Two songs are unique to the Channel Islands and have not been collected elsewhere: La Chanson de Peirson (collected in Jersey by Edouard Gavey) and Belle, Rendez-Moi Mes Gants (from the repertoire of Jack Le Feuvre, Sark).
The traditional musical instrument most associated with the islands was the ''
chifournie''. According to Edith Carey (1903), it had disappeared from Guernsey by the mid-nineteenth century. It was to disappear from Jersey by the early twentieth century (see Frank Le Maistre: "Dictionnaire jersiais-français", 1976). Fiddle and accordion playing persisted for somewhat longer.
Dances included the "ronde", or
round dance, the
cotillion, and popular nineteenth-century dances such as the
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
,
schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina ("chotis"Span ...
and
polka
Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas.
History
Etymology
The term ...
. "La Danse des Chapieaux" (the hat dance) was a popular game of forfeit, while "La Bérouaisse" (the broom dance) was a display of agility by a solo dancer. "La Bébée" ("the Baby Polka" or "Klatschtanz") is a 19th-century novelty dance which also remains popular with costumed
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
groups in various parts of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
An identified principle of the Jèrriais song tradition is that it is "inherently and simultaneously eclectic and original",
being often borrowed and transformed. Current practice in Jèrriais song is a tradition re-invented through imitation, but historical examples show that adaptations of popular song have been made for hundreds of years. Song in Jèrriais celebrates the language and its survival. Songs derived from French mark geographic identity and proximity to France, while songs derived from the UK and Ireland re-present Jersey's wider heritage.
The development of tourism in the 19th century brought a demand for dance music in tea-rooms and hotels. Some local composers supplied songs and sheet music aimed at a tourist market.
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
composed part of
''La Mer'' in Jersey.
John Ireland settled for a time in Guernsey.
The
Channel Islands Music Council
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
was founded in 1974 to promote music in the islands. In 2004, the
Jersey Live
Jersey Live Music Festival (alternatively Jersey Live) was a music festival held annually at The Royal Jersey Showground in the parish of Trinity, Jersey between 2004 and 2016.
Overview
Jersey Live started out as a 4,000-capacity, one-day even ...
Music Festival was first held, now scheduled annually.
See also
*
Ma Normandie
"Ma Normandie" was the official regional anthem of the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency in the Channel Islands, and was written and composed by Frédéric Bérat. Jersey is historically part of the Duchy of Normandy, and Fren ...
*
Sarnia Cherie
"Sarnia Cherie" () is used as the unofficial anthem of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. ''Sarnia'' is a traditional Latin name for the island. George Deighton wrote "Sarnia Cherie" in 1911, with Domenico Santangelo composing the tune later ...
*
Jersey Live
Jersey Live Music Festival (alternatively Jersey Live) was a music festival held annually at The Royal Jersey Showground in the parish of Trinity, Jersey between 2004 and 2016.
Overview
Jersey Live started out as a 4,000-capacity, one-day even ...
*
Culture of Jersey
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of The Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
Culture of the Channel Islands
Culture of Jersey
Culture of Guernsey
Norman music