minstrel: Music question

[Heather Rose Jones]

On Fri, 18 Jul 1997, Rex Deaver wrote:

> The book is early 20th C, and Spence is relating in that section songs/tales
> from the "Barzaz-Breizh", a book written by Vicomte Hersart de Villemarque
> in the early part of the 19th C.  Villemarque is equated with MacPherson and
> his "Ossian" material at that time (tho he has gained some credence in more
> recent times).  The reported incident occured in 1758.  Sebillot in his
> "Traditions de la Haute-Bretagne" notes that he could get nothing in the
> vicinity where the incident is supposed to have occured except "vague details".
> 
> The story is, of course, unlikely and probably apocryphal.  Doesn't make it
> any less of a kewl story, tho, especially if I could identify the tune for
> musical punctuation...and move it back into Period. 

Well, good luck -- but tastes in popular music changed very drastically
bewteen 1600 and the mid 18th century. As I noted before, assuming the
truth of the musical part of the story, the tune is far more likely to
have been spread throughout western Europe at a fairly shallow time depth
rather than being coincidental survivals of some very ancient tune.

Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn


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