Islan of Man (Ellan Vannin)
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Manx culture is Celtic with some Norse influences. Active revival campaigns have renewed interest in traditional music and the Manx language. Manx is a goidelic Celtic language and thus strongly related to Irish and Scottish. The last native speaker of Manx died in 1974. The earliest documentation of traditional music describes fiddle music and folk dances. But, curiously, Manx is the only Celtic Nation that did not evidence a harp tradition. The Isle of Man became a Victorian vacation spot. This tourist boom stimulated growth in dance music and the music-hall tradition.
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The location of the Isle of Man makes its something like the transportation hub of Celtic culture. Isle of man is a self-governing British Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea. Britain is to the east. Ireland is to the west. Scotland is to the north. Wales to the south. The Isle of Man is not only Celtic, it is surrounded by Celts! The Isle of Man is not part of the European Union, nor does it hold special status within the EU. Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom. Manx did not take part in the 2016 referendum on the UK's EU membership. Isle of Man is part of the European Customs Union.
The Island has been inhabited since 6,500 BCE. As measured during the 2016 census,the population of Isle of Man numbered 83,314 people. The capital city of Douglas is home to 26,997 people. The population of Isle of Mann decreased by 1.4% between the 2011 and 2016 censuses. The origin of the name "Isle of Man" suffers from competing stories and historical interpretation. It may come from the Irish mythological character Manannán mac Lir or the Welsh character Manawydan fab Llŷr. But the 9th-century writer Sanas Cormaic claimed that the name Isle of Man is a tribute to |
Manannán "a famous merchant who resided in, and gave name to, the Isle of Man". A poem from 1504 reports that someone named Manannán was the first king of Mann. The name may derive from the Welsh name of the island Ynys Môn. This name appears to derive from the the Celtic word for 'mountain'.
Manx culture is Celtic with some Norse influences. Active revival campaigns have renewed interest in traditional music and the Manx language. Manx is a goidelic Celtic language and thus strongly related to Irish and Scottish. The last native speaker of Manx died in 1974. The earliest documentation of traditional .music describes fiddle music and folk dances. But, curiously, Manx is the only Celtic Nation that did not evidence a harp tradition. The Isle of Man became a Victorian vacation spot. This tourist boom stimulated growth in dance music and the music-hall tradition.
In 1982 the government of the Isle of Man created the Manx Heritage Foundation to promote Manx culture, heritage and language. The organization has been re-branded as Culture Vannin with broad scope of all things of art, history, and culture on the Island. A collection of Manx music, song and instrumental, oral histories and recited poetry, promoted by Culture Vannin can be heard at this link: https://soundcloud.com/culture-vannin..
The highly successful pop-music group, the Bee Gees (Brothers Gibb) were born on the Isle of Man. Thier family immigrated to Australia in 1958.
Manx culture is Celtic with some Norse influences. Active revival campaigns have renewed interest in traditional music and the Manx language. Manx is a goidelic Celtic language and thus strongly related to Irish and Scottish. The last native speaker of Manx died in 1974. The earliest documentation of traditional .music describes fiddle music and folk dances. But, curiously, Manx is the only Celtic Nation that did not evidence a harp tradition. The Isle of Man became a Victorian vacation spot. This tourist boom stimulated growth in dance music and the music-hall tradition.
In 1982 the government of the Isle of Man created the Manx Heritage Foundation to promote Manx culture, heritage and language. The organization has been re-branded as Culture Vannin with broad scope of all things of art, history, and culture on the Island. A collection of Manx music, song and instrumental, oral histories and recited poetry, promoted by Culture Vannin can be heard at this link: https://soundcloud.com/culture-vannin..
The highly successful pop-music group, the Bee Gees (Brothers Gibb) were born on the Isle of Man. Thier family immigrated to Australia in 1958.
The Manx tunes below are presented in both standard notation and ABC notation. Click on the audio players to hear the tunes. If you want to download an mp3 file of a tune to study it in greater depth, go to the tune download page.
Examples of performances of music from the Isle of Man are available at this link.
Examples of performances of music from the Isle of Man are available at this link.
Sets of Manx Tunes
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Tunes For The Class
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