British Forum for Ethnomusicology Conference
Thu 03 Apr
|University of Cambridge
The conference focussed loosely on the theme of 'Musical Features' and included keynote presentations from Georgina Born, Marié Abe, and Luis-Manuel Garcia Mispireta.
Time & Location
03 Apr 2025, 19:00 – 06 Apr 2025, 23:00
University of Cambridge, 11 West Rd, Cambridge CB3 9DP, UK
About the event
“At least you sound as if you could get a ship moving”: A lesson in shanty singing through the ages
Following the viral success of Nathan Evans’ rendition of the whaling ballad, ‘Wellerman’, and the subsequent ‘year of the shanty’ in 2020, we have seen a marked increase in musicians and singers marketing themselves as shanty groups. The way that shanties are performed, however, has changed significantly since the days of the merchant sailing ship where these songs were used as part of sea labour. Historically, shanties were sung as a tool for work by men with no musical training, as they competed to be heard over the sound of the wind, the waves and the goings-on aboard the ship. To be a successful shantyman (the leader of the shanty), the sailor did not even have to be a good singer – provided that he had a quick wit for…