Some odds and ends pertaining to the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance

This is something I've chatted about before but that was elsewhere, so it's coming up here as well: a compelling, eerie, atmospheric performance of Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. The version that I'm most familiar with is, of course, Leveret's version, where it's blended with Upon a Summer's Day and has a lovely, cosy vibe, like something out of Pogles' Wood. This version, with the lonely violin in the night, occasionally punctuated by a triangle beat, is very evocative, dreamlike and liminal. I absolutely love it.

This was recorded in Thaxted, in Essex, whereas Abbots Bromley is located quite locally, in Staffordshire! It is on my bucket list to go see the Horn Dance in person someday, of course.

There's an overall feeling of mystery and vagueness here that really fascinates me, not just in this performance but with the history of the Horn Dance and with traditional folk music overall, with songs being mostly passed down through oral tradition until concerted efforts were made to write them down and create recordings of them, in the interest of preserving them. There would inevitably be a lot of lost songs and in what we do have, there'll be variations not just through time, but regional and individual interpretations as well.

The tune played here is the oldest known melody associated with this dance but it's not certain if it is indeed the original tune, and from what I've read, it seems that other tunes have been associated with it over the centuries. The antlers have been radiocarbon dated, and are still kicking about from the 11th century, but there's no concrete evidence to that say they were definitely used in rituals at that time. The first recorded mention comes from the 13th century, but it could well have been performed before that time and its original purpose is unknown, although of course, there's been a lot of speculation on that front.

Also of note, this article is a fascinating read that offers some insights into the history of the Horn Dance, including some analysis of the antlers, and while searching for more information, I also stumbled upon this documentary from 1994, which gives some perspectives from locals of Abbots Bromley, in their own words.

Lovely stuff.