The English civil war, the Interregnum and Restoration are together considered one of the most divisive periods in English history. Whether Royalist or Parliamentarian, Catholic or Puritan, there is no doubt that these two decades of turbulence and change set families against each other and created an unstable and unsettling environment for the normal, everyday person.
How did these changes affect people in their ordinary lives? What form did those changes take in society? Until the Restoration in 1660, theatres were closed and public entertainments were banned. How, then, did people entertain themselves? This presentation, by musician and historian Natalie Kershaw, introduces you to the role of the musician in everyday English society, set against a divisive political and social context.
Through the eyes of the musician, we explored the turbulent backdrop of the bloody English civil war, Cromwell's 11-year Interregnum, and the Restoration of the monarch with the return of Charles II to the throne. Using 17th and 18th century archival material, including the diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, Natalie Kershaw uncovered popular attitudes towards music as well as contemporary musical practices such as visiting theatre, ballads, music-making, and dancing. We heard the soundscapes of the time and learn about opportunities for musicians, specifically the effect of conflict and the republic on musicians.
We also discovered some of the popular tunes and the dances such as Cuckolds All in a Row from Playford’s 1651The English Dancing Master and some tunes used for the Royalist and Parliamentarian causes such as Aim not too high.Finally, Natalie will explore the movement of music from England into New England.
Musician and historian Natalie Kershaw has always been involved in musical groups and theatres. She plays everything from medieval music to contemporary and musical theatre using voice, keyboard instruments, woodwind and brass (including medieval shawms, capped instruments and drums). She began her career as an archaeologist with an insatiable appetite for history. She has also worked for more than 20 years as a teacher in schools, colleges and alternative education. As a music teacher, she had her own music practice and worked with many professional and amateur individuals and groups. She has been musician, musical director and consultant on musical repertoires and continues to be actively involved. She achieved my masters in music in 2018 and, at the time of writing, is in the submission phase of her PhD at the University of Birmingham, on which this presentation is based. Her lifelong aim is to make music, and the arts, inclusive and accessible to all.
Image: From the title page of The English Dancing Master: Or, Plaine and easie Rules for the Dancing of Country Dances, with the Tune to Each Dance (London: Printed by Thomas Harper, 1651).