Shanti ( English sea shanty , also chantey , from French chanter - “to sing”) - a subgenre of English music , songs sung by British sailors. According to some assumptions, they back to the 16th century , but since this version has no evidence, they most likely arose later. They were distributed until the XX century, now preserved by collectors and lovers of folk music.
Feature
In the days of sailing, shantis were of practical value - their rhythm helped sailors to synchronize the pace of their joint work. They also brought psychological benefits - relaxing and breaking the boredom of hard work. Thanks to their use, the team could also allegorically express their opinion about the situation, without giving any reason for punishment from the authorities.
Most shantis are built on the principle of folk songs “question and answer”: one singing person (“shantimen”) sings a string, and the choir of sailors picks up (for example, as in the song “Boney”):
Shantimen: Boney was a warrior,
Chorus: Way, hey, ya!
Shantimen: A warrior and a terrier,
Chorus: Jean-François!
The chorus line usually had a jerk or jerk.
From a musical point of view, the shantis seem to have been fed from many sources. For example, the famous “Spanish Ladies” is a typical Spanish galliard (which were popular around 1600), and songs like “Fire Maringo” are similar to West African work songs, while other tunes adapt ordinary folk songs, and from the 19th century, they are Polish and waltzes. From the point of view of the content, shanti verses, like blues , demonstrate the sequence of a set of lines without any obvious, cross-cutting theme. "John Brown's Body" is an adapted war song.
" Fifteen people on a dead man's chest " is an example of the famous shanti song.
Categories
Since certain words of the song had an emphasis (i.e., a jerk), over time traditions formed to sing shanti of a certain rhythm. There were shantis for raising anchors or pickling ropes, etc.
- Long-haul shanties (also “halyard” - to raise sails or “long-drag shanties”, “long jerk”): sung when the work lasts a long time, for example, to lower or raise the sails. Usually they have a doubling of the chorus, like - "Way, hey, Blow the man down!". When someone climbed onto the mast to free the sails, the crew kept the halyard on deck at that time. During the verse, the team rested, and during the chorus began to pull - from one to three jerks to the chorus, depending on the weight of the sail. (Examples of songs: “Hanging Johnny”, “ Blow the Man Down ”).
- Short-drag shanties (also “short-haul” or “sheet” , “short jerk”): sung when the work takes a little time, but requires a lot of force. Usually they have one strong stress at the end of each chorus, like - "Way, haul away, haul away Joe!" (Examples of songs: "Boney", "Haul on the Bowline").
- Capstan shanties (from the name of the capstan ): are sung when lifting the anchor using the capstan, when the anchor chain or rope is wound around the capstan drum. Usually these songs are calmer than other types of shanti, since there is no need for voltage surges, but only a uniform application of force is necessary. They can have a long chorus, in contrast to other types of question-answer options, an even, clear rhythm and a narrative text, because raising the anchor could take quite a while. The stress on the words coincided with the steps on the deck. (Examples of songs: “ Santianna ”, “Paddy Lay Back”, “Rio Grande”, “ South Australia ”, “John Brown's Body”).
- Stamp-'n'-Go shanties: used only on ships with a large crew, where a large number of people were used to drag a tench. The sailors dragged the rope, marching; in addition, the ropes dragged along not only in a straight line, but also “tying” a loop - when one group of sailors folds and pulls the end of the rope under its middle. Such shantis also have long refrains, like the “capstan” ones. (Song examples: “Drunken Sailor” , “Roll the Old Chariot”
- Pumping shanties (from “pump” ): were sung while pumping water from a leaking ship, as well as when using a windlass to raise an anchor (“windlass shanti”). They could also be used when working with the capstan, in addition, after the invention of the Downton pump with a different type of movement, the “Capstan shanti” became convenient when working with the pump. (Examples of songs: “Strike The Bell”, “Shallow Brown”, “ Barnacle Bill the Sailor ”, “Lowlands”).
- Fo'c's'le (Forecastle) songs, (Fo'castle Shanty, Forebitters - from the "bow" of the ship, "ceremonial shanti" or "tank songs"): songs that were used not for work, but for entertainment when the sailors in good weather gathered on the nose, near the tank. Ceremonial songs were sung at holidays, for example, at the intersection of the equator. (Examples of songs: “Spanish Ladies” , “Rolling Down to Old Maui” )
- Menhaden shanties (from "menhaden" - herring ): working songs that were used on fishing boats. (Examples of songs: “The Johnson Girls”, “Won't You Help Me to Raise 'Em Boys”).
Contemporary Artists
They are included in the repertoire of modern folk groups, in particular, the Irish “ The Dubliners ”, the Scottish “ Silly Wizard ”, the Canadian-Irish “ The Irish Rovers ”, the French shanti group Marée de paradis [1] and others.
See also
- Drunken sailor
- Cudgel
- Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys
Notes
- ↑ Marée de Paradis .
Links
- Songs of the sea. John Mayfield 1906 (translated into Russian)
- Shanti and Shanti songs (English) (Retrieved July 7, 2009)
- Marée de paradis . La prise de Saint-Hélier: Chant de marin de Normandie : [ fr. ] // Quai de l'Isle . - 1997. - 27 août. - Date of appeal: 08.25.2016. (The webpage for the song "Capturing St. Helier" on the band's website Marée de Paradis.)