#CornishConcertinaBlues:
[This thread seems to have broken and this post got left out. We urge the reader to consult the original sources for accuracy]

“By an anomaly of the folk process however, the story of “Side Eye” Keverym which came to be handed down after his death contained almost [none] of these…details, and…instead…was one of a tortured artist whose creative flame burned bravely in the darkness of a crushing and repressive system.
#HurdyGurdy #Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
6/?

#CornishConcertinaBlues: An Anomaly of the Folk Process

[Let us hope the earlier referenced letter may be found someday and included in further scholarly editions of our research about the great fallen saint of the #HurdyGurdy, Lowen “Side Eye” Keverym.
— The Editors]

#Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
10/10

https://youtu.be/BDlG9A9Rfsw

#CornishConcertinaBlues: “(Incidentally, the Reverend Ernest Barrington - amateur musicologist, rector of St Edith’s…quickly became one of Lowen Keverym’s loudest advocates, and on the anniversary of the latter’s death contributed a[n] article eulogising “The Enslavèd Hurdy-Gurdyist” to the DCFDSS quarterly review.

My letter to the editors citing the article….

#HurdyGurdy #Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
9/?

#CornishConcertinaBlues: “Furthermore, as is so often the case with such…idols, rough verses came to be written about Keverym’s exploits…and he became the subject of a ballad that was as…sentimental as it was…accurate. The here-presented recording (captured at the Baptist Street Camp in August 1937) is a typical performance of this ballad, although on this occasion the…lyric is to all intents and purposes inaudible.
#HurdyGurdy #Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
8/?
https://youtu.be/BDlG9A9Rfsw

#CornishConcertinaBlues: “Prisoners, wastrels and vagabonds would tell each other tales of his poetic soul, his steadfast righteousness and the sheer weight of the injustices that finally ground him down. With each retelling, his playing became sweeter and his character became more noble, until it was widely accepted that amongst us had walked a harp-plucking angel whose reward would surely come in the next life.
#HurdyGurdy #Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
7/?

#CornishConcertinaBlues: “Keverym [went] on playing what he called his “gurdy”…living out his declining years in…what was effectively…solitary confinement…. [M]elodies to the…echoing cell walls…into the night. His funeral in the Gaol’s greystone chapel was sparsely attended.
#HurdyGurdy #Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
5/?

#CornishConcertinaBlues: “[He] took on the project of repurposing a #HurdyGurdy he had found abandoned in the prison workshop…. Keverym…taught himself to play…what remained of…the instrument with an improvised bow fashioned from prison cutlery and twisted chicken wire…. As can readily be imagined…the sounds produced on such an instrument in the hands of an untutored recidivist were…tuneful….
#Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
4/?

#CornishConcertinaBlues: “[It] was not long before Keverym was brought before the notoriously brutal local magistrate (and occasional Morris Man) Sir Cloudsley Bartholomew.
As a result…he was finally given a sentence [to Liskeard Gaol]…. It was during this sojourn…that Keverym developed a degree of proficiency in rudimentary woodwork…lacking any other suitable outlet for his skills…
#HurdyGurdy #Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
3/?

#CornishConcertinaBlues: “Keverym left school at the earliest possible opportunity and thereafter steadfastly followed what appears to have been a predestined path…. As he reached maturity…he…eventually focusing his efforts on…the aged and infirm…for the good citizenry of Polbathic…. [H]owever, the local constabulary were at this time…in their pursuit of…those from the lower social orders…
#HurdyGurdy #Accordion #Concertina #FolkMusic
2/?

... In the distance could be heard the bells of midnight mass

(It should perhaps be pointed out that despite this fortuitous salvation, Obadiah Liscawn was to my knowledge not seen again after the above-related incident, and there are no further records of his movements in any of the parish archives I have perused.)

#CornishConcertinaBlues
#concertina
https://youtu.be/unE2oQ-RXTs
#Accordion #FolkMusic #christmas

Before he could provide assistance, he was startled by the sight of a lantern swinging through the shadows

He then watched from a distance as a figure appeared from the trees, knelt down beside the benighted Liscawn, wrapped him in a thick blanket and carried him away towards the distant village pathway

The lantern’s light reflected in the snow bathed the pair in an unearthly luminescence as they disappeared from view
…
#CornishConcertinaBlues
#Concertina #Accordion #FolkMusic #christmas

Frantically he fought through the drifts to regain his path. But it was to no avail and, as the flurries swirled around him, he sank to the whitened floor

Pulling his coat tightly around him, he lay back awaiting the icy darkness of his inevitable fate

My source for this story, one Arthur Crift (who was poaching in the woods) describes coming across an apparently lifeless form, covered in snow, some time later
…
#CornishConcertinaBlues
#Concertina #Accordion #FolkMusic #christmas

As was his annual custom, Liscawn made his way to the spot beneath the tall pines, leaving the carol singing warmth of the village to climb the snowy slopes above the river valley

Having paid his respects at the small wooden cross he had erected in the stranger’s memory, he whispered a short prayer and turned to go

When he had travelled a short distance, however, due to the darkness and the ever-thickening snow, he had lost his way
…
#CornishConcertinaBlues
#Accordion #FolkMusic #christmas

It is said by those that came across Obadiah Liscawn on his travels in later years that after this unhappy event he was filled with remorse that he had given the stranger only a half of his covering, believing that the part he kept for himself might have helped the other to survive

It was also noted that every year, in the depths of winter he made the habit of visiting the spot where the stranger had died
…
#CornishConcertinaBlues
#Concertina #Accordion #FolkMusic #christmas

Liscawn listened as the stranger’s breath weakened. Then, with the knife from his pack, he cut his blanket in two and carefully placed a part over the trembling and frostbitten figure beside him

The wind continued to howl and the snow continued to fall in silent deadliness

Awakening at first light, Liscawn looked across to his new companion. All signs of life had departed this unfortunate’s mortal form
…
#CornishConcertinaBlues
#Concertina #Accordion #FolkMusic #christmas

He endeavoured to build a fire before clearing a patch in the thickening snow and laying down beneath the blanket his mother had packed for him when he left home

Some hours later Obadiah became aware of a figure stumbling through the darkness. This figure threw himself onto the ground and lay shivering as the snow covered his broken form
#CornishConcertinaBlues
#Concertina
#Accordion #FolkMusic #christmas

…
We may never know definitively unless more extensive field notes are discovered to bolster one side of this debate over the other

But currently several prizes and bursaries have been awarded based on work supporting either position

Thus, many hope that details may not be forthcoming too soon, at least not before they have a chance to achieve tenure
https://youtu.be/-c7KON-hUVc
#CornishConcertinaBlues
#FolkMusic #Concertina #Accordion