Беликова Е.К., Саратовская Л.Б. - The United Kingdom and United States of America in Past and Present (1268141), страница 7
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But whenvocalist Sandy Denny joined in 1968, she introduced the group to herrepertoire of traditional ballads. This began a major change for the band.That landmark album, generally considered the seminal English folk-rockrecording, consisted of adaptations of traditional ballads and tunes alongwith new songs. The recording inspired several generations of musicians,and Fairport lineup included several musicians whose solo careers lateradded their own stamps to the development of English folk-rock.
BassistAshley Hutchings, for instance, was a founding member of Steely Span,the other great English folk-rock group.27Inspired by Fairport Convention and Steely Span, a number of otherfolk rock bands appeared in the 1970s, but none of those bands lastedmore than a few years. In 1980s that punk-influenced folk-rockers likeBilly Bragg and the Men They Couldn't Hang appeared. This spiritstrongly affected one time country-dance unit which evolved into Oysterband and whose original songs Oyster Ceilidh Band, were (and are)propelled by rocked-up folk-dance rhythms. Some punk musicians alsoremained active. Martin Carthy teamed up with accordionist JohnKirkpatrick. to form Brass Monkey. Also sporting a brass section wasthe regal sounding and fully electric band Home Service.
Led by ElizaCarthy and Yorkshire's Kate Rusby, the next generation of English rootsmusicians began to appear in the late 1990s. They're a talented anddiverse bunch, but one thing that binds them together is that all areadventurous musically, equally comfortable playing in solo situations orby bands.Pop music in Britain influenced by music from all over the worldcontinuous to be an important part of British culture, not just anexpression of Englishness, but an indicator of the multi-cultural nature ofBritain today. It is mainly a mixture of styles. “Ragga” brings together“rap” and “reggae», for example. Pop music is influencing traditionalmusic. It is difficult to find people who don’t listen to music at least forpleasure so it is not surprising, that music can be an instrument of socialinfluence and change. The need and appreciation for music is evident inthe everyday lives of people as well as it is heard at concerts, in movies,on television and throughout all forms of audio media.TheatreBritain has a long tradition of theater.
It was introduced from Europeto England by the Romans and stages were constructed across the countryfor this purpose. By the medieval period theatre had developed a form ofearly street theatre associated with the Morris dance, concentrating onthemes such as Saint George and the Dragon and Robin Hood. Thesewere folk tales re-telling old stories, and the actors travelled from town totown performing those for their audiences in return for money andhospitality. The medieval Mystery plays and morality plays, which dealtwith Christian themes, were performed at religious festivals.The reign of Elizabeth I in the late 16th and early 17th century saw aflowering of the drama and arts. The most famous playwright in theworld, William Shakespeare (1564-1616), wrote around 40 plays that28are still performed in theatres across the world.
They include tragedies,such as Romeo and Juliet (1594), Hamlet (1603), Othello (1604) andKing Lear (1605); comedies, such as The Comedy of Errors, AMidsummer Night's Dream (1594—96) and Twelfth Night (1602); andhistory plays, such as Henry IV(1597), Henry Y(1598) and JuliusCaesar(1599). The Elizabethan age is sometimes nicknamed "the age ofShakespeare" for the amount of influence he held over the era. The otherimportant Elizabethan and 17th-century playwrights include BenJohnson, Christopher Marlowe, and John Webster.During the power of Oliver Cromwell English theatres were kept closedby the Puritans for religious and ideological reasons. When Londontheatres opened again with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, theyflourished under the personal interest and support of Charles II.
Wide andsocially mixed audiences were attracted by topical writings and by theintroduction of the first professional actresses (in Shakespeare's time, allfemale roles had been played by boys). New genres of the Restorationwere: heroic drama, pathetic drama, and Restoration comedy. TheRestoration plays that best retain the interest of producers and audiencestoday are the comedies, such as William Wycherley's “The CountryWife” (1676), The Rover (1677) by the first professional womanplaywright Aphra Behn, John Vanbrugh's The Relapse (1696), andWilliam Congreve's” The Way of the World” (1700).
In the 18th centurythere were a few well-known dramatists Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74)and Richard Sheridan (1751-1816).Unfortunately in the 19th century the British theatre had a period ofdecline represented only by small so-called “closet plays”.A change cameonly in the late 19th century with the plays on the London stage by theIrishmen George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Oscar Wilde (18541900) and the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, all of whom influenceddomestic English drama and vitalized it again.Today there are over 200 theaters in Britain: 40 of which are situatedin London’s West End. The most famous British theaters are The RoyalOpera and Royal Ballet, both based at Covent Garden, the NationalTheatre and the Barbican Theatre. The National is a part of the SouthBank Arts Centre, located near the River Thames.The Centre containsthree theatres, cinemas, an art gallery, lecture and concert halls.
Thediamond of the National is the 1.160-seat Oliver Theatre, named afterfamous actor and director Laurence Olivier. The Royal Shakespeare29Company performs at the Barbican in London and in Shakespeare'sbirthplace Stratford-upon-Avon. The most popular British theatresreceive support from the Arts Council of Great Britain so that they canperform several different plays a year.
Without this support many theatersdespite the expensiveness of the tickets would have failed to survive.Acting is still very much appreciated in Britain. British professionalactors are usually highly respected and well-trained (often according toStanislavski method). The 20th century saw the comedies of BernardShaw, N. Coward and dramas of John Galsworthy and T. Rattigan.Some theatre groups try to stage contemporary and experimental plays bymodern playwrights including Alan Ayckbourn, John Osborne (theoriginal “Angry Young Men”), Tom Stoppard, Arnold Wesker,“absurd” plays by Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter.
A prolificcomposer of the 20th century Andrew Lloyd Webber has dominated theWest End for a number of years and his musicals, turned into films, havetravelled to New York Broadway and around the world.Some Popular British Holidays GuyFawkes Night, November 5. 'GuyFawkes Day' is also known as 'Bonfire Night', marks the date, November5, 1605, when Roman Catholic Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspiratorsattempted tokillKingJames I andtheMembers ofParliamentand to blowuptheParliament.They rentedacellarbeneath thePalaceofWestminster and placed 36 barrels of gunpowder under the Houses ofParliament. However, one of the plotters betrayed the conspiracy in aletter to his brother-in-law Lord Montague, warning him not to attendparliament.
Fawkes and nine other plotters were caught, arrested andhung. Comedians down the ages have said that Guy Fawkes was "Theonly man ever to have entered Parliament with honest intentions”. Since30that day the British, especially children have traditionally marked the 5thof November by burning a dummy (чучело), made of straw and oldclothes on a bonfire. Some children display such dummies in the streetsasking passerby to give the money for the fireworks (which have recentlybeen forbidden in England because of the danger of fires). “Remember,remember the 5th of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot!” Thispopular British rhyme is often pronounced on Bonfire Night. both bychildren and adults.One of the largest events in the UK, connected with the Bonfire Nightis the Bridgewater Carnival.
It is an illuminated procession that takesabout two hours to pass with 130 entries made by various local carnivalclubs. After the carnival, an annual fireworks display is held along HighStreet when over 100 squibs (small fireworks) are set off simultaneously.Many people hold bonfire parties and invite their friends to gather aroundthe fire with them. crackle of bonfires usually fill the capital onThousands of people fill London's parks and the smell of gunpowdersmoke and the snap and crackle of bonfires usually fill the air.November the 5th is also called Ringing Day.
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