The Wakeman Cometh....
Sep. 28th, 2010 07:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
endlessraritiesI managed 55 minutes on the French Horn tonight (poor neighbours!). I spent 20 minutes on one study (bleaugh!) and ended the session with an impromptu recital of Mozart 3. By then, I was exhausted, so my performance wasn't anything to write home about.
Which brings me to tonight's post. I've wanted to see the Wakeman in action since 1986, when as an enthusiastic 17 year old French Horn player, I saw him onstage at the Barbican Centre, during the Horn Festival. The Wakeman (aka the Ripon Hornblower) was making a personal appearance to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of his office (yes, that's right. It goes back to Saxon times!!). He was the star of the show...
The Wakeman's an integral part of Ripon's culture. He makes a personal appearance every night at 9pm, when he sounds his horn across the four corners of the market square to signal that the watch has been set for the night. I presume that in medieval times, this was the signal for curfew.
We don't usually stay out late at night, but we made an exception for the Wakeman. We had our dinner, then hung around a deserted market square frequented by marauding young 'uns. Amongst them, we spotted a few potential fellow Wakeman connoisseurs, loitering near the Town Hall...
J spotted the Wakeman first - he was venturing out for a quick reconnaisance in mufti. Then at 9 o'clock, the bell rang in the Town Hall, the eight folk or so waiting there took a collective deep breath, and right on cue, an elegant figure in tricorn hat and greatcoat strode forth, horn in hand.
Here he is in action:-
The Wakeman is an integral part of Ripon's culture. Horn iconography is plentiful, and there's reference to him all over the place. And the oldest building in the city (bar the cathedral) also has connections with the Wakeman. The sixteenth century timber-framed structure on the corner below was once home to the office-holder of the time:-
Which brings me to tonight's post. I've wanted to see the Wakeman in action since 1986, when as an enthusiastic 17 year old French Horn player, I saw him onstage at the Barbican Centre, during the Horn Festival. The Wakeman (aka the Ripon Hornblower) was making a personal appearance to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of his office (yes, that's right. It goes back to Saxon times!!). He was the star of the show...
The Wakeman's an integral part of Ripon's culture. He makes a personal appearance every night at 9pm, when he sounds his horn across the four corners of the market square to signal that the watch has been set for the night. I presume that in medieval times, this was the signal for curfew.
We don't usually stay out late at night, but we made an exception for the Wakeman. We had our dinner, then hung around a deserted market square frequented by marauding young 'uns. Amongst them, we spotted a few potential fellow Wakeman connoisseurs, loitering near the Town Hall...
J spotted the Wakeman first - he was venturing out for a quick reconnaisance in mufti. Then at 9 o'clock, the bell rang in the Town Hall, the eight folk or so waiting there took a collective deep breath, and right on cue, an elegant figure in tricorn hat and greatcoat strode forth, horn in hand.
Here he is in action:-
Once he'd finished, he gave us a quick lecture on the history of the tradition (the Wakeman I'd encountered twenty odd years before was his predecessor). Then he asked about his audience. It turned out some Antipodean folk were present - they'd come all the way from Sydney, preseumably not primarily to see the Hornblower, but they'd heard of him nonetheless and had made the effort to see him, which was impressive enough!
The Wakeman is an integral part of Ripon's culture. Horn iconography is plentiful, and there's reference to him all over the place. And the oldest building in the city (bar the cathedral) also has connections with the Wakeman. The sixteenth century timber-framed structure on the corner below was once home to the office-holder of the time:-
It's said that if the Wakeman doesn't perform his task competently, the ghostly face of his predecessor will appear at the window, and frown disapprovingly into the market square...
