Liskeard Storytelling Cafe

This month, guest teller, Jem Dick and The Dawn of Music
Thursday 22nd September at 7.30pm
The Hub Cafe open from 5pm for pre-show meals

How and why did we start making music? What stories do we tell about it? What did the first music sound like?

All will be revealed in Jem’s fascinating performance which includes his hand-crafted reproductions of ancient and prehistoric instruments from around the world.

In this combination of story and music, Jem weaves some of the earliest creation myths we have with music from his handcrafted musical instruments, replicas and reconstructions of finds from prehistoric sites.  Archaeologists now believe that music may have preceded the development of language in and was closely related to the earliest rituals and religious beliefs including shamanic practice. In many traditions storytelling has also long been linked to music right to the present time from the troubadours of medieval times to the bards of Wales and griots in contemporary West Africa. Jem’s performance takes us back to those beginnings of humankind by exploring our first and continuing relationship with music.

As well as being a storyteller and musician, Jem is a craftsmen and he has created the instruments he will use in the performance himself. Amongst the instruments he will be playing is a flute made from a swan-wing bone based on an original 8,000 years old and another based on a deer-bone original dated at 35,000 years old.