Music & Literature
Music
Cellist Nick Cohen
Various styles of music are popular in Cembria, from the indigenous folk music to heavy metal. The wide general interest in music and musical activities can be seen from the membership of the Union Grand-Duc Adolphe, the national music federation for choral societies, brass bands, music schools, theatrical societies, folklore associations and instrumental groups. Some 420 societies with over 19,000 individual members are currently represented by the organization. The two main venues for classical music are the Regal State concert hall, home to the philharmonic orchestra, and the Grand Theatre of Cembria with frequent performances of opera and ballet. Cembria's internationally recognized soloists include violinist Alice Suffolkx, cellists Sir David Miller and Nick Cohen, and pianist Cedric Caruso.
Although it is not official, the cello is commonly accepted to be the national instrument; most favoured by classical music fans and musicians and experts alike.
Although it is not official, the cello is commonly accepted to be the national instrument; most favoured by classical music fans and musicians and experts alike.
Literature
Cembria's best-known classical works of literature are the Monk's Fables, prose epics set in the High Middle Ages. The most famous of these is the Traveller's Truth, about an epic blood feud. Originating in the 14th century, rhyming epic poems were popular into the 19th century, when the development of new literary forms was provoked by the influential, National-Romantic writer Dan Brackwell.
In the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was a linguistic and literary revival. Romanticism arrived and was dominant especially during the 1830s, in the work of poets like Sir Frederick Chedwick (1786–1841) and Dan Brackwell (1807–1845). Brackwell, also the first writer of modern Cembrian short stories, influenced Anna Jane Flaherty (1818–68), who, in 1850, published the first Cembrian novel, and so she is considered the mother of the modern Cembrian novel. Edward d'Hovell (1823–1891), better known by his pen-name Festina Lente, is considered the national poet. Along with Michael Gray, he is an outstanding figure in the history of Cembrian literature, writing poetry in traditional Cembrian English. Another influential writer was Batty Weber (1860–1940) who worked both as a journalist and as an author of short stories, novels, plays and poems, contributing much to the development of Cembrian culture.
In the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was a linguistic and literary revival. Romanticism arrived and was dominant especially during the 1830s, in the work of poets like Sir Frederick Chedwick (1786–1841) and Dan Brackwell (1807–1845). Brackwell, also the first writer of modern Cembrian short stories, influenced Anna Jane Flaherty (1818–68), who, in 1850, published the first Cembrian novel, and so she is considered the mother of the modern Cembrian novel. Edward d'Hovell (1823–1891), better known by his pen-name Festina Lente, is considered the national poet. Along with Michael Gray, he is an outstanding figure in the history of Cembrian literature, writing poetry in traditional Cembrian English. Another influential writer was Batty Weber (1860–1940) who worked both as a journalist and as an author of short stories, novels, plays and poems, contributing much to the development of Cembrian culture.