The Horniman’s Tenor Steel Pan
Discovering the history of the steel pan with Dougie Dallaway, a renowned Pannist involved with the 696 Project
Dougie Dallaway - Nicholas Taghavi (2021) by Nicholas TaghaviHorniman Museum and Gardens
Where did the steel pan originate?
The steel pan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.
Enslaved people were not allowed to attend Trinidad and Tobago’s yearly carnival celebrations. At the time these were derived from European Christian traditions and similar to a harvest festival.
Dougie Dallaway - Pan Player (2021) by Nicholas TaghaviHorniman Museum and Gardens
When slavery was abolished in Trinidad and Tobago in 1838, emancipated slaves were no longer barred from taking part in the carnival. This included Canboulay processions, where burning sugar cane was carried to commemorate the harvesting of burnt cane fields during slavery.
Dance at Plantation, Trinidad, 1836 (1836/1836) by Richard BridgensNotting Hill Carnival
The British Colonial authorities did not like Canboulay. Captain Arthur Baker, the head of Trinidad’s police force, wanted to put a stop to it altogether. The early 1880s saw riots break out as police attempted to put restrictions in place.
Dougie Dallaway - Renowned Pannist (2021) by Nicholas TaghaviHorniman Museum and Gardens
In the 1880s and 1890s drumming was banned at carnival, as were tamboo bamboo. These were tunable bamboo sticks played by being hit on the ground.
Tenor Steel Pan (2021/2021) by Marlowe McCaffreyNotting Hill Carnival
This tradition of percussion instruments at celebrations continued to the 1930s, when the steel pan became increasingly popular. The pans were oil drums hit with bamboo sticks. The players discovered that the raised parts of the drums made a different sound to the flat parts.
Steel Band (1951/1951)Notting Hill Carnival
Steel Pans first appeared on British TV on the Bal Creole show in 1950, thanks to Boscoe Holder. This lead to the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) performing at the Festival of Britain in 1951.
Metronomes Steel Orchestra (2018/2018) by Robbie JosephNotting Hill Carnival
The steel pan has remained a popular element of Carnival in Britain ever since.
Dougie Dallaway - Steel Pan (2021) by Nicholas TaghaviHorniman Museum and Gardens
The Horniman's Music Gallery
The Horniman have this tenor steel pan in their collection. It is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and created from an oil drum. It was presented to the Horniman in 1955, at a time when the two island state was under the colonial rule.
Dougie Dallaway - Renowned Pannist (2021) by Nicholas TaghaviHorniman Museum and Gardens
Dougie Dallaway
Dougie Swizz Dallaway, a renowned pannist, was invited to the Horniman to play the tenor steel pan as part of the 696 Project.
He spoke with then Principal Curator of Musical Collections and Cultures, Margaret Birley.
Dougie:
"There was something about it that was very spiritual for me, I don’t know how long I was there for, I feel like I zoned out at some point. I could have been there for 10 hours, 2 hours, it didn’t matter to me – I just feel like I really disappeared."
Margaret:
"It was so impressive to see you find your way around the pans almost instantly, although they were so out of tune, and it was quite difficult to establish their real configuration and even which way up they were supposed to go – but you solved that instantly."
Dougie:
"My whole life is pan, everything I do is pan. I work it, I teach it, I play it…Growing up in the UK there was a lot of racism and ignorance around it. So the fact that people wanna ask questions about it, I love that. For me it’s quite therapeutic."
Dougie Dallaway - Pan by the neck (2021) by Nicholas TaghaviHorniman Museum and Gardens
Dougie is going to continue gathering knowledge and information about pans for the Horniman, and work with Margaret to share all the knowledge he has gathered over a lifetime of pan.
