Music in Ireland Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture

by Hast, Dorothea E.; Scott, Stanley

• ISBN13: 9780195145557
• ISBN10: 0195145550
• Format: Package
• Copyright: 2004-06-24
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Music in Ireland is one of several case-study volumes that can be used along with Thinking Musically, the core book in the Global Music Series. Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world.It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. Visit www.oup.com/us/globalmusicfor a list of case studies in the Global Music Series. The website also includes instructional materials to accompany each study. Music in Ireland provides an engaging and focused introduction to Irish traditional music--types of singing, instrumental music, and dance that reflect the social values and political messages central to Irish identity. This music thrives today not only in Ireland but also in areas throughoutNorth America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Vividly evoking Irish sounds, instruments, and dance steps, Music in Ireland provides a springboard for the discussion of cultural and historical issues of identity, community, nationalism, emigration, transmission, and gender. Using the informal instrumental and singing session as a focalpoint, Dorothea E. Hast and Stanley Scott take readers into contemporary performance environments and explore many facets of the tradition, from the "craic" (good-natured fun) to performance style, repertoire, and instrumentation. Incorporating first-person accounts of performances and interviewswith performers and folklorists, the authors emphasize the significant roles that people play in music-making and illuminate national and international musical trends. They also address commercialism, globalization, and cross-cultural collaboration, issues that have become increasingly important asmore Irish artists enter the global marketplace through recordings, tours, and large-scale productions like Riverdance. Packaged with a 70-minute CD containing examples of the music discussed in the book, Music in Ireland features guided listening and hands-on activities that allow readers to gain experience in Irish culture by becoming active participants in the music.

Author Biography

Dorothea E. Hast teaches in the Performing Arts Department at Eastern Connecticut State University. In addition to writing about world music and working on films, she performs Irish traditional music on the tin whistle. Stanley Scott teaches music at Wesleyan University and Southern Connecticut State University. An active composer, vocalist, and guitarist, he performs both Irish traditional music and vocal music of North India

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Preface	xiii
Pronunciation Guide	xvi
CD Track List	xvii
1. Invitation to a Session	1	(19)
What is Traditional Irish Music?	15	(2)
Basic Themes	17	(3)
2. Historical Continuities: Music, Dance, and the Making of a Nation	20	(23)
Colonialism in Ireland	23	(3)
Edward Bunting and Thomas Moore	25	(1)
Dancing and Dance Music	26	(1)
Music, Religion, and Political Struggle	27	(2)
Emigration	29	(7)
"The Green Fields of Canada"	30	(2)
"Edward Connors"	32	(4)
Nationalism	36	(5)
Home Rule and the Gaelic League	37	(2)
Constructing an Irish Ireland	39	(2)
Conclusion	41	(2)
3. Passing on the Tradition	43	(16)
Learning by Osmosis: Mary MacNamara and Kevin Crawford	43	(5)
Competitions	48	(5)
The Willie Clancy Summer School	53	(6)
4. The Dance Tune Tradition	59	(25)
Tune Structure	59	(1)
Tune Collections	60	(1)
Tune Aesthetics: Variation and Ornamentation	61	(3)
Tune Names and Tune Types	64	(4)
Jig	66	(1)
Reel	67	(1)
Hornpipe	68	(1)
Polka and Waltz	68	(1)
A Tune in Performance: Garrett Barry's Jig	68	(2)
Instruments	70	(12)
Uilleann Pipes	74	(1)
Harp	75	(1)
Fiddle and Fiddle Styles	76	(1)
Concertina	77	(2)
Tin Whistle	79	(1)
Flute	79	(1)
Plucked Instruments	80	(1)
The Bodhran	81	(1)
Piano, Synthesizers, and Electric Instruments	82	(1)
Solo versus Ensemble Playing: Sessions, Ceili Bands, and Small Groups	82	(2)
5. Singers, Sessions, and Songs	84	(14)
The Goilin Singers' Club and the Folk Revival	94	(4)
6. The Sean-nós in the New Ireland: Irish Singing Traditions	98	(23)
The Lyrics of Sean-nós	98	(2)
The Sound of Sean-nós	100	(4)
A Singer's Mission	104	(4)
A Linguistic Meeting-Ground: Irish Traditional Songs in English	108	(11)
A Floating Repertoire of Tunes and Verses	110	(4)
Len Graham: "A Compulsive Singer"	114	(5)
Conclusion	119	(2)
7. Irish Music in the Global Marketplace	121	(16)
Riverdance	125	(2)
Black 47	127	(1)
New Directions	128	(7)
Conclusion	135	(2)
Glossary	137	(3)
References	140	(4)
Resources	144	(5)
Index	149