IRISH MUSIC Irish music reflects the traditions, hopes, triumphs and struggles of the people. We have a rich heritage of folk music, there are songs in Irish and English, and a huge collection of dance tunes. The suffering of the Irish people during centuries of persecution cannot have failed to leave it’s mark. This fact and the modal nature of much of our music partly explains the note of tenderness and melancholy which is so evident. The first examples of Irish art music were stimulated by the ritual requirements of religion. Irish monastic culture was from 500 A.D. onwards very advanced. Irish missionaries spread over a great part of Europe, and Irish monasteries were centres for the cultivation of music. The Benedictine Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland offers an outstanding example of the influence of Ireland on Church music. Obviously the finest tunes are the work of the great harpers, who were the professional musicians of the courts. A lot of folk tunes are really corrupted versions of art music. Bunting’s volumes show clearly that the harpers had a highly elaborate technique of playing. Traditional Irish music was independent of written record until recent years. Tunes were memorised. Without conscious effort the people learned a number of songs which became part of their being like the language they spoke. The Irish musician was not deemed competent unless he knew his music perfectly. The calamities of the years 1845-6 ( the famine ) did more to destroy Ireland’s music than anything else. The people died off in thousands , many fled to America. Edward Bunting published three volumes of Irish tunes between 1796- 1840. The majority of them were taken down from the playing of the last sad remnants of the Irish harpers. Dr. George Petrie collected songs with Eugene O’ Curry, who wrote down the Irish words. His collection consists of 2,000 tunes. He also recorded where each tune was obtained. Nobody knows who composed these melodies which were sung by many generations, adapted to poems of various sentiment, they have been subject to continual change. Melodies were modified to bring out the characteristics of violin, flute or harp. Among the ancient Celts the interval of the whole tone was preferred above all others. Irish tunes exist composed entirely of whole tones. The half tones, when employed, are of secondary importance, they are often passing notes or used for ornament. The Pentatonic or 5- note scale (whole tone scale), the 4th and 7th of the scale are omitted.. The ‘Dawning of the Day’ is in this scale. The Ionian (doh mode), Dorian (ray mode), Mixolydian (soh mode),and Aeolian (lah mode), or natural minor ,are used in Irish music. The Mixolydian and Aeolian modes both have flattened 7ths.

THE HARP The Irish harp was a sturdy instrument. The sound box was made from a solid block of sally or willow. It was frequently decorated. The strings were made of brass and it was played with long fingernails. Today’s Irish harp has gut instead of wire strings. The Irish harp i s an emblem of the country and appears on the coinage. The ‘Brian Boru’ harp is the oldest surviving example and can be seen at Trinity College. It dates from the 14th century. References to the harp go back to Celtic times, and images of the harp can be seen on many High Crosses. In Gaelic Ireland the harper was a very important person. He was a professionally trained performer and was attached to the castles and big houses, where he was held in great esteem. He composed special pieces of music called planxties in honour of patrons eg ‘Planxty Maguire’.He also composed tunes for special occasions. He accompanied when ballads or poems were being recited. Around 1600, when the old order of lords and chiefs broke up the harpers had to travel from house to house. Now they associated with folk musicians and began playing the music of the people. By the end of the 18th century the tradition had almost died. HARPERS Turlough O Carolan (1670 -1738) born in Co. Meath ,blinded by smallpox at the age of 18.Mrs. Mc. Dermott Roe, the wife of his father’s employer, seeing that he was musically talented, arranged for him to have harp lessons. He began his career as a travelling harper at the age of 21, with the help of an assistant.He was honoured wherever he went and composed hundreds of tunes for his patrons. One of his most beautiful compositions is called ‘Carolan’s Concerto’. Denis Hempson (1695 -1807), was the oldest harper at The Belfast Harp Festival and played with long fingernails. He was born in county Derry and like Carolan, travelled all around Ireland and Scotland playing the harp. His harp can be seen at Guinness Brewery. Arthur O’Neill (1737 - 1816), like Hempson and O’ Carolan he was blind, and travelled around the country playing for hosts. He came from Co. Tyrone and took part in The Belfast Harp Festival. THE BELFAST HARP FESTIVAL The Society for the ‘Preservation of Irish Poetry and Harp Music’ was founded in 1792. The political movement ‘The United Irishmen’ founded in the same year shared some aims and members with this cultural society. Henry Joy Mc Cracken decided to organise a National Harp Festival to revive an interest in Irish Music, and to collect the music of the harpers, and note their style of playing for future generations. The festival attracted the oldest and best harpers in the country. What was hoped as a revival proved to be a farewell to the bardic tradition. Ten harpers attended and most of them played O’Carolan’s tunes. Only one was under 45 years of age and the eldest, Denis Hempson was 97. He was the only one to use the ancient way of playing with the fingernails. THE COLLECTORS EDWARD BUNTING (1773- 1843), a Belfast organist, at the age of 18, got the job of writing down the tunes played at The Belfast Harp Festival. These tunes would otherwise have been lost forever After the festival he devoted himself to travelling around the north of Ireland collecting songs and dance tunes from the people. He published these in three volumes in 1796, 1807,and 1840, under the title ‘General Collection of Ancient Irish Music’. GEORGE PETRIE (1789- 1866), was born in Dublin of Scottish ancestry. He was a gifted painter. He worked in the Ordnance Survey Office and became interested in architecture and the preservation of ancient Irish monuments. He also turned to the preservation of Irish music and began to note down any tune which he thought was unpublished. He sent many of the tunes to Bunting. In 1851 he founded ‘The Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland. In 1855, the

society published Petrie’s ‘ Ancient Music of Ireland’, containing 147 airs, with extensive historical and descriptive notes. He was assisted by the Irish scholar Eugene O’Curry who wrote down the words. His collection is an example of how folk music should be recorded. The ‘Derry Air’, one of the most beautiful of all melodies, is first seen in this collection. After his death his daughter, Mary-Anne gave the entire manuscript collection of 2,148 pieces to Sir Charles Stanford, the Irish composer, who finally published them in three parts, containing songs, dance tunes, lullabies and marches. HENRY HUDSON (1798- 1889), a Dublin doctor, who developed a passion for Irish music, and collected hundreds of tunes. He began to include some of his own compositions in his collections and as a result is treated with some suspicion. WILLIAM FORDE (1795- 1850), a Cork - based musician, Forde was an expert in both classical music and folk music of many countries. He collected countless Irish airs. His was a new approach, giving all the available versions of each air together with commentaries. Unfortunately his collection wasn’t published due to lack of money to finance the project. JOHN PIGOT(1822- 1871), aroused widespread interest in folk music through articles published in ‘The Nation’. His collected airs are preserved by the Royal Irish Academy. JAMES GOODMAN (1828- 1871), born near Dingle, he was rector of a parish in Kerry and Professor of Irish in Trinity College. A keen piper himself, he collected about 2,000 previously unknown tunes. PATRICK WESTON JOYCE ( 1827- 1914), grew up in an area (Co. Limerick), where the Irish language and music flourished. Just as Petrie had given many tunes to Bunting, the young Joyce gave his collection to Petrie. After Petrie’s death in 1866, he decided to publish his first volume of ‘Ancient Irish Music’ containing 100 melodies with piano accompaniments and notes on their sources. Again in 1909 he published 842 airs, ‘Old folk music and songs’ which contained tunes from his collection and music from the collections of William Forde and John Pigot. FRANCES O’NEILL (1849- 1936),from Cork, ran away from home at 16, worked on ships, survived a shipwreck, landed at San Francisco. Later he became a shepherd, teacher and clerk before becoming a policeman in Chicago in 1873. He played the flute and had a remarkable memory. His friend Sergeant James O’Neill noted down all the tunes he had memorised. In 1903, he published his collection ‘The Music of Ireland’, which contained 1,850 pieces, of which 1,100 were dance tunes. Many of these tunes had never been in print before. In response to popular demand, O’Neill published ‘ The Dance Music of Ireland ’in 1907, which became the bible of traditional players. As the Chicago police force was full of Irishmen, and Chicago itself populated with many Irish emigrants, he had no difficulty collecting more airs and dances. He continued to publish and in 1913 produced ’ Irish Minstrels and Musicians’ which contained a vast store of information and knowledge on harpers, pipers, collectors and historians. This has been invaluable to Irish musicians. The earliest written Irish song is ‘Cailin O Chois TSuire Me’( I am a girl from beside the Suir). It was written in a 16th century manuscript called William Ballet’s Lute Book. Shakespeare mentions it in the play Henry V, and the 16th century English composer, William Byrd, composed a set of keyboard variations on it. The first complete book of Irish music was printed by John and William Neale in Dublin in 1726, ‘A Collection of the most Celebrated Irish Tunes’, and it contained many of the first published versions of O Carolan’s tunes, as well as ‘Thugamar Fein An Samhradh Linn’ and Limerick’s Lament’.

In the 20th century ,many classically trained composers arranged Irish tunes and used them in their compositions, e.g. Hamilton Harty’s ‘An Irish Symphony’ , Sean O’ Riada’s ‘Mise Eire’. The work of collecting went on assisted by the advent of the gramophone in America in the 1920's. This had an enormous influence on Irish music. Many players were recorded, including the two most famous fiddle players from Sligo, Michael Coleman and James Morrison. Their style of playing was fast, highly ornamented and extrovert. Musicians in Ireland and America copied this style.

MORE IRISH INSTRUMENTS The Uilleann Pipes emerged in the 18th century. Today a full set comprises a bag, bellows, a chanter, regulators and a drone. The bellows are pressed by the left elbow to fill the bag with air. The air comes through the chanter, on which the melody is played.. The three regulators are stopped pipes fitted with keys, they provide simple chords and are played with the wrist. The three drones provide a single unchanging note to accompany the tune. They have an outstanding sweetness of tone. Liam O’ Floinn is a virtuoso player. The fiddle is the most popular and most widely used instrument in Irish music, since the 18th century. It is the same as the classical violin, having four strings and played with a bow. Eileen Ivors is a brilliant player. The flute, is used for Irish music since the 18th century. The traditional flute is made from wood and is particularly suited for playing Irish music with all it’s ornamentation. Matt Molloy is an expert player. The tin whistle goes back a long time, Paddy Maloney from the Chieftain plays it. The bodhran. Bones and spoons are the main Irish percussion instruments. Mel Mercier plays all of these. The Concertina is hexagonal in shape. The keys are extended over both sides of the instrument so that both hands play the melody. Accordion. There are 2 types, button, and piano. Sharon Shannon plays the buttonn accordion.

IRISH DANCE MUSIC In the past the music was associated with dancing, today the function of the music has changed, many musicians play the music for it’s own sake, independent of the dance. It has retained many of the characteristics of the dance. (A) Structure (form) 8 - bar sections repeated. The most common number of parts is 2 but there can be as many as 7. The first part of the piece is called the tune, the second part is called the turn.

(B) Rhythm this is obviously related to the dance, there is an internal swing that makes the music sound uniquely Irish. The traditional musician will accent the first note of a phrase. Dynamics are not a feature of Irish Traditional Music. (C) Dance Tune Types 1.The Reel is the most common dance tune. It is fast and in 4/4 time.

2, The Double Jig is the next most common dance type Lively in 6/8 time.

3. The Single Jig or Slide fast, associated with Kerry.

4. The Slip Jig (hop jig ),9/8 time, fast.

5. Hornpipe 4/4 time, bouncy(dotted rhythm) slower than reel.

6. Polka used for set dancing, 2/4 time. Associated with Cork and Kerry.

These dances owe their present form to the dancing masters of the late 18th and 19th centuries, who travelled from village to village usually with a piper or a fiddler. Irish folk dances are light, graceful and dignified in contrast with the rough living conditions in the country. Many dances were held at crossroads. Some of the music for the dance came from the songs already known, a lot came from the fiddlers and pipers themselves. Dancing in Ireland can be divided into 2 parts: 1. Solo Dancing. Solo dances can be divided into 2 styles: (a) sean nos, and contemporary step dance.. Perhaps the most distinctive feature that distinguishes sean nos from contemporary dance is the body stance. In sean nos this is far more relaxed. The hands are normally loosely hanging from the sides. In the Connemara style, the hands are sometimes raised to waist or head level. In contemporary dance the hands are held rigidly by the sides, the posture too is rigid, the dancer adopting a proud and upright stance, with all the concentration on the complexity of the footwork, the costume is also an important part of the overall presentation of the dancer. Irish dance shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance deserve a mention in the context of Irish dancing. The staging of Riverdance as part of the Eurovision 1994, was possibly the first time that Irish step dancing had been presented to such a large audience in a new and modern way and caught the imagination of the Irish people and later the world. The type of dance seen especially by the soloists, is a mixture of many styles — ballet, jazz, flamenco and Irish dance. During Michael Flatley’s first performance of Riverdance, he used his arms in a way associated with the sean nos tradition of Connemara. Solo Dances require a very skilled performer, they were known as table dances, as the dancer’s skill could be shown off to it’s best on the kitchen table.’ The Three Sea Captains ‘and’ The King of The Fairies’ are popular examples. 2. Group Dancing : can be divided into (a) set dancing, (b) ceili dancing Set dancing is the oldest of the two and is a direct descendant of the courtly dances of Europe, and is also related to the American square dance. A full set is made up of 8 people making 4 couples. They dance around in a circle, performing different movements according to the set. These were danced at cross roads at the turn of the century.

However the Gaelic League, an organisation whose aim was to promote Irish culture, decided that this form of dancing was not Irish enough, and instead invented their own dances which were called ceili dances,. They were seen as an activity suitable for respectable middle classes and were also thought to have been a suitable manner for people to socialise. Some of the most popular are ‘The Seige of Ennis’, The Walls of Limerick’, ‘The Haymaker’s Jig’. The Gaelic League was trying to create a deeper awareness of Irishness in the people as well as a sense of pride in their own cultural inheritance. Creating these dances was one of the ways they saw as promoting this awareness and pride. Set dances survived in certain parts of the country especially in Co. Clare. At a typical ceili today you will normally see a mixture of set and ceili dancing.

FEATURES OF IRISH FOLK SONG 1. Irish traditional music is a melodic art. 2. Composers are unknown, because the music wasn’t written down until the 18 th century. 3. Many versions of the same song exist, because the music was transmitted aurally and the players changed the tunes to suit their style of singing. 4.Melodies are frequently in triple time. 5.The words are simple and tell of everyday events of life. They can be divided into several categories - love songs, work songs, wedding songs, religious songs, carols, lullabies, laments, children’s songs. 6. They have a wide range. 7. They are in simple forms - binary (AB), or ternary (ABA). 8. Irish songs were based on the rhythms of Gaelic poetry. 9. The songs were modal, The Ionian mode (the same as the major scale),Dorian mode (r - r), Mixolydian mode (s - s ), and Aeolian mode (l - l ), or natural minor, and pentatonic scale ( 5 - note scale, with f and t omitted ), were used. 10. The music does not change key. 11. The final note of the song is often repeated - plagal cadence. 12. The tunes usually have a lot of ornamentation, by adding grace notes, slides, turns, filling in intervals, replacing long notes with short repeated notes. 13. They seldom use expressive effects, speed changes or dynamics. 14. Traditional Irish music has been a solo art form but today a lot of it is performed by groups who provide harmony. Three types of melody were recognised by the ancient Irish: 1. Geantrai - love and labour songs, dancing songs, songs for festivities, 2. Goltrai - which included most of the caoine or laments. 3. Suantrai - songs of rest, lullabies. There were songs for every age, every mood, every state of lif, songs with Irish words, English words, Latin words, or bi-lingual (macaronic ) songs, where words were partly in each language. CATEGORIES OF SONGS. Love songs: Very expressive and intense in nature, often very sad. The majority of Irish songs are love songs Tragic love stories are more usual than happy ones. Love of one’s country is also a common theme.eg Eibhlin a Run, and The Coulin. Laments: A song for the dead or a song of regret at the loss of a friend by emigration or eviction. They are sad and slow and often describe a particular personal sorrow, a local tragedy, or a military defeat.eg. An Mhaighdean Mhara, Fill, Fill a Run O. Work Songs: They have a good strong beat to match the physical action of the work they were intended to accompany, and were sometimes fitted with nonsense words.eg.Amhran na Cuiginne . Drinking Songs: For a celebration of social gathering, lively rhythm eg. Preab san Ol. Lullabies: Simple rocking tunes eg. Gartan Mother’s Lullaby, Taimse im Chodladh Religious Songs and Carols: The Wexford Carol, Deus Meus.

Humorous Songs: Lively and sometimes used nonsence words. Some of these have macaronic verse. Improvised verses were often added.eg. An Poc ar buile Ballads: Songs that tell a story eg The Croppy Boy Festival Music: Cheerful bright tunes, these include our dance tunes, many of which were originally songs.eg. St. Patricks Day Patriotic Songs: These include the Aisling where the poet has a dream of a beautiful woman, who becomes the symbol of Ireland. These songs were intended to give hope and encouragement to the people. eg. Roisin Dubh, Brian Boru’s March.

SEAN NOS This means the old style and involves a highly skilled ornamented style of singing in which the performer may ornament the tune differently for each verse. These songs are unaccompanied solos and the singers do not have any special voice training. They are often sung with a nasal tone quality. A song may end with a spoken throw -away phrase. The tempo is treated freely. Noirin Ni Riain is a famous sean - nos singer. Ornamentation in sean -nos can be done in three different ways: 1. Embellishment - (a) adding grace notes

(b) filling in intervals

2. Melodic Variation: The performer can vary the tune by changing a note in a group of notes, keeping only the bare outline of the phrase.

3. Rhythmic Variation: The performer can vary the rhythm in many ways: (a) by shortening the length of some notes and playing them staccato. (b) varying the rhythm of a triplet.

4. The roll, a group of three grace notes. 5. Cranning

IRISH PERFORMERS Since the 1960's, with the formation of many groups of traditional players, Irish music has been brought to every part of the world. In 1961 Sean O Riada formed the group Ceoltoiri Cualann from the very best traditional players that he could find. They gave Irish music a fresh sound and a new image. Along with fiddles, flute, tin whistle, and uileann pipes, O Riada added the bodhran and harpsichord, which he chose as a substitute for the old Irish harp. He also introduced the singer Sean O Se into the group. They played dance tunes, slow airs and many of O’ Carolan’s tunes. When Sean O’ Riada died in 1971, the group reformed under the name of the Chieftains, with a new leader Paddy Moloney, a famous uileann pipes player. He introduced Derec Bell into the group, who plays the harp. They have travelled all over the world being great ambassadors of Irish Music. The Dubliners began as a group in the 1960's and sang ballads, work songs , rebel songs and street songs associated with city life. The Clancy Brothers they started in the 1960's also and adapted their music for an Irish - American audience, using traditional songs for group singing and giving them a lively beat. They added the banjo. Clannad a family group from Co. Donegal, they started in the 1970's. They combined their traditional musical background with electric rock. One of the group Enya left in 1982 to go solo. Planxty: one of the most exciting groups of the 1970's. They introduced the guitar, bouzouki and mandolin. Donal Lunny played the bouzouki, the uileann pipes were played by Liam O Floinn The other members were Christy Moore and Andy Irvine. They got their music from old song collections. The Bothy Band, a group of 6 players, of whom three were traditional. They made new arrangements of Irish tunes in a contemporary style. Their energetic style of playing won them many fans. Their players included Paddy Keenan on uileann pipes, Matt Molloy on flute, and Donal Lunny on bouzuki. De Danann, this Galway - based group was formed in the 70's. They arranged traditional dance music for fiddle, cello, flute, button accordion and bouzuki. Among the singers with the

group were Mary Black, Dolores Keane, and Maura O’ Connell. Frankie Gavin was their fiddle player and Alec Finn played the guitar and bouzuki. Altan, a Donegal traditional group, they have in their repertoire many previously unheard of songs, and put their own particular stamp on them. Their fiddles and flute , guitar and bouzuki provide a full, rich and exciting sound, yet they remain true to their roots. Their main singer is Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh who also plays the fiddle. Coolfin, Donal Lunny has been involved in many traditional groups. These bands changed the way many people thought of Irish music. His new band produces a trad, funk, rock, jazz sound. Donal Lunny plays bouzuki, guitar and bodhran. Nollaig Casey plays fiddle. The other instruments are pipes and whistles, keyboard, bass and percussion, with guest appearances from Sharon Shannon on accordion.

IRISH ROCK GROUPS Many Irish rock groups were influenced by traditional Irish music and gave a whole new dimension to it, reaching wider and younger audiences. Horslips They used a mixture of traditional and modern instruments. In their energetic performances, they used a clever combination of Irish songs with a rock beat. Boomtown Rats and Bob Geldof developed an Irish Punk style. U2 Bono, the lead singer, was influenced by Bob Dylan who in turn was influenced by the Clancy Brothers. They have moved from Irish to Blues, Gospel and jazz influences. They continue to experiment and develop. Thin Lizzy The group’s arrangement of the Irish ballad ‘ Whiskey in a jar’ in 1973 established them as an Irish rock group on the European and American scene. Hothouse Flowers The group combine elements of sean-nos with the blues, rock and ballad form, and have brought this experimental music to European audiences.

SOLO SINGERS AND PERFORMERS

Mary Black, Dolores Keane, Mary Coughlan, Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, Sharon Shannon, Iarla Leonard, and Paul Brady are all enjoying celebrity status. Mary Black comes from Dublin. She first sang as a member of the Black family group. She then joined De Danann . Later she went solo. Liam O’ Floinn comes from Kildare. He played the uilleann pipes with Planxty in the 1970's. He was the soloist in Shaun Davey’s Brendan Voyage. He enjoys a sucessful career as a soloist.

COMPOSERS OF IRISH MUSIC Sean O’ Riada (1931 - 1971) from Co. Limerick, studied music at UCC,and later became lecturer in Irish music there. He composed music in the European style. He became a national figure in 1959 when he composed the music for the film ‘Mise Eire’. He formed the group Ceoltoiri Cualann in 1961, and arranged Irish music for them giving it a new sound. Shaun Davey has taken subjects of Irish interest and has used a mixture of traditional instruments and classical ones. In his suite ‘The Brendan Voyage’, (1980),the music follows the adventures of Brendan the navigator. The uileann pipes represent the boat upon the water. The part for the uileann pipes, while blending perfectly with the orchestra, leaves the performer to ornament and decorate in the traditional way’ In his piece ‘ Granuaile’ 1985, Davey uses uileann pipes, voices and chamber orchestra. He also wrote ‘The Relief of Derry’ symphony in 1988. Micheal O’ Suilleabhain another graduate from UCC, became lecturer in Irish music there, later moved to the university of Limerick, where he is head of the music department.. His compositions link Irish music with European music and jazz. He became famous for his piano performances, Irish tunes played in a jazzy style. His compositions include ‘Oilean’ , a work for traditional flute and chamber orchestra. ‘Idir Eatharu’ is a lighthearted piece usi ng a jig and a hornpipe tune to great effect. His music for string orchestra is bright and colourful, with bones and bodhran for percussion. Bill Whelan, from Limerick, played with Planxty. He has composed a lot of film music, including ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’. He was commissioned to write the orchestral work ‘Seville Suite’ for Expo 92 in Seville.’ Riverdance’ brought him worldwide fame. It was composed for the interval act of the 1994 Eurovision song contest. He has won many awards for this music.

RIVERDANCE

It is an exciting piece inspired by the river Liffey. There are 2 acts in the show with movements which include ‘Reel around the Sun’, Women of Ireland’,’ Thunderstorm’, American Wake’.Instruments include fiddle, uileann pipes, saxophone, bodhran, tin whistle, accordion , keyboards and RTE Concert Orchestra. The singing was performed by the group Anuna, who mix sean - nos style with a medieval sound. The dances were highly innovative, colourful and energetic. The storyline deals with themes of exile and creativity and the island of Ireland finding it’s place in the world. In the final exciting movement, a mixture of traditional Irish, Eastern European, Classical, folk and jazz elements all come together for a brilliant ending. It starts with Anuna invoking the spirit of the ‘Riverwoman’ and ushering her onto the land. This led to ‘Earthrise’, a rhythmic sequence with powerful ethnic patterns on the drums Jean Butler was one of the main dancers, she travelled all over Europe with the Chieftains and danced for the Princess of Wales . Michael Flatley was the other principal dancer, the fastest tap dancer in the world. Won the all world championship for Irish dancing, a master chess player, champion boxer and brilliant flute player. He was described as a living treasure by the National Geographic Society Jean and Michael were joined by 24 Irish traditional dancers for a spectacular finale