World Music Assignment

 

Ireland

                                                                             

 

 

Traditional Irish Music Style

 

Ireland is internationally known for its traditional music. Irish traditional music is characterized by slow-moving changes, much like all traditional music. Solo performances are preferred in the folk tradition; however, it’s also common for bands or small ensembles to perform folk music. Melody holds great importance in Irish music, in contrast, most harmonies are kept simple and fitting with the melodic structure in the tune. The instruments played are in strict unison, always following the lead of a leading player. In traditional Irish music, true counterpoint is mostly unknown, but improvised “countermelody” is often used with the accompaniments of bouzouki and guitar players. Structural units of the Irish music are symmetrical and include decorations; the rhythm, text, melody, and phrasing are very imaginative and elaborated but the dynamics are kept simple. The concept of “style is very significant for Irish traditional musicians, at the start of the last century, distinct variations in regional styles of performance existed. The music of West Cork is different from the music of Donegal due to dialects in language (a musician from Donegal will find it difficult to play with a musician from West Cork.) Now a day, with the increased communications and travel opportunities, regional styles have become more standardized.

 

Some styles of Irish music include:

                                                                                

 

ar Sean-Nós –Unaccompanied vocals, most popular in Northern Ireland, ar Sean-Nós is considered the ultimate expression of traditional singing. Usually performed in solo but sometimes in duet, this type of singing is highly ornamented and the voice is placed towards the top of the range. For first time listeners, the singing may appear to be more “Arabic” or “Indian” than “Western”. The melody of ar Sean-Nós varies in every verse, but not to the point of interfering with words, which are considered to hold even higher importance than the melody.

 

Irish dance music- Irish dance music are tunes that are most commonly divided into two eight-bar strains which are each played as many times as the performers feel appropriate. The music is isometric (16 measures are known as a “step”, with one 8 bar strain for a “right foot” and the second for the “left foot” of the step. Tunes that are not evenly divided are called “crooked” music, which makes for an unusual danceable music. Traditional dances and tunes include: reels music (most common in Connaught and Munster parts of Ireland), which is usually transcribed in 4/4 or 2/4time signature. All reels have the same structure, consisting largely of quaver movements with an accent on the first and third beats of the bar. Most reels have two parts (A and B) in which each is repeated (AABB). Hornpipes, music written in 4/4 times with swung eighth notes. Jigs (most common in Connaught), the music comes in various other forms for dancing, the slip jig and hop jig are commonly written in 9/8 time, the single jig is in 12/8 time. The forms of jig danced in hardshoe are known as double or treble jigs.

 

 

History

 

Irish folk music is a living tradition that continues to evolve. Irish Traditional songs and tunes are believed to be ancient in origin are respected, although many tunes are less than two hundred years old. Music and lyrics are passed aurally/orally, and were rarely written down until recently. The early history of Irish dance reveals a constant move in population through migration and invasions. Each of these peoples brought their preferred types of dance and music. Among its first practitioners were the Druids, who danced in religious rituals honoring the oak tree and the sun. Then the Celts arrived in Ireland from central Europe over two thousand years ago, they brought with them their own folk dances.  Long before people had written ballads in English, there were thousands of songs written in Irish.  In modern days, soloists are aiming to create their own unique, distinctive style often mixed with other influences that the musician had chosen to include with in their music. Irish folk music still collects massive amount of popularity among people, influencing other styles of music and expanding its own style as well.

 

Irish Instruments

Harp  

    The harp is considered as the true Irish national instrument. The Irish wire-strung harp used by the earliest harpers began dying out around the turn of 19th century. The modern Irish harp stands about 4 feet high, and has 34 strings, as opposed to 47 strings on the modern orchestral harp. The so-called Neo-Irish harp, strung with gut or nylon, is the most popular due to its soft tone.

Fiddle

The fiddle is much like a violin; the only difference it presents is the variation in techniques and its making material.  Fiddles these days are strung with steel instead of gut or nylon. It was first used in Irish music in the 17th century, and has remained a popular fixture of Irish music ever since.

Pipes

   The Irish bagpipe is one of the most popular instrument associated with Irish dancing in modern times, its proper name is called the “Uilleann” pipes. Uilleann pipes are not blown; instead, air is provided to the bag by means of a bellows that is held under the opposite arm and is worked with the elbow (hence the name Uilleann, or "elbow", pipes) A full modern set of Uilleann pipes has seven reeded pipes: the chanter, with its two octave range; bass, baritone, and tenor drones that can be turned on or off at need; and three regulators, which are chanters fitted with keys like those on a flute, and can be used to produce various chords.  

                                                                            

 

 

Beside these instruments, other instruments that are commonly used in Ireland include: Banjo, Bodhrán, Bones, Concertina, Flute, Guitar, Harmonica, Irish Bouzouki, Mandolin, and Whistle.

 

 

 

 

Gerard Victory

 

            Irish composer, Gerard Victory, was born on December 24, 1921 in Dublin, Ireland.  He is credited with writing over 200 works spanning many genres and styles, which include tonal, serial, aleatoric and electroacoustic music.  His works include nine operas, nine works for solo instrument and orchestra and choral, vocal and chamber music.  His versatility has not only allowed him to compose serial music, impressive symphonies and operettas, but also light and entertaining music such as the “Capriccio” for violin and orchestra and the short opera “The Music hath mischief.”

            Gerard Victory attended Belvedere College in Dublin from 1931 to 1939, where he studied the piano with Louis O’Brien.  In 1939, he attended University College in Dublin for four years and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Celtic Studies.  He also attended Trinity College in Dublin where he studied music and earned a doctorate in 1972.

            Gerard Victory served as the Director of Music for Ireland’s national broadcasting station RTE from 1967 to 1982.  He was also the president of UNESCO’s International Rostrum of Composers and a Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy of Music.  Some of his most famous pieces include Symphony No. 3, Ultima Rerum and Cyrano de Bergerac Overture.  Gerard Victory died on March 14, 1995 at the age of 73 in Dublin.

 

Musical Analysis

 

A Fig For A Kiss                                                     

 

“A Fig for a Kiss” is a traditional sounding Irish jig. To be more precise, it is a slip jig which is written in 9/8 time. It’s written as an AABB form, which is very common in most Irish jigs. The piece is polyphonic, with the melody being introduced first with a wind instrument, most likely a flute, and then played by a fiddle for the rest of the piece. The melody remains consonant throughout the piece and seems very up beat and energetic. It’s a very simple melody with a very small range of notes and it uses a Dorian scale, common in most Irish jigs. After introducing the melody, the wind instrument plays the harmony. In the first theme, the harmony basically mimics the melody. In the second theme however, it varies slightly as certain notes are held longer in contrast to the many eighth notes being played in the melody. The harmony is also simplistic and very up beat but it becomes dissonant in certain parts of the piece to create a bit of tension. The rhythm remains fairly quick throughout the piece and has a certain “rushing” feeling to it, giving the illusion that the tempo is always speeding up. There aren’t many changes in dynamics throughout the piece, but the beginning of it always starts quieter and the piece gets louder at the beginning of the second theme. Otherwise, it’s mostly forte throughout the whole song.

 

 

Star of the County Down       

 

“Star of the County Down” is a traditional Irish folksong which has been re-done over and over again. In this version, the melody is shared by both the female’s vocals and a fiddle. The melody is fairly simple and repetitive. Compared to the jig, it offers a much wider range of notes. The harmony is shared between a tambourine like instrument, a flute and an acoustic guitar. The harmony is also simple and remains consonant throughout the whole piece. The rhythm is very steady and the tempo changes only once in the piece, at the very end when both the melody and harmony begin to slow down. “Star of the County Down” is a polyphonic piece and is written in typical folksong form, having verses and the chorus written in AABAAB form.

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

"Irish Traditional Music." irelandseye. 2006. Irelandseye.com and contributors. 11 Jan 2007 <http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/music/traditional/tm.shtm>.

 

Carson, Ciaran. "Uilleann Pipes: Irish Traditional Music." irelandseye. 2006. Irelandseye.com and contributors. 11 Jan 2007. <http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/music/traditional/ulil.shtm>.

 

"Irish Dance Music." irelandseye. 2006. Irelandseye.com and contributors. 11 Jan 2007 <http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/music/dance/music.shtm>.

 

"Music of Ireland." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 11 January 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Ireland>.

 

"Polka." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 9 January 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 11 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polka>.

 

"Reel (dance)." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 25 December 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reel_%28dance%29>.

 

"Jig." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 4 January 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 9 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jig>.

 

 

Ireland’s Map Of Musical Styles