A Musical Trip to Ireland

Why I chose Ireland 

    I have always enjoyed Irish music. I have done at least 3 Irish step dances in my tap classes and I listen to folk songs all the time. I thought it would be cool to learn more about this style of music. I have a lot of Irish ancestry. I.m not too big in that sort of thing it still interests me. I plan to one day visit Ireland so this would be a good start in learning more about it. .

History Of Irish Music

    Irish music started developing Thousands of years ago. It began with the use of primitive instruments specifically pipes and horns. The use of these instruments didn't start out for musical use they were used as signalers to warn others of danger or to summon some one to come to another area. Six cylindrical hand-carved wooden pipes tied together have been found from as far back as 2000 BC. 

    Irish Music can be traced back to the Celts. They would travel around a lot. In their travels they picked up many musical things so when they arrived in Ireland they brought a lot of musical things including the harp. The harp was the most dominate sound in Ireland for many years and is still use today. When music became an important part of Irish life in the middle ages anyone who could play the harp could make an extremely good living for themselves. (Traditional Irish Music: A Brief Guide)

Types of Songs 

There are two general categories of Irish songs. The slow ballad songs (Sean Nos) and fast paced dancing songs. 

 

Ballad Songs (Sean Nos)

    These songs are typically song unaccompanied  by a single person in the Irish language. (However, modern adaptations can very quite a bit.) These songs are passed down orally. They are free rhythm and speed up or slow down in accordance to the words and their meaning. These song are typically fairly melancholy they are typically about death, famine, or oppression.  

Dancing Songs

    These songs are faster paced and more jovial in order to be compatible with dancing. When preformed they are almost always accompanied by Ceilidh. Which is a group of dancers in a simple formation that change partners and directions in various intervals. There style can get quite chaotic. 

Subcategories

     laments, drinking songs, rebel songs, love songs, humorous songs, jigs, reels and hornpipes. 

The Foggy Dew 

    This is a classic Irish Ballad that first appeared in the 1800's. It was popularized in 1916 when it became tied to the Easter Rising. The Easter Rising was the armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. It was once again re-popularized when the Chieftains released their recording of it in 1995. This song is in simple meter.. The musical accompaniment is long sustained sound like a droning pipe. Occasionally there is short and spiky sounds from a wind instrument like a flute or a pipe. (Irish Studies)(Easter Rising)

 

 The Kesh Jig 

    The first printed version was in George Petrie's 1850's collection under the title Tear the Callie. It has a few different names. It is one of the most popular dancing song ever in Ireland. It is in a 6/8 meter. Most of the notes are short and spiky. In the background you can here a long sustained sound through out. There is also regular drumming throughout the song. (Kesh Jig)

Zombie

    Zombie by the Cranberries is  a favorite song of mine and my boyfriends. I was on the fence about including it because I wouldn't call it traditional Irish music despite it coming from an Irish band. It is actually alternative rock. I didn't even know it was preformed by an Irish band before I started this project. However, after learning what I have it seems more like an Irish song, albeit more modern, than I realized. This song was released in 1994 as a protest song. It was written by the bands leader  Dolres O'Riodan in memory of two young victims, a 3 year old and a 12 year old, that were killed in 1993 Warrington bombings. Again this isn't a traditional Irish song however, I feel like elements come from the Irish traditional Ballad. It is a slow song with sharp quick sounds occasionally added in but has an overall droning sound. it also focuses on a heavy topic and spurs people into action. (Zombie- Cranberries) 

 

Another Irish Drinking Song

    I absolutely adore this song. It is a comedic song by Da Vinci's Notebook and came out in 2002. It was written in America so it doesn't count as a song from Ireland however it does employ a lot of Irish elements. This song is one of the reason I wanted to look deeper into Irish music. (Da Vinci's Notebook)

Bibliography

Claddagh Design. “Traditional Irish Music: A Brief Guide | Claddagh Design.” Claddaghdesign.com, 26 Feb. 2019, www.claddaghdesign.com/ireland/traditional-irish-music-whats-it-all-about/.

“Easter Rising - Wikipedia.” En.m.wikipedia.org, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising.

“Kesh Jig (1) (The).” Traditional Tune Archive, 29 June 2021, tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Kesh_Jig_(1)_(The). Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.

“Leonardo Da Vinci.” Wikipedia, 23 Oct. 2021, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Vinci. Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.

“The Foggy Dew – Lyrical Analysis – Irish Studies.” Sunygeneseoenglish.org, 2021, irishstudies.sunygeneseoenglish.org/working-title-music/foggy-dew-lyrical-analysis/.

“Zombie (the Cranberries Song).” Wikipedia, 23 Oct. 2021, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_(The_Cranberries_song)#Background. Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.