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National LAOH Irish History Writing Contest
“Expressing Irish History Through Music”
Going back centuries you can hear the soft sound of the harp played by the Celts. The music from 2,000 years ago tells the stories of the countless journeys to the country and gave their new home a sense of cultural identity. Looking all the way back to 500 B.C. to present times Irish music has had an effect on you, me, and our ancestors.
Irish music in its early days would be considered an oral tradition, the music was always spoken by word of mouth, never written down. Throughout their voyage, the Celts left an impression on Scotland, Wales, Spain, and Northern France, the Celtic countries. Once arriving home to Ireland, the spread of music made
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The harp is believed to have originated in Egypt along with many theories that Celtic music was greatly influenced by the music of the east. Appearing on many Irish coins and flags today the harp gives Ireland a sense of pride and identity. Sir Frederick Gore Ouseley, Bart., Mus.Doc. says," From its very construction we must assume that Harmony was known to the ancient Irish." Only in the 6th century, the Irish were already very advanced regarding the subject of music. Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a similar heritage. In Gaelic Ireland, power and leadership were established through the idea that through war or politics some groups were wiser than others, therefore, granting themselves power. While the more dominant clans were ruled by a Chief, smaller and more dependent clans were led by Chieftains. The Chieftains became the all commanding ruler of Ireland by the sixteenth century. A revelation took place on September 4th, 1607, the “Flight of the Earls”. The English and the Gaelic Lords of Ireland went to battle and lead to the flea of Ireland to mainland Europe. The Chieftains fled Ireland after pressure from invaders arose. After this the harp wasn’t played as often, it didn’t bring as much life as it used to. Now that the Chieftains have vanished from Ireland the musicians became “traveling” or “itinerant” harpists which affected their reputation, how they carried themselves, and the overall tradition of not only the harp but music as a whole because of the reliance on the harp to make traditional Irish music what it
Cajun music has a folk-like beat that places the accordion at the center of the rhythm. Cajun music originated from the United States of America but more specifically, the state of Louisiana. This music came to Louisiana through the French-speaking immigrants that settled there. These immigrants once called the Acadians, or Cajuns, found a new home in Louisiana after being expelled from Nova Scotia (Ancelet). Due to their harsh exile from Nova Scotia, much of Cajun music describes death and desperation. Soon after arriving in Louisiana, the Cajuns began incorporating the sounds of the surrounding cultures into their music (Edmondson, 173). Acculturation contributed greatly to the origin and development of Cajun music due to its borrowing of sounds and instruments from a variety of different cultures. They started incorporating the Native American’s singing style as well as the Spanish guitar into their own original music (Ancelet). This created the unique sounds of Cajun music that we know and listen to today. Paired with their music, the Cajun culture also created their own unique Cajun dance style. Their dances incorporated waltzes, and
1. The Scotch-Irish were staunch libertarians, and acted upon their feelings. Sex ways and dress ways had close ties to each other in the backcountry. To talk about sex and sexual behavior was also acceptable in this culture. The dress women and men wore was meant to arouse the opposite sex. Anglican missionary Charles Woodmason wrote, “They draw their shift as tight as possible round their Breasts, and slender waists (for they are generally very finely shaped) and draw their Petticoat close t their Hips to show the fineness of their limbs– … –indeed nakedness is not censurable without ceremony.” Woodmason was appalled at how these women carried themselves, but to the women, they were sexy. Men even dressed in ways to show off their bodies. Men wore pants that showed their upper thighs and part of their hips. To be naked to the backsettlers was just as normal as being clothed. Families slept together and undressed in front of one another, and some children even ran around half naked according to Woodmason.
After seven hundred years of British rule, and many uprisings that ended in failure, Ireland had reached a breakthrough. This breakthrough had an affect on many different people, especially Irish musicians. The series of uprisings and wars that led to the freedom of most of Ireland developed a new form of Irish music; the rebel songs.
Of all musical genres country music is perhaps the one most influenced by a male presence. Country music is often associated with the classic cowboy strumming a guitar around a campfire or riding his horse with a guitar strapped to his back. Even the politics of country music is inclined towards a male-dominated, republican, conservative, pro-war stance (Spong 184). The stereotypical women of country music “behave properly” and passively follow the same values as men do. Therefore, in 2003 when the Dixie Chicks, a three member all female country music band, became the top selling female group of all time it was quite an accomplishment. Their success began in 1997 with an image that embraced their versatility. Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, who are sisters, played fiddle and banjo and provided background vocals to lead vocalist Natalie Maines, gifted with a strong, clear voice. Maines stood out from the others with her forceful stage presence. They wore feminine, bling infused, non-countrified outfits. They were pretty to look at and kind of goofy in demeanor (129). The kind of young women fans could imagine having a lot of fun with, but also the kind that young women could identify with through their music. Songs like “Goodbye Earl” described a strong woman who has had enough of her abusive husband and ends up killing him. However, the band delivered it in a style that was far from morose. It sent a clear message of girl power for many women (129). Many accolades followed from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association (CMA) which included Entertainer of the Year, Top Vocal Group, and album of the Year (Towner 293). During the first five years of their career they sold 28 million copies of the three records...
The Bagpipes have been used continuously through the course of history and throughout many cultures.The history of bagpipes, much like its origins are elusive. The bagpipes were reported to have been played by Roman emperors to French and Scottish kings. Cultures around the world have used the bagpipes in many ceremonial occasions such as weddings, dances, wars, funerals and various other occasions. People have fought hard to keep the essence of piping a-live. Bagpiping’s The bagpipes contributions to society have been great, and no other country has tried harder to preserve its spiritual essence than Scotland.
The Irish did not have much time and money for leisure activities. They did not do anything that was extravagant or costly. The Irish were usually working to save money and so there were limitations to how much they could use their money for personal pleasure. Plus, with busy working schedules, they simply did not have enough time. Irish gangs hung out together, play cards, go bowling, go to a pub, or go to a dance hall. They even had “... different bars in the neighborhood [that] were designated for different groups within the community, such as working men, older people, or single young men and women…” (Dolan, 26) Merchant class members established societies for major ethnic groups such as German, English, Welsh, and Irish. Irish Club, for
Both the American and Irish folk music revivals came at interesting, tense times in both countries, and have many similarities; the often political sentiments expressed through the music influenced many socio-political movements at the time, and the revivals had far-reaching and widespread effects on the music and culture then and now. While the American folk music revival is better well-known (at least in the United States), it is interesting to learn about how folk music has been revived elsewhere and how the movements reviving the music share many
African music obviously began in Africa where music was strongly rooted to everyday life among the African natives. The rich texture of their music and descriptive chants gave way to oral tradition in a nontraditional sense. In the days of little to no written language, oral tradition was a must for the African history to survive. In their music a story, or ballad, would take place to describe something such as a struggle between a hunter and a beast. These songs were easy for everyone to learn and chant to the next generation.
Since the earliest days of human civilization music has been a key tool for communication of stories which carried emotions through them. If we think back to our youngest years of life music has surrounded us whether it was from our parents singing us lullabies or from some sort of toy that played music we can say that musical melodies have helped shape or lives one way or another. Once we start growing up and figuring out who we are our musical preferences change; some people like classical and some like punk. We start to befriend people who like the same music as us and eventually we may attend a musical event. Our lives somewhat revolve around the music that we listen to.
Music plays a huge role in the structure of a society. It can have both negative and positive influence on cultures and communities. First, musical sounds and instruments can be a dividing factor between the people within the same culture. These opposing social and economic identities within these cultures can lead unnecessary animosity between the members. However, music can also be one of the forces that unite members of a culture and provide a sense pride for everyone. This makes it easier for people to display their identification to that culture.
The book America’s Musical Landscape starts by looking back to early North American Music from the American Indians, to the religious and non religious music of the European and African settlers. According to the book “Native American music was and is song, sometimes supported by instruments.”1 The Native American used different types of instruments to accompany their songs or chants such as the drums, flute and rattles. Like music for us today the Native Americans used music in all different aspects of their lives. The early European settlers br...
many cultures view as an important part in their way of life. Music ranges from strictly
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
For the English-speaking peoples there exists a vast body of ballads, collected in England as well as America. Of German folklore we know best the songs that have come into repertory rather recently. Swedish folk music happens to have available a large collection of fiddle tunes, because some Swedish collectors have concentrated on this aspect of music.” (Folk & Traditional Music of the Western Continents Bruno Nettl) Here Bruno Nettl states some of the obvious dissimilarities between cultures and how their own folk music differed from other cultures.... ...
9. Culture - Irish Music and Dance. Wherever you are in Ireland, traditional faot tapping music will be played at informal sessions in original Irish pubs. You will be enthralled by the wonderful skill of the Irish dancer! The passion of Irish music passes from generattionto generation, and its high esteem in the hearts of Irish people and the visitor will never die.