It could be argued that the term “Scottish” is problematic. This is because its definition arguably changes depending on who you ask. For example, the term “Scottish” will have a different meaning to those who live in Scotland to those who live outside of Scotland. This essay will discuss the notion of “Scottishness” and will explore the factors which cause a piece of music to be deemed as “Scottish” and what caused these factors to have changed between the eighteenth century and present-day. Throughout this essay, I will also explore the use of Scottish stereotypes presented in music to increase marketability and how these stereotypes have made it difficult for us to determine what is authentically “Scottish” and what is not.
Recently there
…show more content…
Despite this notion of “Scottishness” being somewhat common today, Gelbart does note that the establishment of a sense of “cultural Scottishness” proved to be difficult due to the divide between Highland and Lowland Scots. (Gelbart, 2007) This shows that as a result of the divisions in Scotland, convincing the Scots to accept that they had a national identity would arguably not have been an easy task for the cultural nationalists. The early eighteenth century is said to have marked the increase in acknowledgement of “national” music. (Gelbart, 2007) However, it was mostly the upper class who recognised this national identity as opposed to those of the lower classes. It could be argued that Scotland’s loss of independence with the Union of 1707, is what led to an increase in interest to find something that would allow them to protect their own customs from the English culture. However, what was it that eighteenth century Scots believed to be “Scottish”? It appears that if the music was composed in Scotland by a composer who was born in …show more content…
It appears that in an attempt to reject the stereotypes of the typical Scot which tends to involve kilts, bagpipes and tartanry. Peter Symon states that “There was a wave of enthusiasm for deconstructing the supposedly regressive and pessimistic ‘Scotch myths’ of tartanry… which it is argued, had so deformed and debilitated Scottish national culture.” (Symon, 1997, p. 204) (McCrone, 1992, p. 192) From this, it could be argued that the country’s growing interest in Scottish national identity has arguably more recently come from the desire to reject the stereotypes of the country. However, like Walter Scott who believed the Scottish cultural heritage would be found in the past, “many writers musicians and artists looked to the past for creative inspiration and to create a stronger sense of Scottishness.” (Symon, 1997, p. 204) From this, it could be argued that the idea of “Scottishness” has not changed a great deal since the eighteenth century as there is still the belief that Scottish identity will be found in the past and not the present. In addition to this, towards the end of the twentieth century there was growing desire from folk musicians who wanted to play “Scottish” tunes as opposed to Irish tunes which has been referred to by Peter Symon as meeting the “Irish challenge”. (Symon,
In terms of the technical differences between the art music of early times and that of the modern period (i.e., after 1600) we can identify five specific features that make post-1600 styles in music sound more or less "familiar."
Music is magical: it soothes you when you are upset and cheers you up when you are down. To me, it is a communication with souls. I listen to different genres of music. When appreciating each form of music, with its unique rhythm and melody, I expect to differentiate each other by the feelings and emotions that it brings to me. However, I would definitely never call myself “a fan of jazz” until I witnessed Cécile McLorin Salvant’s performance last Friday at Mondavi Center. Through the interpretations and illustrations from Cécile’s performance, I realized that the cultural significance and individual identity are the building blocks of jazz music that create its unique musical features and support its development.
Atlas, Allan W. Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400-1600. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1998.
Although the style of ‘Rock music’ is easily adaptable to many different sounds, it is still thoroughly identified by its definingly amplified rhythm. The sudden worldwide popularity of rock and roll resulted in an unparalleled social impact. Rock ‘n’ Roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language in a way few other social developments have equaled. The social impact is so large that rock stars are worshipped worldwide. In its early years, many adults condemned the style of music, placing a stigma on its name, and forbid their children from listening and following its ways.
Although folk music played a big role in most of these artists’ performances, folk links back to the blues, and is similar...
Desler, Anne. "History Without Royalty? Queen and the Strata of the Popular Music Canon." Popular Music 32.3 (2013): 385-405. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
This essay will discuss the key musical and lyrical characteristics of Ska music. We will briefly examine some of the musical styles that influenced the session musicians and composers working in Jamaica’s recoding industry at the time of the development of Ska. We will then go on to look at the musical and lyrical characteristics of three ska recordings. The first recording will be Derrick Morgan’s Forward March, the second recording this essay will look at will be Prince Busters Al’ Capone which was released in 1964. We will see how Busters recoding of Al Capone was written with much more focus on the instrumentation rather that the song lyrics while still having a clear concept for the song. The author will look at Millie Smalls recording of my boy lollipop a song that went number one in the UK a successful attempted to incorporate Ska’s musical characteristics into commercial popular music. This essay shall then briefly discuss how ska music’s main characteristics where used in conjunction with musical elements from other genres to bring about a revival ska.
TitleAuthor/ EditorPublisherDate James Galways’ Music in TimeWilliam MannMichael Beazley Publishers1982 The Concise Oxford History of MusicGerald AbrahamOxford University Press1979 Music in Western CivilizationPaul Henry LangW. W. Norton and Company1941 The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Classical MusicRobert AinsleyCarlton Books Limited1995 The Cambridge Music GuideStanley SadieCambridge University Press1985 School text: Western European Orchestral MusicMary AllenHamilton Girls’ High School1999 History of MusicRoy BennettCambridge University Press1982 Classical Music for DummiesDavid PogueIDG Books Worldwide,Inc1997
McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer’s Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985.
This paper will argue that, Barker’s panorama depicts a British narrative of a defeated Scottish city, which creates a paradoxical spectatorship that “blurs and idealizes circumstances of land ownership” for the defeated (Oettermann 7), and helps to reinforce Great Britain’s newly formed national identity for the victor. I will start with a formal analysis of the exhibited painting, from its subject matter to its targeted spectators, then I will discuss the spatial strategies that the panorama used to convey British nationalism to its
There are many different genres and subgenres within the world of music, each with its own unique sound, beat, and stylistic elements. One particular subgenre of the much broader genre of rock music is that of Celtic rock. This musical subgenre is of Irish, Scottish, and Welsh decent; these countries are often referred to as the Celtic nations. Although Celtic rock stylistically retains the rock ensemble of guitars, bass, and drums, it incorporates cultural themes found in Celtic countries that otherwise would not exist in the mostly American invention of rock music. While Celtic rock is perhaps a lesser-known subgenre of rock music, its influence on the overall genre and in certain countries cannot be understated.
Bonds, Mark Evan. A Brief History of Music in Western Culture. 1st. New Jersey: Pearson
The pasturage is an archaeological blank stretching “miles and miles” as deepening twilight “smiles;” its sheep “tinkle homeward.” This tinkling is of the Romantic’s conception of non-compositional, acoustic Nature as opposed to the orderly, cultured classicism of the music of the Enlightenment, let alone the stately, processional pomp of court and state (“a city great and gay / (So they say)”). That tinkling sound will “stray or stop,” as the sheep will to crop. “Stray or stop,” it does not matter in an age when the energies of the great and gay have fallen beneath the reigning “verdure.” No one is “wielding far / Peace or war,” because those civilized opposites...
The. Burkholder, J. P., Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. Eight ed. of the book. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.
Socio-political events of the Jacobean period influence the construction of the play due to the unclear meaning of the politics of the Union. This article mentions the idea of England dominating Scotland. This is shown in ‘Scotland’s barbaric impulses need to be contained by England’s civilising forces’. A quote from Macbeth comes from Malcolm’s closing speech of victory, reading ‘My thanes and kinsmen. / Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland / in such an honour named’.