The Making: On Writing Irish Music

Burke, Kevin and Scott, Cal. “The Irish Session Suite 2nd Movement - Hornpipe - Kitty O'Neill.” Suite, 2010. 

Burke and Scott's treatment of this tune is subtle and virtuosic. Arranged for fiddle and cello, the piece comes from the mid-19th century American music hall, and in recent decades it has enjoyed some popularity within the Irish music community. Looking at multiple examples of this piece in recent performance, I sought to understand its place in the shared repertoire of both Irish and American traditional music. By referencing both Irish and Minstrel Banjo interpretations of the piece, I attempt to come to an understanding of the way that contemporary Irish music conceptualizes the new interpretation of 19th century American music.

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Hafstein, Valdimar Tr. “The Politics of Origins: Collective Creation Revisited.” The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 117, No. 465, University of Illinois Press, 2004. http://0-www.jstor.org.library.acaweb.org/stable/4137743. 

Hafstein addresses the complicated question of intellectual property law as it relates to works within a tradition, folk process, or other paradigm that does not fit neatly into the western cultural concept of “idea ownership.” He makes the case that such laws, meant to protect those who have created an original work, can act as a means of oppression when applied to traditional music, medicine, or other expressions of traditional culture. In examining how authenticity (and all the slippery notions that accompany that word in its many contexts) acts as a kind of social currency in Irish music, this article seems like an important angle on the question of ownership, which may allow me to dig into the questions that sometimes arise about who will serve as the arbiters and interpreters of a tradition.

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Ignatiev, Noel. How the Irish Became White. Routledge, 1995.         

Ignatiev examines how identity constructions of Irish-American immigrants in the mid 19th century and beyond have been influenced by American ideas of race. He makes the case that Irish immigrants were quick to adopt “whiteness” and the privileges that came with it. As my research grapples with questions of identity, this text may help to fill in some of the history that deals with race-politics in the Irish diaspora in America.

           

Keegan, Niall. "The Parameters of Style in Irish Traditional Music."
 Inbhear, Volume I. http://www.irishworldacademy.ie/inbhear/volume-1/n-keegan/v1-i1-n-keegan-menu.html.

Keegan, head of the Traditional Music M.A. program at the University of Limerick, states that, “Style is an important but elusive concept in the world of traditional Irish music.” In examining the many interlocking identities that are performed within this tradition, Keegan’s work helps to illuminate the ways in which the word “style”  is used, and some of its different meanings.

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James, W.N. A Word or Two on the Flute. Redwood Burn, 1982.

James’ classic 1826 treatise on playing the flute contains not only useful technique insights, but an interesting look at ideas about music and flute playing during that period. In examining the relatively recent popularity of the flute in Irish music, a look at this other context of the instrument and its use in European classical music is important. 

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"Josie McDermott - Sligo-Roscommon." YouTube, uploaded by Liam McKeogh, 2013, www.youtube.com/channel/UCHvX7t29JZTYWg4UWnpEfeQ.

An excellent documentary about the life of Josie McDermott produced by RTE, including interviews of people who knew him and footage of his home county of Roscommon. I have been unable to find a print biography about McDermott, and since he occupies something of a small niche in a fringe musical genre, I am not hopeful of finding a full biography. Therefore, this film provides important biographical information.

 

“Josie McDermott.” The Irish Tune Composers’ Pages. irishtunecomposers.weebly.com/josie-mcdermott.html. 

An overview of McDermott’s life and work, with information about his artistic career and legacy. Not an in-depth source, but a good introduction.

 

Kaul, Adam. “Turning the Tune: Traditional Music, Tourism, & Social Change in an Irish Village.” Dance & Performance Studies, Vol. 3, Berghahn, 2009.

Kaul examines the changing nature of Irish music through the lens of a particular geography. Looking at the town of Doolin in Co. Clare as a case study, he considers how tourism has shaped a “reorientation” (155) of the way traditional music is played. As Kaul deconstructs ideas of authenticity and performed identity and situates his work between ethnography, musicology, and anthropology, this book is directly relevant to my areas of study.

 

Kaul, Adam. “The Limits of Commodification in Traditional Irish Music.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2007.

Being published before Kaul’s “Turning the Tune” (see above), and dealing also with musical tourism in Doolin, this article presents some overlap of content and themes. I was drawn however, to Kaul’s description of a “session” (an informal gathering of musicians for the purpose of a musical exchange that is only indirectly performative), as it provides a useful definition of this important concept and phenomenon for those unfamiliar with Irish music. 

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McAuliffe, Nicky. Personal interview. 4 November 2015.

While in Ireland in 2015, I recorded an interview with Mr. McAuliffe, in which he talked at length about composition within Irish music. He mentions some of the seminal names, and speaks about Josie McDermott at some length. One key component that I wish to examine is how the community constructs an understanding of the work of these composers, in juxtaposition to the older traditional repertoire. McAuliffe, as an older player who many look to as a resource, is exactly the kind of voice to which players on both sides of the Atlantic look as an arbiter of the tradition.

 

McDermott, Josie. Darby’s Farewell, Topic, 1977.

As McDermott recorded only one full-length album in his lifetime, this is an important resource for anyone wishing to study his music. It is comprised of 17 tracks, and includes traditional and original tunes and songs, as well as a track of “lilting” or mouth music. 

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Meade, Don. Kitty O’Neil and her “Champion Jig,” A Forgotten Irish-American Variety Theater Star. www.blarneystar.com, 2014.

Meade makes a thorough investigation of a mid-19th century piece of music entitled “Kitty O’Neil’s Champion Jig,” written for vaudeville star jig and clog dancer Kitty O’Neil. The history of the piece, including the loss of knowledge as to the composer, provides an interesting story through which to view the process of “absorption” by which a particular tune can become part of the common repertoire of Irish traditional music.

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Newton, Michael. Review of Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia. e-Keltoi Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2015.

Sharply critical of Orr and Ritchie’s work, Newton raises questions about both their scholarship and the validity of modern constructions of a Celtic ethnicity and identity. If his tone here seems bitter, it is perhaps because of the broad range of meanings (often wildly inaccurate) that are ascribed to the word “Celtic” in different contexts.

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Norman, Chris. “The Fairy Queen.” YouTube, uploaded by Chris Norman – Topic, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVyIXa0GMy0.

Norman has been active in both baroque and Irish music circles for many hears, and here demonstrates an ornate and virtuosic technique, encompassing the intersection of these two styles. This track was originally released in 1992 on Norman’s album Man with the Wooden Flute. One of the things I am interested in is different interpretations of O’Carolan’s music, ranging from more classical or orchestral arrangements to more "trad" interpretations. Looking at Norman's version of this piece and that of Michelle O'Brien, we hear two very different treatments of the same piece of music, highlighting the fluid boundaries of form and style. 

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O'Sullivan, Donal, and Bonnie Shaljean. Carolan: The Life, Times, and Music of an Irish Harper. Ossian, 2001.

Often cited as the definitive work on Carolan, O’Sullivan’s work on the harper is well-researched and exhaustive, including both biographical information about his life and a collection of his extant works.

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"Laoise Kelly with Michelle O'Brien-The fairy queen." YouTube. Uploaded by Donegal, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uP2TWv5GfE.

A new setting of a Carolan tune, played by Michelle O'Brien and Laoise Kelly. The video is of a live performance, and presents a tasteful rendition of this work of O’Carolan’s, and an important place from which to reference less orchestral or classical interpretations of his work in recent iterations of music situating themselves closer to a "trad" sound. I first heard this setting of the piece played by Alden Robinson, Christian Stevens, and Owen Marshall of The Press Gang.

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Schechner, Richard. Performance Theory. Routlage, 1977.

Schechner is a pioneer in the emergent field of performance studies. A theatrical director and Professor of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts, this book lays the groundwork for his conceptualizations of performance theory and study. As I am here grounding my investigations into the performance of Irish music within the discipline of performance theory this book and perhaps other early works in the field will be important.

 

Schechner, Richard. Between Theater & Anthropology. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985.

Schechner’s early work seems to have informed a great deal of more recent theory. His stance on performance theory as an inherently physical and constantly changing discipline that is deeply rooted in the act of performance provides a solid justification for the importance of the “performer-scholar” as a voice in academic writing about performance.

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Solis, Gabriel. “Thoughts on an Interdiscipline: Music Theory, Analysis, and Social Theory in Ethnomusicology.” Ethnomusicology, Vol. 56, No. 3. University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 2012.

This article presents significant challenges to the casual reader. Solis’ writing style is somewhat convoluted and while pertinent to my research, the density of the material makes integration challenging.  

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Stucky, Nathan, and Wimmer, Cynthia. Teaching Performance Studies. Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.

This is the first published work to deal systematically with the pedagogy of performance studies. Through a series of essays by leading scholars in the field, different methodologies and philosophies are presented. 

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Thornton, Shannon L. “Fanning the Celtic Flame: Music Patronage and Practice in Contemporary Ireland.” Western Folklore, Vol. 57, No. 4, 1998, Western States Folklore Society.

Among players and scholars of the many traditional styles of music that often get lumped under the catchall umbrella of "Celtic" (Irish, Breton, Scottish, and Cape Breton for example), there is an ongoing debate about the legitimacy or utility of the word "Celtic" as applied to traditional music. In this article, Thornton examines different settings in which the term is applied, and seeks to illuminate the motivations that particular communities or individuals have when they either choose to label themselves as Celtic musicians or to reject that label. Rather than ascribing to the competing views of Celtic as either a legitimate catchall or a term that is meaningless and “flattens” complex traditional practices, Thornton presents a more nuanced view, in which the limitations of Celtic as a category are recognized, while identifying the (perceived) validity of the this category by more general consumers.

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Thuente, Mary Helen. “The Folklore of Irish Nationalism.” Perspectives on Irish Nationalism. University Press of Kentucky, 1989.

Thuente looks at how the rise of nationalism in Ireland is reflected in songs and other folkloric artifacts, and traces commonalities in the ways songs been altered in the changeover from traditional ballad to political protest.

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White, Harry. “The Need for a Sociology of Irish Folk Music. A Review of Writings on 'Traditional' Music in Ireland, with Some Responses and Proposals.” International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1984.

White makes a case for the need of “a sociology of Irish folk music.” His insistence that a consideration of the social context of the music may seem obvious by today’s standards, but elsewhere he hints at concerns that have yet to be addressed, particularly in regards to composition.