Irish Study Guide chapter 9 Timeline 158 59 Earliest period of Celtic culture in Ireland 4 th Century B C E 1840 s Beginning of Irish potato famine mass starvation initiates the Irish diaspora 1920 Political division of Ireland Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland 1921 1949 Especially after 1930 Decline in Irish traditional music despite efforts to preserve promote and nationalize it 1930 s 1940 s Irish traditional music thrives and develops in Irish diaspora communities U S and elsewhere 1949 Republic of Ireland becomes fully independent nation 1960 s First decade of Irish music revival shift toward neo traditional musical styles including ensemble rather than solo performance 1970 s Period of great political unrest and violence in Northern Ireland especially in Belfast through 1980 s 1980 s Altan and other new groups established preserving traditional styles while continuing to push Irish traditional music in new directions as well 1990 s Riverdance becomes an international sensation fiddler Eileen Ivers featured Online musical illustration 24 Musical guided tour 165 Irish dance melodies set to common dance rhythms including the jig the hornpipe and the reel most popular all tunes based on three different scales the Dorian scale related to minor scale Mixolydian scale a major scale with a lowered seventh scale degree and the familiar major scale ornaments may be used the roll the cran the treble the cut and the triplet common dance rhythms consist of several sections or parts normally played twice with the second time varying from the first normally two or more tunes are strung together to form a medley all tunes in medley are of the same tune type e g all reels or all jigs Celtic Musical Traits 169 Prevalence of melodies based on specific types of scales and modes e g the major Dorian and Mixolydian types illustrated in the Musical Guided Tour Identifiable styles of melodic ornamentation though there is much variation in types of ornamentation from one Celtic country or region to another Use of certain types of instruments fiddles bagpipes flutes Dance tunes based on common dance rhythms usually in duple or quadruple meters Standard forms for songs and dance tunes e g AABB forms for dance tunes A close integration of music making with dancing especially in connection with social gatherings that also feature uninhibited feasting and drinking Study Items Irish traditional music 158 the core of Irish music itself and of myriad musical styles that claim Irish music as their root pan Irish 159 Irish dance tunes resilience of and malleability of dance tunes make an ideal topic for appreciating tradition and transformation in Irish music and also for examining issues of traditionalism and modernity in Irish music culture and society more broadly additionally the Irish dance tune medium offers a revealing vantage point to view Irish music as a pan Irish cultural phenomenon Irish Gaelic language 161 English and Irish are the two official languages Irish Gaelic in the Republic of Ireland though English is dominant in 95 percent of the country with Irish Gaelic mainly spoken in concentrated areas known as the Gaeltacht Irish potato famine 161 began in the 1840 s famine and subsequent evictions led to death of 1 5 million Irish people and massive often fatal attempts at emigration resulting in the rapid reduction of the population from 8 million to 3 5 million Irish blamed British for not doing enough to assist them during the famine stimulated an Irish nationalist movement with violent resistance to British control and called for Irish self rule Lead to founding of the Irish Free State later the Repulbic of Ireland and division of Ireland into the Republic and the province of Northern Ireland Irish diaspora 161 famine prompted this millions of Irish people left Ireland for other lands many settled in American cities such as Boston and New York establishing large Irish immigrant communities and making major contributions to the transformation of Irish cultural traditions including music traditional neo traditional post traditional styles 159 160 and other places throughout the chapter all make up diverse types and style of music that fall under the Irish traditional rubric as a basis in rural Irish folk music tradition can only be traced back a couple of centuries with any authorities traditional thrived and developed in Irish diaspora communities 1930 s 1940 s neo traditional emerged in 1960 s with ensembles rather than solo performances Radio ireann 162 national radio station founded in 1926 forces of modernization and urbanization seen as major threats to Irish traditions Irish traditional music became a powerful symbol of national identity and tool of Irish nationalism nationwide radio broadcasts of performances featuring musicians from different countries all over the island played very important role in preservation collection and dissemination of Irish traditional music despite such efforts it was seen as important but was not widely popular among public Irish music revival 162 urbanization and industrialization of agriculture changes led to both increased prosperity and fears of culture loss these factors led to Irish music revival of the 1960 s a phenomenon that would have profound implications on the future course of Irish music growing interaction and cross pollination between performers of Irish music in Ireland and in the US Canada England and other lands yielded many new musical innovations and musicultural developments some of which had a major impact on music back home in Ireland session 162 164 an informal gathering where musicians join together to play Irish tunes amidst socializing led to consolidation of transnational musical culture rooted in Irish traditional music by the end of the 20th century a pan Irish musical culture 5 categories of traditional music 162 Sean n s old way songs sung in Irish Gaelic Slow instrumental melodies called airs often performed in free rhythm Songs sung in English Pieces performed on the Irish harp the harp is national symbol of Ireland Instrumental dance tunes and medleys sean n s 162 old way songs Lillis O Laoire 163 singer on recording of an Irish Gaelic sean nos song called Ag an Phobal De Domhnaigh CD ex 3 4 recognized master of the sean nos idiom in contemporary Ireland a native speaker of Irish Gaelic from County Donegal in northwestern Ireland two time winner of nations most prestigious sean nos singing award Corn Ui Riada and
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