Topic/Thema:
Definition and Characteristic
Celtic music
The instruments of celtic music
The Corrs
WHAT IS IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC ?
DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS
'Irish traditional music' is best understood as a very broad term that includes many different types of singing and instrumental music, music of many periods, as performed by Irish people.
The different types however do have in common an essentially 'oral' character, that is, they belong to a tradition of popular music in which song and instrumental music is created and transmitted in performance and carried and preserved in the memory, a tradition which is essentially independent of writing and print. The necessity of being widely understood and appreciated and the nature of human memory govern the structures of the music and its patterns of variation and repetition.
It is impossible to give a simple definition of the term. Different people use it to mean different things; the music shares characteristics with other popular and with classical music; and, as traditional culture changes, traditional music changes also, showing varying features at varying times.
Irish traditional music does however have some generally agreed characteristics which help define it:
It is music of a living popular tradition. While it incorporates a large body of material inherited from the past, this does not form a static repertory, but is constantly changing through the shedding of material, the reintroduction of neglected items, the composition of new material, and the creative altering in performance of the established repertory.
It is nevertheless music which is conservative in tendency. Change only takes place slowly, and in accordance with generally accepted principles. Most new compositions are not accepted into the tradition, and only a relatively small amount of variation takes place. Elements of the repertory perceived as old are held in high esteem.
Being oral music, it is in a greater state of fluidity than notation-based music. Versions of songs and tunes become enhanced, skilled performers introduce variations and ornaments as the mood takes them, and the same melody can be found in different metres.
It is European music. In structure, rhythmic pattern, pitch arrangement, thematic content of songs, etc., it most closely resembles the traditional music of Western Europe.
The majority of it comes from the past, and is of some antiquity. Much of the repertory is known to have been current in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some is earlier in origin, and it is likely that some very old melodies and lyrics survive adapted to modern forms.
It is handed down from one generation to the next, or passed from one performer to another, more by example than by formal teaching. The traditional learner normally acquires repertory and style through unconscious or conscious imitation of more experienced performers.
Although items of the repertory are initially produced by individual singers and musicians, they are changed as they pass from performer to performer, and they eventually become the production of many hands, music 'of the people'. The original producer normally receives no financial reward, and is forgotten. Words of songs are often written to existing tunes.
Repertories and styles have originally evolved in given regions, but natural processes of diffusion and especially the modern communications media have spread them more widely.
It is music of rural more than urban origins, a reflection of earlier population distribution, but many items and forms of the repertory have come from towns and cities, or through them from abroad. Much traditional music is now performed and commercially produced in urban areas.
It is performed, almost entirely for recreation, by people who are normally unpaid. There are relatively few full-time professional performers.
Songs are performed in Irish and English.
The bulk of the instrumental music played is fast isometric dance music - jigs, reels and hornpipes for the most part. Melodies are generally played in one or two sharps, and belong to one of a number of melodic modes.
String, wind, and free-reed melody instruments predominate - especially fiddle, whistle, flute, uilleann pipes, concertina and accordion - and percussion instruments are of minor importance. Certain timbres are considered traditional, and certain stylistic techniques are used which arise from the nature of the instruments. All are forms of instruments found in Western Europe.
The term 'celtic music' is a rather loose one. It covers the traditional music of the celtic countries - Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany (in France), Galicia (in Spain) and areas which have come under their influence, such as the US and the maritime provinces of Canada.
The term is sometimes controversial. The Celts as an identifiable race are long gone, there are strong differences between traditional music in the different countries, and many of the similarities are due to more recent influences. There is also the notion that 'celtic' implies celtic mysticism. In general, the strongest connections are between Irish and Scottish tradition.
Historically the celtic races covered much of Europe, but their last strongholds were in the west, where their traces still linger in language and other aspects of culture. There are two major groupings. Scotland and Ireland comprise the Gaelic region, with similar languages and some very similar musical styles, while Wales (in the west of Britain), Cornwall (in the southwest of England) and Brittany (the northwest of France) form another grouping.
Celtic music has travelled far from these starting points. The massive migrations of Irish after the famine, and Scottish after the highland clearances brought the music to the US and Canada. Big cities such as New York, Boston and Chicago have a vibrant traditional music culture.
The fiddle is the mainstay of most Scottish and Irish music. The instrument is exactly the same as a violin; fiddle is simply the term used in traditional music.
Flutes have been played in the celtic countries for
over a thousand years. The kind in use today is mainly the 'simple-system'
flute with six holes and up to eight keys. This became popular in Ireland
during the nineteenth century, when classical musicians were abandoning them
for the new Boehm-system flute. Modern traditional flutes are usually copies of
these early instruments, and almost always made of wood.
The simplest and cheapest of traditional instruments, yet not so simple to master. The tin whistle is a simple metal tube, with six holes and a mouthpiece like a recorder, and a range of about two octaves.
Bagpipes
Several forms of bagpipe are used in celtic music. The basic instrument has a bag of air, inflated by blowing through a blowpipe. Arm pressure on the bag sends air through a reed on a fingered chanter which makes the sound.
Banjo
The American five-string banjo came to Ireland in the
nineteenth century, losing one string along the way. It became popular in ceili
bands and in ballad groups such as the Dubliners. The banjo most used in Irish
music is a 4-string tenor banjo, with the standard strings replaced by heavier
ones, tunes to GDAE.
There have been harping traditions in the celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany for hundreds of years and in Ireland at least it was closely tied to the old aristocracy and 'high' culture. Most celtic harps are small, and can be played on the knee.
The bagpipes used in Scottish military music are usually accompanied by side and snare drums. In Ireland, bones (usually short wooden sticks or cow rib bones, clicked against each other, a little like castanets) and spoons are sometimes used to provide accompaniment.
There are two general kinds of dancing: set and ceili dancing. Ceili dancing involves large groups, and is pretty easy to pick up, while set dancing is much more elaborate and usually requires more teaching. Set dances are usually danced by four couples, forming a square, and have evolved from French quadrilles. In Scotland, the ceilidh seems to be the equivalent to the Irish ceili, and there is also Scottish Country Dancing and competitive Highland dancing.
The Corrs!
The siblings with their blend of traditional Irish music and contemporary pop started their careers in the pub scene in Ireland. The band is named after the member's family name. Consisting of eldest son Jim, (born 1964) is the bands keyboard player and guitarist. His three younger sisters are violinist Sharon (born 1970), Caroline (born 1973) who is the drummer and bodhran player of the band and the baby of the family is lead singer and tin whistle player Andrea (born 1974).
The Corrs talent was encouraged by their
parents Jean and Gerry who themselves were performers in the pub scene. Knowing
their
children had a gift they encouraged them to pursue
their dream. The bands first ever performance was also an audition for a part
in
Alan Parker's movie 'The Commitments'.
The musical director for the movie was
John Hughes. Although not interested in managing a band, he realized the
potential of
this group of musicians and after discussions with
the family John soon become their manager.
1994 was the breakthrough year for The Corrs. After
meeting producer David Foster, they got a deal with US label Atlantic Records,
and they
recorded their debut album 'Forgiven Not
Forgotten'. World-wide success was on the horizon with the follow up 1997
album 'Talk on Corners'.
'Talk on Corners' was to achieve far more than anyone would have imagined. It became the best selling album of 1998 and earned The Corrs eight platinum music awards.
THE CORRS
The Corrs' story begins in the small town of Dundalk,
in the county of Louth along the east coast of Ireland (50 miles north of
Dublin). Their parents were
musicians who played in cover bands and had a strong
binding to the music business at the time. The Corr's household was very
musical which set the paths for the children in aspiring their musical
education and career. They were all taught classical piano and only after that
did they specialize on their respective instruments. Jim plays guitar and
keyboards, Sharon plays the violin, Andrea plays the Irish flute and Caroline
became a percussionist (originally only on Bodhran)
John Hughes
Having gained his first experience with
the Dublin band Ned Spoon, he emerged into national prominence during the '80s
with the highly rated band
Minor Detail, the electronic duo of John and his
brother Willie. Minor Detail's kind of pop captured the imagination of
A&R scouts at Polygram's New York headquarters.
John Hughes formed a band named The Hughes Version and among the musicians he
recruited was a certain Jim Corr from Dundalk. Around
the same time he was asked to put together a band to star in the movie The
Commitments. Jim told Hughes about his sisters Andrea, Caroline and Sharon and
asked if they could be auditioned. Hughes got to know The Corrs, and was so
moved by their musical talent that he agreed on being their manager.
With Hughes at the helm, The Corrs were
committed into becoming a proper band. The first couple of years were spent
working on getting a sound together. They began doing a type of synthesized pop
rock and gradually over time, other elements were acquired and inducted into
their music; Sharon
incorporated the violin into the band, Caroline only
used the bodhran for instrumental tracks.
John Hughes knew that he had to set up a show in Dublin to have any chance of getting a record company interested. Their first public performance took place at the Waterfront, the venue for the Commitments auditions, on the 17th of February 1992. There was a special Commitments live concert after which - with Hughes' encouragement and school homework permitting - the band began playing a myriad of venues around Dublin and Dundalk. The Corrs first professional gig was held on the 27th of March 1993 at Whealan's Music Bar in Dublin.
By chance, Jean Kennedy, the then American
ambassador to Ireland, was in the audience. She was so impressed that she
invited
the band to play at the JFK library in Boston in June
1994, when America was hosting the Soccer World Cup in which Ireland was
participating in.
Later the Corrs met Atlantic vice-president and
producer David Foster, who was in New York at the time working with Michael
Jackson. The Corrs played a tape first, that sounded
incredible to David Foster. They then performed a few tracks acoustically, with
Jim on the piano and his sisters working the bodhran, the tin whistle and the
violin. It was the first time David Foster listened to traditional Irish music;
Foster was left in awe by their music. David Foster became producer of The
Corrs.
In January 1995, The Corrs went to Malibu
to record their debut album over a period of five months, and in September
1995, they released their
debut album 'Forgiven Not Forgotten'
featuring their first hit 'Runaway'. Establishing as a prime band
means having shares in the music business in the UK and USA markets. In the
first four days after its release , some 160 radio
stations across the USA played 'Runaway'. The single broke the record
for most radio stations from the Atlantic label.
On the back of the success of Runaway in
the USA, the band undertook a proper acoustic tour of smallish, 400-seater
venues across
the country in March 1996, corresponding with the
release of their second single ('Forgiven Not Forgotten'). So the
band spent most
of their time touring and promoting in the States,
and hit a plateau at around 300,000 sales.
After the US promotional tour, The Corrs
returned to Ireland in order to prepare for their upcoming world tour.
Meanwhile, their album was climbing the charts in many different countries.
Their debut album "Forgiven Not Forgotten' made
The Corrs international stars. In November 1997, the Corrs released 'Talk
on Corners'. Their second album was also guided in part by David Foster.
Andrea has taken on a bigger role in the Corrs, writing or co-writing almost
all of the lyrics. But their Atlantic label in the States did not release the
album because of differential in taste. The second album was released in
October 1997, everywhere except in the States. Not integrating the US as a
market meant it being a high risk strategy that might have exploded in John
Hughes' face - and in the band's. The album was
released under a cloud of apprehension. But the message was clear - 'sell
3 million records or your neck is
on the line'.
The first week of its release, the album went straight in at number one in Ireland, and at number 6 in the UK. Between November 1997 and February 1998, the sales reached 1 million copies, but that was not enough, as Hughes had been told that his 'neck was on the line' if the album didn't sell more than 3 million records.' Actually the Corrs still needed to break the UK grounds. According to the band manager, the only way to counter the radio's bolted door was mainstream television exposure. A radical plan was required. John Giddings, the band's UK agent, suggested hiring the Royal Albert Hall in advance of the Corrs' British tour and persuading the BBC to broadcast it live. And there was only one day that would do: 17th of March, 1998, Saint Patrick's Day. The idea of playing the R.A.H. was scary. Not just because it came with so much history, but because it was huge and what if no one turned up? The fan base in Britain was an unknown quantity. Surely there could be nothing worse than pictures of a half empty auditorium going out live !
This live performance really changed The
Corrs' fortunes: broadcasted on BBC 1 (in the UK) on the same night, it was
also shown by the Odyssey Cable
Network across the USA (attracting approximately 50
million American viewers). It seemed strange to think that The Corrs had only
played three London
dates before they booked the 7000-seater on the
advice of their agent. The place sold out. In April 1999, they made music
history by becoming the first Irish band to take the 2 top positions in the
U.K. charts and just the second act this decade to achieve the musical double.
'Talk On Corners' has sold some 8 million
copies world-wide. The group's astounding international popularity has resulted
in a remarkable register of success from around the globe.
In February 1999, the Corrs received a prestigious Brit Award in the 'Best International Band' category. The Corrs closed off their incredible 1999 with an MTV Unplugged special and the subsequent release of the 'Unplugged' album.
After nearly three whirlwind years
following the release of their international smash second album, 'Talk On Corners', The Corrs returned home to Dublin
in late 1999 to begin work on 'In Blue.'
While the two previous Corrs studio albums were recorded in the US, this time
the group opted to cut 'IN
BLUE' entirely in Ireland.
As the recording went on, the group
enlisted the services of producer Mitchell Froom - who had co-helmed 1999's
international only album, 'The Corrs
Unplugged' - in order to incorporate yet another
musical viewpoint.
Sadly, in the midst of recording the
album, the Corrs suffered a devastating personal tragedy with the death of
their mother, Jean. Dedicated to her memory, 'In Blue' has already
sold more than 4.5 million copies, the Corrs are
dramatically building upon their already enormous world-wide audience. To
date, the album has topped the charts in 18
countries. The album also spent three weeks as the #1 best-seller in the
overall European market.
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