Diploma in Irish Music Studies -Module Description

Year 1

Irish Music Studies 1: Transmission of Irish traditional music and dance.

Methods, modes and sites of transmission in Irish traditional music and dance have radically altered during the course of the last century.  The movement of traditional music and dance from the domestic to the public platform, from the house, to pub and concert idiom was one of the most significant changes to occur. Technological advances through the twentieth century, particularly in the area of recording techniques and the introduction of radio had dramatic consequences for Irish music.  Much is made of the transition of Irish traditional music from a solo art form, to that of an ensemble expression.  More recently, the institutionalization of traditional music and dance as a subject for scholarly investigation, offers opportunities for lively debate.  Government policy in relation to these traditions will also be discussed.  We will explore notions of orality, and the complications of that, and how they may be applied to music and dance in the Irish context. 

Learning Outcomes:

Through this course, students will obtain a comprehensive awareness of the changes in the transmission and practice of Irish traditional music and dance, from 1800 to 2000.

Bibliography:

Breandán Breathnach, Folk Music and Dances of Ireland.  Cork: Mercier Press (1971).

Helen Brennan, The Story of Irish Dance.  Kerry: Brandon Books, 1999.

Henry Glassie, Passing the Time in Ballymenone.  Indiana: Indiana University Press (1982).

Marie McCarthy, The Transmission of Music in Irish Culture.  Cork: Cork University Press (1999).

Seán Ó Riada, Our Musical Heritage.  Ireland: Dolmen Press (1982).

Jim McLaughlin, editor, Location and Dislocation in Contemporary Irish Society.  Cork: Cork University Press (1997).

Irish Music Studies 2: Poetry and Music 1700-1922

Music and Poetry have had a long and fruitful relationship in Ireland, a relationship that remains relevant today as Irish writers continue to draw on musical sources for inspiration. Through exploring how an appreciation of music, and its influence and use in poetry, can help us understand texts, this course will provide students with new and innovative approaches to Irish literature.

The first module will examine the history of this relationship exploring its beginnings in early Ireland and following its changing nature following the decline of Gaelic Ireland and the replacement of the Irish language with English for the majority of Irish people. Poets considered will include Aogán Ó Rathaille, Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin, Thomas Moore, James Clarence Mangan and William Butler Yeats.

Irish Music Studies 3: Irish Roots and World Rhythms: The Journey and Influence of Irish Music 1750-2006.

This module will look at the pre and post-famine journeys of Irish music  and song to the Americas.  We will trace the journey of Irish music initially via the West Indies; its subsequent influence and shaping of the music of the Apalacian and Ozark mountains; and how that impacts on various musics such as black-face minstrelsy, old-timey, bluegrass and country music. Related folk traditions will also be investigated, such as those in the Britain, Brittany and Canada.  The final leg of this musical journey manifests in musical forms in Ireland through the filter of country and western, rockabilly, folk, folk-rock, and rock and roll.

In addition, we will examine the development and history of the uilleann pipes, its role as a solo and ensemble instrument, from crossroad and fireside through the 19 ^th century American music hall to the modern concert stage, illustrating the cultural adaptability of folk traditions.  Finally, this module will explore the genre known as ’World Music’ (ethnic and traditional music from Madagaskar to Mali, from Miltown Malbay to Memphis) and examine the place of Irish music within that genre.

Learning Outcome

Students will gain a critical understanding of the adaptability of music as cultural expression, and trace the historical journey of Irish music through emigration and back again.

Bibliography:

Nuala O’ Connor, Bringing it All Back Home.  London: BBC Books (1991).

PJ Curtis, Notes From The Heart- A Celebration of Irish Trad. Music’.  Dublin: Poolbeg (1994).

Liam Clancy, The Mountain of the Women.  New York: Double Day (2002).

Music USA - The Rough Guide To.   USA: Rough Guide (2001).

Nick Tosches, Country.  USA: Secker & Warburg (1985).

Colin Harper and Trevor Hodget, Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History.  Ireland: Collins Press (2001).

Bob Dylan, Chronicles Vol 1.   New York: Pocket Books (2004).

Various, Rough Guide to World Music.  USA: Rough Guide (2000).

Year 2

Irish Music Studies 4: Negotiating Identity through Irish traditional music and dance.

Underlying much of the recent intellectualizing of traditional music are the issues of authenticity and tradition.  What exactly do we mean by these terms?  This course will offer the opportunity to explore such issues.  Musical expression frequently negotiates boundaries of identity and both individuals and communities define who they are, and are not, through music.  The complex relationship between Irish traditional music and a national/ethnic identity is one of the main areas that will be examined in this course.  Irish immigrant communities used traditional music as a means of maintaining ethnic identity.  Because of particular strategies that were employed, Irish traditional music also served, on occasion, as a means of assimilation. Parallel negotiations of identity took place on Irish soil, very often bound up with the aspiration towards a national ideal. This course will offer the opportunity to explore such issues.

Bibliography:

W.H.A. Williams, Twas Only an Irishman’s Dream.  Illinois: University of Illinois,  (1996).

John P. Harrington and Elizabeth J. Mitchell, editors, Politics and Performance in Contemporary Northern Ireland.  Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press (1999).

Dorothea Hast and Scott Stanley, Music in Ireland: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture.  New York: Oxford University Press (2004).

Donal Ó Súilleabháin, The Lifetimes and Music of an Irish Harper.  Cork: Ossian (1958).

Tomás Ó Canainn, Sean O Riada-His Life and Work.  Cork: Collins Press (2003).

Learning Outcomes:

This course will expose students to cultural and anthropological theories of function, use and identity through Irish music and dance.

Irish Music Studies 5: Poetry and Music 1922-2005

Beginning with poets such as Patrick Kavanagh and Austin Clarke, this course will examine the continuing engagement of poets in the 20 ^th century, after the literary revival, with music. Students will explore how concerns with tradition and community have informed the engagement of poets with traditional music and song and examine how this engagement has been reflected in their work. Poets considered will include Thomas Kinsella, Ciaran Carson, Seamus Heaney, Gearóid Mac Lochlainn,  Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and Cathal Ó Searcaigh.

Irish Music Studies 6: Traditional Music and Commodification: ’The Pure Drop’ or ’Pure Product’?

This module will look at the current patterns of production and consumption of  Irish traditional music.  How does a pre-modern music function in a post-modern world?  Essentially, this module is concerned with the mediated manifestations of Irish traditional music.  We will examine the rise of the world-wide commercial traditional music  industry; the development of the best-known Irish traditional and folk music record labels since the 1950’s.  Essential to this discourse, is the role of producer within the industry.  The evolution of the  contemporary ’trad group’, largely made possible through an international popular music industry, will be examined, from the phenomenal success of the Clancy Brothers in the late 50s to the ballad boom and the evolution of ’supergroups’ such as The Chieftains, Planxty and the Bothy Band.

Broadcasting and traditional music have a particular recipricol relationship. Radio particularly, and latterly television, have played an influential role in creating the ’stars’ of the genre, from Michael Coleman to Martin Hayes, while creating new communities of knowledge.  The rise of the ’new breed’ of singers will also be charted, such as the traditional/folk-rooted singer-songwriter John Spillane illustrating  a poetic sensibility, which is peculiarly Irish.  Film too, has been a vehicle of musical expression and the significance of the musical score in films from ’The Quiet Man’ to the ’Titanic’ will be assessed.  Finally, the interface between traditional music and popular music in Ireland will be evaluated.

Learning Outcomes:

This course will give students an historical knowledge of Irish music as it moved from traditional modes of expression to modern, and indeed post-modern ones.  The course will ground this examination in theories of popular culture and consumption.

Bibliography:

Finbar O’ Keefe, Goodnight, God Bless and Safe Home.  Dublin: O’Brien Press (2002).

Richard Pine, Music and Broadcasting in Ireland.  Dublin: Four Courts Press (2005).

Roy Shuker, Understanding Popular Music.  London: Routledge (1994).

Gerry Smyth, Noisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular Music.  Cork: Cork University Press (2005).

Gearoid O hAllmhurain, A Pocket History of irish Traditional Music.  Dublin: O’ Brien Press (1998).

Geoff Wallis, Sue Wilson, The Rough Guide to Irish Music. London: Rough Guide (2001).

Ciaran Carson, Last Night’s Fun.  Dublin: Pimlico (1998).

Assessment

Assessment will be by essay and by a written examination at the end of each trimester.

| Top |

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility