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Traditional Irish Ireland

Before discussing the contexts behind the development of traditional Irish Music and the resulting label, it is important to define what is actually meant by the label “traditional”. Naturally, as with most art forms the definition differs between performers/singers/writers. The prime factor though is typically having some note of age. As with much music labelled “traditional”, Irish music has much history behind it and the music we recognise today under this category takes its roots from a much older form of music. Many references to Irish/Celtic music have even been labelled as “ancient”. Again these terms alone would require an essay in themselves to define what the understanding of them is. As a historians definition of “ancient history” is a time before written records and communication it is almost impossible to determine how old certain cultures and their musical backgrounds are. Irish music could definitely fall into this discussion although many would argue this to be even too old to be traditional and that the real traditional music of Ireland is the music of the harpists. A tradition that has all but died out in much of what we class as traditional Irish music today.
 
In retrospective, the music which ran along side this music is equally as “traditional”. This is music which was played amongst the general community in Ireland, music which was played in houses and pubs. These were the places where many people could gather to play “amateur” music on instruments such as Fiddles, Pipes, Flutes and whistles, which at the time did not have the higher status of Harp players who in general played for the higher class of society. This is the music which has developed into what most consider as Irish traditional music today. In many respects, they are not wrong although it has been altered and developed in a way, which appeals to more people and could also be described as Irish “popular” music, yet another term that creates much discussion as to its true meanings. ‘Riverdance’ and ‘Lord of the Dance’ are prime examples of this. Although many would go as far as to say that they have no resemblance of Irish traditional music at all, this is the music that has become known as traditional and Irish. The story behind Riverdance especially, does bare some resemblance to life in Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. It revolves around the everyday life of Irish people and communities, and even the music does have strong connections to the music played at the time, although has been produced to appeal to a wider range of listeners and in particular, viewers.
 
This leads me onto the History behind the music, and its impact on how the music developed to what is recognised today. The traditional music of Ireland dates back to medieval Europe. In early medieval period Ireland, was not a unified country but instead, broken into four families who shared equal rule of the country. This was also the cases in many countries of Medieval Europe. The people of Ireland were descended from many other cultures throughout Europe including England, Scotland, Wales, Gaelic Europe (France, Germany) and Scandinavia. It would seem though, that the music played today which we label as traditional emerged in the 1700’s.
 
The 1700’s were a turbulent time for the Irish. This was the period when the old Gaelic aristocrac本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。