A Texture of Tradition: The Significance of "Harmony" in the Welsh Session (original) (raw)
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2015
Connections between Welsh cultural identity (" Welshness ") and choral singing derive from the nineteenth century, when music and literary competitions (eisteddfodau) were standardized, hymn singing sessions (cymanfoedd canu) were established, and community choirs became popular throughout Wales. This paper aims to describe present-day Welshness and choir associations using insights from cognitive science (Rosch 1975; Lakoff 1987; Koch 2004; Evans 2007). Age and gender differences in Welsh identities are discussed and interpreted. Drawing from a variety of disciplines, this paper looks at music, meaningfulness, and cultural identity, and offers theoretical and methodological implications for future research. Résumé: Les liens entre l'identité culturelle galloise (welshness) et le chant choral remontent au XIX e siècle, lorsque les concours de musique et d'écriture (eisteddfodau) se sont standardisés, que les concerts de chants religieux (cymanfoedd canu) ont été instaurés, et que les chorales communautaires se sont popularisées à travers tout le Pays de Galles. Cet article cherche à décrire la welshness et les associations chorales d'aujourd'hui à partir des aperçus que nous donnent les sciences cognitives (Rosch 1975 ; Lakoff 1987 ; Koch 2004 ; Evans 2007), et discute également des différences d'âge et de genre dans les identités galloises. À partir d'une diversité de disciplines, cet article examine la musique, sa signification et l'identité culturelle, et propose des implications théoriques et méthodologiques pour des recherches futures.
2016
Divided between a prototype digital resource and a written companion, this research implements and examines some of the possibilities and prospects offered to the study of Welsh traditional music by digital humanities methods and approaches. Built on a relational database, the digital prototype functions as a server-based annotated index of a sample of sources from the collections of the National Library of Wales. The user interface of the prototype uses hyperlinks and geographical mapping to express connections between sources of, figures involved with, and reception information relating to Welsh traditional music. Its written companion serves as a contextual review and exposition of some of the research interests that have informed the creation of the prototype. Philosophically, these interests include the concepts of cultural geography, national identity, collective memory, archive, and their intersections with music. Musicologically, the research centres around twin axes: the tr...
History of the Celts in music and lyrics
History of the Celts in music and lyrics, 2016
The term “Celtic music” is nowadays misused and not recognized properly. That mistake created a divided view on what really Celtic music is. An ordinary listener can consider Celtic music every relaxing, moody pieces of music that consist of musical phrases played by national instruments of countries like Ireland or Scotland (bagpipes, Celtic harp, low whistle, carnyx). In this case, the term Celtic music is used interchangeably with Irish music. For more experienced listeners interested in this topic, Celtic music is a repercussion of Celtic culture that has been present in Europe for 2500 years. It represents not only the musical aspect of Celtic heritage but also poetry, elegies, historical documents etc. It sticks to traditional Celtic pieces of music coming from Britain, Ireland, Scotland but also from France, Spanish, Italy – even Poland. Celtic culture had its influence on each of those countries as well as all those countries had their influence on Celtic development and existence. A careful listener will notice that the pieces presented and categorized in this work are very consistent, but at the same time they have visible influences from the regions they come from. The word “Celtic” comes from the Greek word “elton” referring to barbarian tribes present in Europe at those times. That is a proper word to describe the style and mood of Celtic music which mainly touches such themes as love, journey, exile, uncertainty of tomorrow, loneliness, war. Lyrics are stories of living traditions presenting the heritage of the past, showing respect to ancestors. The musical aspect is as well interesting. A vast majority of Celtic music maintains certain rules. First of all, Celtic pieces tend to evolve and change. There are changes of themes and motifs that are very often reintroduced. That changeability keeps conservative tendencies – the variations emerge slowly and are quite predictable due to consequently respected principles. As a genre presented and transmitted orally it carries a great fluidity. Conducting the research, one can find a vast spectrum of variations of certain tune. Sometimes they differ in mood, resolutions, articulation, etc. Celtic music in major part represents a wave of traditional Western Europe. It is clear that in the first stage it was passed from one generation to another. That made this genre highly individualistic and open for new interpretations being called “music of the people”. The characteristic sound and style present in many Celtic pieces is achieved by common use of dorian and mixolydian modes and pentatonic scales. There were certain pieces that used such a rare scale as mixolydian with flattened sixth step. One should remember that the Celts were present on the lands of the Far Occident – that popularized the use of different range of instruments which have very specific abilities and usually differ in performance and scale from the instruments known on the West. The existence of quartertones and flourishing ornaments, slurs and grace notes should not be a surprise – that also makes difficult to transcribe traditional pieces for the guitar or piano.
Review in Ethnomusicology, Fall 2011
Review of: Music in Welsh Culture Before 1650: A Study of the Principal Sources. Sally Harper. 2007. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishers. xix, 441 pp., figures, maps, music examples, tables, appendix, bibliography, indexes. Cloth, £70.00.