The Making of Irish Traditional Music

The first critical study of Irish traditional music, "The Making of Irish Traditional Music" draws on the author's observations and participation as a musician. It analyses the experiences of foreigners playing Irish music at summer schools, where they encounter the tourism industry's "Ireland of the Welcomes", and in the heart of Ireland's traditional music empire, County Clare. The book concludes that a view of Irish traditional music as expressive of an ethnically pure, geographically bound, masculine, national culture is an inadequate basis for a multi-ethnic Irish society.

CONTENIDO

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction: foreign bodies in the river of sound
1. When smiling eyes are tearful: the making of Irish music
2. The morning dew: Irish dance music's journey through tradition
3. Regional styles: locating a place in the Irish tradition
4. Musical pilgrims: seeking authenticity in the west of Ireland
5. Lovely girls and good men: women and the fraternity of Irish music
6. The Session: idealising musical communities
Afterword: music in the new Ireland
Notes and references
List of Musical examples
Bibliography
Index