Due 1.31.06 9:20am: Reading III Ó hAllmhuráin
As described in class and on WebCT, you are asked to respond via the "Comments" function to ONE of the questions about the reading. Please complete this "Comment" response to one of the following questions by Tuesday 1.31.06 9:20am.
Ó hAllmhuráin: 25-46 “Music in Early and Mediaeval Ireland” and “Tudor and Stuart Ireland”
These chapters pick up the history of music in Ireland from approximately the time of the Fianna (after 100AD), where our history lecture left off.
- What aspects of very early Celtic esthetics seem to have been maintained in later periods: about music’s power, about musician’s role, about the treatment of musicians, about music’s job in retaining cultural history and cultural identity?
- Note the dates and the protagonists of the various English invasions, note the response of the invaders to music and language, and ask yourself why invaders saw music and language as such severe potential threats.
posted by CJS @ 11:50 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I believe that each of the invaders viewed music and language as great threats because of the political power each of them wields. If there's one thing that I learned in my past music history classes, it is that music & language are primary ways to spread ideas and opinions of many people. The invaders basically did their best to slow any music and language expansion in the effort not only to attempt to prevent political opinions from spreading, but also to establish more control. If you take away music, you take away an important part of a culture's identity.
the idea of the musicians being beholden to a patron, or patrons, is one that survived with few exceptions until turlough carolan's time in the 18th century. in the earlier times, the upper class families kept "hereditary bards" while later they had many patrons the traveled around performing for. also, the musician's high ranking status, both as the educated poet and as historian, has been maintained throughout periods in irish history. in medieval times, when the only option for preserving history was through story telling, the bards, after being taught and trained to remember the stories and collect new ones as events happened, sat in the place of honour next to the patron who employed them. today, if you can play an instrument, or tell a story, or sing a song, you will be greeted with encouragement and "a hush for the performer" even if you are a complete stranger.
In the history of all the invasions and conflicts that arised in Ireland, music seems to have been a forté that allowed the Cletic tradition and culture to survive. One example that I very much enjoyed reading was about the Norse invaders who ended up staying in Ireland, learning the language, and adopting the culture. Music, as well as poetry, held a certain attention and respect. It is fascinating to me to see how whenever a kingdom would divide there was a dispute or draw over who took the poet and who took the harpist. The power of music and poetry was seen as a great gift that demanded reverence. Perhaps the tales of perseverant musicians created a deeper sense of honor for them. htere are different accounts where the three types of music (laughing, sleeping, and weeping) were used by a kingdom's musician to gain something from another kingdom. The accounts I've heard usually end up where the sleeping music puts every one in a deep sleep allowing for the musician/pursuer to snatch what he's looking for and flee.
When you look at the later history of Ireland, mainly in the time of the British invasions, even these entities realized that Irish music was powerful. One Lord had Irish pipers play on the battle field. There were some laws passed to end the tradition of music and poetry in Ireland; however, these efforts were futile because the tradition are like genes. Their passed from one generation to the next, and one cannot simply take gene from you. I see the Irish tradition of music and folklore this way. No matter how hard outer forces attempted to destroy the culture, in the end, the culture was passed on to them.
As everyone has said, music and literature are key mediums for holding on to a national identity. It's completely logical that invaders wanted to eliminate it. Literature has always been a way for people to express political commentary in subtle ways by disguising it as fiction. I can't remember a single book studied in an english class that didn't have some kind of social or political commentary. Music is the same way. I remember from my music history classes that even great and famous composers like Prokofiev, Mahler, and Wagner were banned because their governments acknowledged the persuasive power that even purely instrumental music could have on the public and wanted to put a cease to it. Both literature and music could be catastrophic when used against any sort of regime.
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