Due 1.31.06 9:20am: Reading IV Altramar liner notes
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.
Readings packet: Liner notes to the Altramar CDs Crossroads of the Celts (focusing on music of the insular Celtic languages: that is: Welsh, Scots Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic; in other words, primarily pre- and very early-Christian music) and From Galway to Galicia (focusing on music of the “Atlantic Celtic” coastal culture); these notes roughly parallel the time period covered by Ó hAllmhuráin, above.
- What was the role of sound in ancient Celtic society? What were music’s powers?
- To what categories did the Celts assign music?
- To what extent did these beliefs about the spoken word, the memory, and “music as sacred sound” carry on into the more recent folk-music tradition?
posted by CJS @ 11:50 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
The beliefs regarding the spoken word, memorization, and "music as a sacred sound" were important aspects of medieval Ireland. They are still important aspects of Irish culture today. In regards to the more recent folk-music tradition, it is the musician's job to perform a work as close to the original as possible. The goal is to re-create "the sound, the impact, and the affect of these great works of sung poetry." In a sense, people are trying to preserve (or perhaps sometimes recover) a part of their history that they have previously lost. Therefore, past beliefs carry on to influence the present.
the power of sound and music was believed in ancient celtic society to be very much related to the supernatural, and almost always related to nature. the three categories of music symbolized summer, winter, and autumn. also, were a person to imitate sounds of nature, their words would be able to attain a magical status. it would hold a magic that would enable the singer, or performer, to change circumstances that otherwise couldn't have been altered. for example, there were songs to "confound enemies, aid lovers...comforting and healing the sick, wounded, and weary."
The Irish have a mystifying retention for facts, folklore, and music. In the pre-Christian era of Ireland, the mind was all one had to keep the culture alive. It is assumed that most didn't know how to read or write, and with all the constant changes in Ireland, people had to find a way to realy their heritage and their honor to future generations. Just as in Glassie's chapter "The Next Day," I believe there were individuals within every community that fell into place of historian since his birth. Hugh Nolan is an example of this, and the only way for the oral history and music of a culture to survive so long is if the people of that culture revere those who took time to remember, which the Irish did.
There are three categories of music in celtic culture, which have all been explained in previous comments. Each of these had specific purposes which the bards and filid were expected to understand. Music was not only a means for entertainment, but was considered a "supernatural" force. It was described in celtic literature to be able to confound enemies, aid lovers, comfort and heal the sick, wounded, weary, and maternal. What I found interesting is the dord fiansa.(sp?) This suggests that it was not just an ambience, but a real medium for communication. "Music as a sacred sound" easily carries into the folk-music tradition. Prayers and hymns, particularly within pagan Ireland, may not have been written down and would have had to be remembered orally. I imagine that this, in addition to storytelling, would have contributed to the long-standing oral tradition in Ireland.
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