Singing in Irish

Trad Irish Music
1

I was recently asked to write a series of short articles on singing in the Irish language. I thought some here might find them interesting, especially folks who like to play slow airs (as most of the slow airs we play came from the sean-nós singing tradition).

Anyway, FWIW, here’s article #1:

http://www.irishmusicforever.com/general/singing-in-irish

And #2, which just went up today:

http://www.irishmusicforever.com/sean-nos/singing-in-irish-2

Neither is as detailed as I’d like them to be, because of the word limit, but such is life.

Next week’s article will be a kind of “listening guide,” with information and links to various Irish singers (both pure sean-nós singers and people who sing more contemporary settings of these songs, such as Altan, Clannad, et al.)

Redwolf

2

These are great reading, RW. Thanks
for sharing them. I can’t wait for the
Listener’s Guide.

3

Looking forward to the next one. A good read, got me in the mood for listening to some of that fantastic Sean Nos singing.

4

Here’s a wee taste then…Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill singing “Ím Bím Bó” (also known as “Na Gamhna Geala”). This is one I’m actually learning at the moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVFgx2RtsFo

Redwolf

5

Here’s the next article, with song clips:

http://www.irishmusicforever.com/sean-nos/listeners-guide

Redwolf

6

I’m listening through the clips now. Wonderful stuff. Thank you.

7

Traditional or not, that rendition of Caoineadh na dTrí Mhuire is about as heartbreakingly beautiful as anything I’ve ever heard.

These are all favorite pieces of mine (which is why I chose them), but I think that one is my favorite.

Redwolf

8

Here is a reference article on this that relies heavily on Tomas O’Canainn, a senior and accomplished Irish musician who speaks about Gaelic singing in Ireland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean-nós_song