Manchester University Press
18 The difference of Irish music
Abstract
This chapter sketches the trajectory of Irish musical difference and suggests why it is that the generally homogenizing forces of modernisation produced a peculiar outcome for Irish musical culture. The trajectory of Irish modernity runs simultaneously with the trajectory of the formation of 'Irish traditional music' as a constellation of forms and practices. Political defeat, the trauma of the Great Famine, the failure to industrialise and Ireland's off-the-chart demographic profile, all helped to produce a unique musical culture which continued to develop in the nineteenth century. The chapter provides the context for one of the key ingredients of Irish musical difference: the complete failure of its art music culture beyond the baroque and classical periods. Whatever the potential may have been generated by the vigorous musical culture of Georgian Dublin, the nineteenth century saw the collapse of this elite musical culture and the isolation of plebeian culture from its influence.
Abstract
This chapter sketches the trajectory of Irish musical difference and suggests why it is that the generally homogenizing forces of modernisation produced a peculiar outcome for Irish musical culture. The trajectory of Irish modernity runs simultaneously with the trajectory of the formation of 'Irish traditional music' as a constellation of forms and practices. Political defeat, the trauma of the Great Famine, the failure to industrialise and Ireland's off-the-chart demographic profile, all helped to produce a unique musical culture which continued to develop in the nineteenth century. The chapter provides the context for one of the key ingredients of Irish musical difference: the complete failure of its art music culture beyond the baroque and classical periods. Whatever the potential may have been generated by the vigorous musical culture of Georgian Dublin, the nineteenth century saw the collapse of this elite musical culture and the isolation of plebeian culture from its influence.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Notes on contributors xi
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Irishness and nationalisms 10
- 3 Where is Ireland in the worlds of capitalism? 22
- 4 Just another bubble economy? 34
- 5 A Catholic vision of Ireland 44
- 6 The Irish political elite 54
- 7 The Irish family – different or not? 65
- 8 Single women in story and society 76
- 9 The Irish body 88
- 10 Sexual abuse and the Catholic Church 99
- 11 The difference between Irish and American Catholicism 110
- 12 Postcolonial legacies and the Irish psyche 121
- 13 Thinking about Ireland and the Irish diaspora 133
- 14 Being Irish and male in Britain 144
- 15 The new Irish and the Irish nation 155
- 16 Conflict and reconciliation in Northern Ireland 166
- 17 Irish language, Irish nation 177
- 18 The difference of Irish music 188
- 19 The GAA and the sporting Irish 199
- 20 Feeling at home in contemporary Ireland 211
- 21 Searching for and explaining difference 222
- 22 A new vision of Irish studies 230
- 23 Irish studies between the past and the future 241
- Index 251
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Notes on contributors xi
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Irishness and nationalisms 10
- 3 Where is Ireland in the worlds of capitalism? 22
- 4 Just another bubble economy? 34
- 5 A Catholic vision of Ireland 44
- 6 The Irish political elite 54
- 7 The Irish family – different or not? 65
- 8 Single women in story and society 76
- 9 The Irish body 88
- 10 Sexual abuse and the Catholic Church 99
- 11 The difference between Irish and American Catholicism 110
- 12 Postcolonial legacies and the Irish psyche 121
- 13 Thinking about Ireland and the Irish diaspora 133
- 14 Being Irish and male in Britain 144
- 15 The new Irish and the Irish nation 155
- 16 Conflict and reconciliation in Northern Ireland 166
- 17 Irish language, Irish nation 177
- 18 The difference of Irish music 188
- 19 The GAA and the sporting Irish 199
- 20 Feeling at home in contemporary Ireland 211
- 21 Searching for and explaining difference 222
- 22 A new vision of Irish studies 230
- 23 Irish studies between the past and the future 241
- Index 251
