Traditional Irish Folk Music 10 Song Styles 1

Song Styles
As we have already seen over the last few posts, traditional Irish folk music adapted and absorbed instruments from many places, this is also true of its song styles.

Vocal styles.
Two of the most distinct vocal styles of traditional Irish folk music are:
Sean-nós 
roughly translated as in the old style, sean-nós is usually sung solo or occasionally as a duet. A very ornamental style of singing, generally sung near the top of the singers range though not always. Sean-nós has a very otherworldly quality to it and many people mistake it for Arabic or Indian. 


Here is an excellent example of Sean-nós where the similarity to Arabic singing can be heard.

Eleanór a Rún sung by Róisín El Safty

Here we have Asalah Nasri singing a classical Arabic song, where the similarities are very apparent.

Asalah Nasri-Classical Arabic Song

The other distinct vocal style is the Caoineadh (translated as weeping or crying). Not unlike a Lament. Quite often the material is about the longing to return to Ireland after being displaced, or regarding the 'troubles' of the very turbulent history of Northern Ireland and the British military presence.

Here is an example of Caoineadh in the folk song Four Green Fields by Tommy Makem. A story of an old woman, who strangers try to take  four fields from and her sons die defending. It is believed that the four fields are in fact provinces of Ireland.The words spoken by the woman in Makem's song are taken directly from "Cathleen ni Houlihan", an early play by W. B. Yeats.

Four Green Fields-Makem & Clancy 9/10

Reference:
McCann Anthony, 'Sean-nos singing - A Bluffers Guide' The Living Tradition Issue 24 June/July '98 (Article) [online] available at:<http://www.folkmusic.net/htmfiles/inart378.htm> (accessed 5 October 2013)
Sean Nós Singing, clarebannerman Uploaded  27 Jul 2008 (video) [online] available at:<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8paj2hQHIo> (accessed 5 October 2013)
Classical Arabic Song ( TV Show ) - Asalah Nasri,qwert123331 Uploaded  19 Jan 2011 (video) [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScQZuxkxIkA> (accessed 5 October 2013)
Whittle Peter L, 'FOUR GREEN FIELDS' polemic and paradox (blog) [online available at: < http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2012/03/four-green-fields.html> (accessed 5 October 2013)
Four Green Fields-Makem & Clancy 9/10 theconman18 uploaded 9 Apr 2008 (video) [online] available at:< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d30rpdvtiA> (accessed 5 October 2013)