Irish traditional music consists of instrumental and vocal pieces which have been developed and passed down for generations in an organic manner. Faithfulness to core musical values is highly prized; however, innovations that enhance or improve it are accepted provided they don’t cross accepted boundaries.
Klein has written an exhaustive book about musicians from the extended O’Kelly family, which may serve as an encyclopedia but lacks context within French musical culture.
Percy French
Percy French was one of Ireland’s premier songwriters and entertainers of his era, as well as being an expert watercolour painter. Born at Cloonyquin House near Tulsk in Roscommon County, he studied at Foyle College Derry before enrolling at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) where he graduated as a civil engineer but found greater fulfillment from song writing, drama performances, banjo playing and painting watercolours.
His first successful song was Abdul Abulbul Amir, written during college. This piece told of a dual between two men and was written with mock heroic style. Unfortunately, however, due to being ignorant about copyright rights he sold it off for PS5!
In his later years he toured extensively around the country. His performances became particularly popular at holiday resorts and small towns alike; additionally, he frequently entertained war wounded patients at hospitals. In January 1920 he died peacefully at Green Lea, College Avenue Formby where he is interred.
La Bolduc
La Bolduc was a well-known Quebec singer-songwriter known for her humorous songs about everyday life. Born and raised in Newport on the Gaspe coast, she learned to play traditional instruments such as fiddle, accordion, harmonica and jews harp from traditional musicians residing there.
Once she began performing musical evenings with friends from Gaspe, her talents quickly became recognized. By mid-1920s, she replaced an established Jewish harp player for Ovila Legare’s Veillees du bonvieux temps concerts in Montreal as well as being invited to record her own compositions.
Her first recording, “La Cuisiniere” (The Cook), became an instantaneous hit and launched her into a successful touring artist career. She performed all over French-speaking Canada – from rural parish halls to concert stages; but despite all of this success she never sought political office or public recognition for herself.
Renaud
Renaud is an acclaimed French singer-actor best known for his roles in various movies like Crime Spree, Germinal and Putain de Camion. Additionally he boasts an impressive list of albums.
He began performing in bars and cafes while studying at Sorbonne, before eventually dropping out to pursue acting full-time. Following several blue collar jobs he eventually joined a troupe with future stars Miou-Miou and Coluche as fellow actors.
In 1988 he released the album Putain de Camion, which proved both critical and commercially unsuccessful. Political themes returned with 1991’s Marchand de Cailloux; its centerpiece song adapted from an Irish folk tune was said by Olwen to have misunderstood its context; for instance it depicted street sellers offering fish before selling flowers; in Dublin street sellers simply shout their offerings rather than sing them; this diminished much of its significance.
O’Kelly
This book by its author has made a major contribution to scholarship on Irish music, focusing on a group of 19th century French musicians with Irish ancestry.
Before Klein’s work was published, there was only one reference to this extended family in any source book: W.H.G. Flood’s outdated and inaccurate A History of Irish Music (Dublin, 1905). By investigating and disentangling their work-lists, Klein has provided future scholars with an invaluable resource that will benefit their research efforts.
Although further work would be desirable, some additional attention may be necessary. Discussion of O’Kellys’ salon romances could benefit from reference to Katharine Ellis’s research on French provincial culture; and analysis of O’Kelly’s 1856 piano composition Ruse contre Ruse which advocated strict moral discipline among girls seems out of place only years before Bizet’s controversial opera Carmen scandalized Paris audiences. Furthermore, voices from nineteenth century French critics could more consistently comment on these pieces.