Axel Klein has made invaluable contributions to musicology. His book offers insight into nineteenth-century France and Irish music.
Hempson was the first group to successfully blend Celtic music and hip hop. Classical harpist Katrien Delavier soon discovered her passion for metal string harp playing, producing two critically acclaimed albums with them.
Traditional music
Irish traditional music has long been part of daily life in Ireland. Additionally, this genre has spread worldwide via Irish emigrants and had an influence on other cultures and styles of music worldwide.
One of the greatest influences has been the blending of Irish music with rock and other genres of modern music, producing artists like U2, Enya, Thin Lizzy and more.
At the festival, in addition to Irish musicians, there will be an abundance of French musicians performing traditional and folk music. Many are inspired by social struggles in their countries and apply this knowledge when performing. Yet too much change in traditions that have long been part of national cultures may prove counterproductive; artists may struggle to convey the full spirit of a song by altering too drastically its essence.
Folk music
Folk music refers to traditional musical forms that transcend formalised art forms. Usually associated with oral tradition and passed down from generation to generation without written scripts or notes, folk music tends to vary over time due to oral transmission without written scripts or notes available for copying word-for-word; scholars have observed various renditions of the same song that are difficult to distinguish as “authoritative”.
Irish folk music encompasses genres like death laments, Fenian or Ossianic heroic lay music and portaireacht dance tunes. Although Irish folk music’s roots lie deep within ancient traditions, its modern interpretation continues to develop over time – Take French musicians Doolin as an example: their lively performance of traditional Irish tunes combined with rock, pop and jazz elements ensures they frequently appear at prestigious venues and have collaborated with major Irish singers such as Mairtin O’Connor for an engaging performance experience!
Modern music
Irish musicians have achieved worldwide recognition over time, most notably U2 with Bono, The Corrs, Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, the Cranberries and Enya. Furthermore, it has spread throughout Canadian provinces like Quebec where its music forms part of culture with numerous “trad-based” offshoots emerging among French speakers there.
Renaud Lavallee’s Molly Malone is an excellent example of this cultural mixing. Even though his songs do not adhere to tradition, Lavallee has helped many Frenchpeople discover this music form.
Modern Irish composers often find inspiration outside Ireland itself, particularly from jazz music. American band House of Pain for instance has borrowed rhythms and time signatures typical of Irish folk dance into various songs; popular contemporary dance tunes often serve as a source of influence on traditional Irish tunes; this trend also extends into genres like ska and reggae music which draw upon this legacy.
Musicians
French and Irish musicians come together to produce truly captivating music when they join forces, and when French musicians join with Irish ones to make something truly remarkable can happen. This blend of cultures has produced an engaging blend that has given rise to many famous singers such as Nolwenn Leroy, Gregory Lemarchal and Christophe Willem as well as pop-rock diva Mylene Farmer being very well known throughout France.
Traditional Irish music can now be found across Ireland and its diasporic communities overseas, and is defined by individual interpretation and creativity by musicians themselves, enabling its melodic and rhythmic forms to develop organically over time.
Contrast this with the often shifting character of music transmitted through oral tradition up until mid-20th century and which was generally regionalised or local. Ensemble performance and use of non-Irish instruments like guitar have opened up new avenues in its development; similarly ornamentation such as grace notes, rolls and cuts has added further layers to this repertoire.