Ireland, like other nations around the globe, has seen music travel with immigrants and thus bring many changes.
In France, Emmanuel Delahaye and Michel Sikiotakis created one of the first groups dedicated to Irish music when they formed Taxi Mauve in 1988. Katrien Delavier is another well-known classical harper from northern France who plays Irish tunes with her group Hempson.
Traditional
Traditional Irish music refers to an amalgam of instrumental and vocal compositions passed down through generations by musicians (both instrumentalists and singers), often in an oral-aural tradition. Within this musical framework, an emphasis is placed on faithfulness – both intentional or accidental innovations which enhance its content – without breaching common agreement boundaries.
Irish diaspora in Paris exemplifies this phenomenon through their music: Connemara parents soothing their children with old lullabies from Connemara; Dublin pipers delighting audiences with complex arrangements; Clare fiddlers charming audiences in Clare; and everyman picking up his whistle and looking for melodies that won’t let go.
One acclaimed form of sean-nos singing, developed and perfected over the last 200 years, uses free rhythm that moves with words to reflect their expressiveness. This style employs free rhythm by speeding up or slowing down as necessary to match vocal range and expressiveness of lyrics.
Folk
Folk music stands apart from other musical arts as something people actually perform, making it far more dynamic. Since it embodies people’s lives and experiences, its content gradually changes over time; old material fades out and new pieces take its place.
Irish folk music has endured centuries of migration and remains vibrant today. Now practiced throughout the globe by people both of Irish descent and those simply fascinated by its sound, it has even inspired modern forms of music in America, Australia, and Europe.
Renaud, a French singer who originally performed Irish anti-war folk songs such as “Don’t Get Married, Girls,” transformed it into French and became “Te Marie pas, Mary.” This shows just how folk music from both Ireland and France can coexist together!
Pop
Irish pop music has enjoyed global renown over recent decades, with bands like U2 achieving international renown and Enya garnering great acclaim among new age enthusiasts.
Traditional Irish music can generally be divided into two broad categories; slow ballad songs and fast paced dancing songs. Both subgenres include laments, drinking songs, love songs and rebel songs – each having their own special place within this musical genre.
Fusion between Celtic music and jazz began in the 19th century as Irish immigrant bands began incorporating jazz elements into their music. More recently, Breton group Manau successfully combined these genres through one song featuring part of Tri Martolod.
Jazz
Jazz’s improvisational nature has allowed for musicians from other genres to influence and be influenced by it, creating new elements and moods from old ones – for instance a fast uptempo song could become a slow ballad if played differently.
Irish musicians have always been pioneering and open-minded when it comes to musical innovation and experimentation. They have successfully integrated traditional melodies from other nations into their music while adapting and revamping existing tunes by adding ornamentation techniques like rolls, cuts and slides for extra personality.
U2, Thin Lizzy, Rory Gallagher, Planxty and the Cranberries have been among the most influential musicians of our era, while singers such as Sinead O’Connor and My Bloody Valentine have enjoyed incredible international popularity while Enya has achieved wide renown through her magical soundscapes.