Sean-nós song
Encyclopedia
Sean-nós is a highly ornamented style of unaccompanied traditional Irish singing
. It is a sean-nós activity
, which also includes sean-nós dancing
. These forms of Irish dance
and song have been documented by scholars of ethnomusicology
, musicology
, linguistics
and other fields such as Hugh Shields
, Tom Munnelly
, Fintan Vallely, and Lillis Ó Laoire.
as:
Ó'Canainn also asserts that, '...no aspect of Irish music can be fully understood without a deep appreciation of sean-nós singing. It is the key which opens every lock'.
Sean-nós songs can be relatively simple, though many are long, extremely stylized and melodically complex. A good performance classically involves substantial ornament and rhythmic variations from verse to verse.
Ó Canainn identifies most ornamentation as melisma
tic ornamentation. This is when a note is replaced or emphasized by a group of adjoining notes, unlike intervallic ornamentation, in which additional notes are used to fill up an interval between two notes.
Decorative elements common in sean-nós singing include:
All these strategies serve an assortment of aesthetic purposes, such as:
A number of songs, are modal
, as opposed to major in melody.
The very interaction between the performer and audience is a crucial aspect of the sean-nós tradition.
The performance of most songs are not restricted by gender, although the lyrics may imply it is being sung from a woman's or man's point of view. On the other hand there are a few songs that men have a tendency not to sing. Women however do not seem to have the same hesitation.
Comic songs are also part of the tradition (e.g., An Spailpin Fanach, Cunnla, Bean Pháidin), as are references to drink (An Bonnan Bui, Preab san Ol, Olaim Puins is Olaim Te).
.
While Sean-nós singing varies around Ireland
, with the influence of recording media and ease of travel these distinctions have become less definite since at least the early twentieth century and singers sometimes adopt different styles from various parts of the country.
Gaeltacht
of An Rinn also has a distinct style, despite the small size of its population, which can be heard in the singing of Nioclas Toibin
.
or other European languages, including Latin
.
Many would agree that it is more the style of singing that is distinctive, and not the lyrics or the language. In spite of this some traditionalist insist that songs exclusively in the English language
cannot be regarded as belonging to the tradition.
To the first-time listener, accustomed to popular and classical singers, sean-nós singing may sound more "Arabic" or "Indian
" than "Western
". Film-maker Bob Quinn
, in his Atlantean
series of films, suggests a north African cultural connection.
contained English interpretations of sean-nós songs. Songs started to be more extensively written down in the eighteenth century; and distributed in print from then on.
New composition is a controversial issue within sean-nós song circles. Some singers insist that the traditional should be supplemented with new material, arguing that since society has changed, then the content of the lyrics should reflect this also. On the other hand, some singers say that only the older, "traditional" songs represent the essence of sean-nós song—and that therefore deserves a protected, preferential status.
, sean-nós song, lilting
(also known as "mouth music"), and "the bones"
(a simple percussion instrument convenient to carry in a pocket) exists for centuries. It might be interpreted as a minimalist means that helped preserve a musical and dance heritage at a time when musical instruments were too expensive for most peasants.
is usually performed without musical accompaniment. A similar tradition in Scotland is Puirt a beul
(AKA Diddling) though there are various mouth music
traditions around the world.
Traditional Irish singing
Traditional Irish singing is the singing of traditional songs in the native styles such as sean nós. Though some people consider sean nós to particularly refer to singing in the Irish language, the term 'traditional singing' is more universally understood to encompass singing in any language, as...
. It is a sean-nós activity
Sean Nós and Sean-nós Activities
Sean Nós and Sean-nós Activities refers to the Irish traditional activities in the "Old Style," such as Sean-nós song and Sean-nós dance. When the words Sean Nós are used in isolation, the general connotation is to anything Irish in an "old style"—as opposed to the "new way." However, when...
, which also includes sean-nós dancing
Sean-nós dance
Sean-nós dance is an older style of traditional solo Irish dance. It is a casual dance form Irish Stepdancing....
. These forms of Irish dance
Irish dance
Irish dancing or Irish dance is a group of traditional dance forms originating in Ireland which can broadly be divided into social dance and performance dances. Irish social dances can be divided further into céilí and set dancing...
and song have been documented by scholars of ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
, musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and other fields such as Hugh Shields
Hugh Shields
Dr Hugh Shields was an authority on Irish traditional music and a founder member of the Folk Music Society of Ireland and the Irish Traditional Music Archive. He was also a senior lecturer in French at Trinity College, Dublin...
, Tom Munnelly
Tom Munnelly
-Early years:Tom Munnelly was born in Rathmines in Dublin, and went to Clogher Road technical college. He took up factory work at the age of 15. At a scout camp he became intetersted in folk songs. To enlarge his own repertoire he acquired a tape recorder. In 1965 Munnelly met an Irish Traveller...
, Fintan Vallely, and Lillis Ó Laoire.
Sean-nós singing style
Sean-nós singing is a highly-ornamented style of solo, unaccompanied singing defined by Tomas O'CanainnTomas O'Canainn
Tomás Ó Canainn is an Irish Uilleann piper, accordion player, singer, composer and writer. He was a founder of the group Na Fili with fiddler Matt Cranitch and whistle player Tom Barry in the late 1960s and 1970s...
as:
...a rather complex way of singing in GaelicIrish languageIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, confined mainly to some areas in the west and south of the country. It is unaccompanied and has a highly ornamented melodic line....Not all areas have the same type of ornamentation--one finds a very florid line in Connacht, contrasting with a somewhat less decorated one in the south, and, by comparison, a stark simplicity in the northern songs...
Ó'Canainn also asserts that, '...no aspect of Irish music can be fully understood without a deep appreciation of sean-nós singing. It is the key which opens every lock'.
Sean-nós songs can be relatively simple, though many are long, extremely stylized and melodically complex. A good performance classically involves substantial ornament and rhythmic variations from verse to verse.
Ó Canainn identifies most ornamentation as melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
tic ornamentation. This is when a note is replaced or emphasized by a group of adjoining notes, unlike intervallic ornamentation, in which additional notes are used to fill up an interval between two notes.
Decorative elements common in sean-nós singing include:
- Highly ornamented where the voice is placed near the top of the range
- Nasalization
- A second form of nasalization, used in the south, produces an "m", "n" or "ng" sound at the end of a phrase
- One syllable in a word can be sung to several notes
- Brief pauses initiated by glottal stops, "slides" or glissandi (predominantly when sung by women)
- Very long extended phrases
- A tendency to draw breath after a conjunction or linking words rather than at the end of a phrase
- The ending of some songs by speaking the finishing line instead of singing it
- Varying the melody in each verse
All these strategies serve an assortment of aesthetic purposes, such as:
- Connects the text to the interpretation of the melody
- Enhancing a sense of continuity such as by filling the gap between phrases with a nasalized drone
A number of songs, are modal
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
, as opposed to major in melody.
Distinguishing Social Features
“Songs were made to accompany the work inside and outside the home, to express the many emotions-love and sadness of daily existence, to record local and other historical events and to often mark the loss of family and friends whether by death or by emigration” .The very interaction between the performer and audience is a crucial aspect of the sean-nós tradition.
- The singer may require cajoling—this may be considered as part of the recital
- The singer may occasionally adopt a position facing the corner of the room and away from the audience, a position that has acoustic benefits and perhaps some ancient significance.
- The audience is not expected to be silent throughout, and may participate in the performance through words of encouragement and commentary. Sometimes a member of the audience will even come and hold the performer's hand in empathy with the song. Such interaction does not disturb the flow of music, and the performer will often respond to it musically.
The performance of most songs are not restricted by gender, although the lyrics may imply it is being sung from a woman's or man's point of view. On the other hand there are a few songs that men have a tendency not to sing. Women however do not seem to have the same hesitation.
Content of lyrics
Many of the songs typically sung sean-nós could be seen as forms of love poetry, laments, or references to historical events such as political rebellions or times of famine, lullabies, nature poetry, devotional songs, or combinations of these.Comic songs are also part of the tradition (e.g., An Spailpin Fanach, Cunnla, Bean Pháidin), as are references to drink (An Bonnan Bui, Preab san Ol, Olaim Puins is Olaim Te).
Regional variation
There are four main styles of sean nós, corresponding to the three areas where Irish is still spoken as a community language, the Gaeltachtaí of west Munster (parts of Kerry, and Cork), east Munster (Waterford), Connacht (Connemara and Meath); and to Ulster. “It would not be correct to say sean nós is not practised outside these areas, but only those four distinct styles can be recognised. Singers from the Galltacht and indeed from outside Ireland may blend them, depending on where they learned”.. These differences in style generally correspond geographically to the various dialects of IrishIrish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
.
While Sean-nós singing varies around Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, with the influence of recording media and ease of travel these distinctions have become less definite since at least the early twentieth century and singers sometimes adopt different styles from various parts of the country.
Donegal style
The Donegal style has been heavily influenced by Scots Gaelic singing. It is a relatively unadorned and nasal style. The melody is sometimes less ornamented. As a result, to someone not familiar with Sean-nós, the Donegal style can stand out from other regional styles.Connemara style
A more decorated style, with forms familiar to a traditional instrumentalist along with other more complex forms.West Munster style
Also a highly ornamented style. The notes to be ornamented can be adjacent to each other like in Connemara, but at other times the gap between them can be wide.East Munster style
The WaterfordWaterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
of An Rinn also has a distinct style, despite the small size of its population, which can be heard in the singing of Nioclas Toibin
Nioclas Toibin
Nioclás Tóibín was a Sean-nós singer from the Déise tradition of County Waterford in Ireland. Nioclas was winner of Corn Chomhlucht an Oideachais consecutively from 1961 to 1963. The corn is the principal national singing competition in Ireland....
.
Language variation
The term "sean-nós" is popularly applied to songs in English and Irish. A number of sean-nós songs are macaronic, combining two or more languages. Normally they combine Irish and English but occasionally Irish and FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or other European languages, including Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
Many would agree that it is more the style of singing that is distinctive, and not the lyrics or the language. In spite of this some traditionalist insist that songs exclusively in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
cannot be regarded as belonging to the tradition.
To the first-time listener, accustomed to popular and classical singers, sean-nós singing may sound more "Arabic" or "Indian
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
" than "Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
". Film-maker Bob Quinn
Bob Quinn (Irish filmmaker)
Bob Quinn is an Irish filmmaker, writer and photographer.-Selected filmography:* Poitín * The Atlantean Trilogy * Budawanny * The Bishops Story * Atlantean 2: Navigatio...
, in his Atlantean
Atlantean (TV movie trilogy)
Atlantean was a trilogy of documentary films made by Irish film maker Bob Quinn in 1983. These films dismissed as myth the popular belief in "Celtic" origins of the inhabitants of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Asturias, Brittany and Galicia...
series of films, suggests a north African cultural connection.
History of sean-nós song and modern developments
The tradition of sean-nós song was exclusively oral, and remains customarily so. However a few songs were known to have been conveyed to script as early as the 16th century. A songbook for Elizabeth IElizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
contained English interpretations of sean-nós songs. Songs started to be more extensively written down in the eighteenth century; and distributed in print from then on.
New composition is a controversial issue within sean-nós song circles. Some singers insist that the traditional should be supplemented with new material, arguing that since society has changed, then the content of the lyrics should reflect this also. On the other hand, some singers say that only the older, "traditional" songs represent the essence of sean-nós song—and that therefore deserves a protected, preferential status.
Minimalist means of preserving Irish music and dance
The practice of sean-nós danceSean-nós dance
Sean-nós dance is an older style of traditional solo Irish dance. It is a casual dance form Irish Stepdancing....
, sean-nós song, lilting
Lilting
Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland and Scotland. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as "mouth music", diddling, jigging, chin music or cheek music), puirt a beul in Scottish Gaelic, Canterach, or portaireacht bhéil in Irish...
(also known as "mouth music"), and "the bones"
Bones (instrument)
The bones are a musical instrument which, at the simplest, consists of a pair of animal bones, or pieces of wood or a similar material. Sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones are the most commonly used true bones, although wooden sticks shaped like the earlier true bones are now more...
(a simple percussion instrument convenient to carry in a pocket) exists for centuries. It might be interpreted as a minimalist means that helped preserve a musical and dance heritage at a time when musical instruments were too expensive for most peasants.
Other Celtic unaccompanied singing styles
In addition to the unaccompanied Irish traditional sean-nós singing, Irish liltingLilting
Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland and Scotland. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as "mouth music", diddling, jigging, chin music or cheek music), puirt a beul in Scottish Gaelic, Canterach, or portaireacht bhéil in Irish...
is usually performed without musical accompaniment. A similar tradition in Scotland is Puirt a beul
Puirt à beul
Puirt a beul is a traditional form of song native to Scotland, Ireland, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.-Name:The Scottish Gaelic for such a tune is port à beul: "a tune from a mouth—specifically a cheerful tune—which in the plural becomes puirt à beul...
(AKA Diddling) though there are various mouth music
Mouth music
Mouth music may refer to:* Puirt a beul, a Scottish traditional music style* Mouth Music , a band who sings in that style....
traditions around the world.
See also
- Traditional Irish SingersTraditional Irish SingersSome of the traditional Irish singers alphabetically listed below are known to have sung in both the Irish and English language and if so are listed in both sections below as well known singers of macaronic Irish songs.-Mainly English language songs:...
- List of traditional Irish singers
- An Góilín - Traditional Singer's ClubAn GóilínAn Góilín Traditional Singer's Club is a traditional singing club in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1979 by Dónal de Barra and his brother-in-law, Tim Dennehy, the club serves as a meeting place for those who want to sing and listen to traditional songs...
- Lilting or "mouth music"LiltingLilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland and Scotland. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as "mouth music", diddling, jigging, chin music or cheek music), puirt a beul in Scottish Gaelic, Canterach, or portaireacht bhéil in Irish...
- Waulking songWaulking songWaulking songs are Scottish folk songs, traditionally sung in the Gaelic language by women while waulking cloth. This practice involved a group of people beating newly woven tweed rhythmically against a table or similar surface to soften it...
- Puirt á beulPuirt à beulPuirt a beul is a traditional form of song native to Scotland, Ireland, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.-Name:The Scottish Gaelic for such a tune is port à beul: "a tune from a mouth—specifically a cheerful tune—which in the plural becomes puirt à beul...
(also known as Diddling) - Sean-nós danceSean-nós danceSean-nós dance is an older style of traditional solo Irish dance. It is a casual dance form Irish Stepdancing....
- Sean Nós and Sean-nós ActivitiesSean Nós and Sean-nós ActivitiesSean Nós and Sean-nós Activities refers to the Irish traditional activities in the "Old Style," such as Sean-nós song and Sean-nós dance. When the words Sean Nós are used in isolation, the general connotation is to anything Irish in an "old style"—as opposed to the "new way." However, when...
Sources
- Music in Ireland: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture,Hast, Dorothea, E., Scott, and Stanley, New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 84-136.
External links
- Sean-nos singing - A Bluffer's Guide by Anthony McCann in Living Tradition magazine
- Many videoed examples of sean-nos singing on YouTube here, or here, and here
- TG4 occasionally has music programs featuring sean nos