Travel in Ireland Guide

Irish Music transpired from the music that is brought about in Ireland’s North and South border.

It is and Irish traditional music in indigenous music of the island that has kept it’s vibrant through the 20^th and 21^st century amidst the globalizing cultural forces. While emigrations of other musical influences from the United States and Britain developed, traditional Irish music remained in its roots. Although they still keep in their traditional music, they also slated some distinction with other genres to be infused by it like modern rock music, rock and roll, punk rock and other genres. The fusion of this music together with Irish Music had been made successful both in Irish homeland and abroad.

You might be surprised when we mention popular artist that had their own share of success infusing Irish Music in their genre. Some of them would be The Pogues, Thin Lizzy, The Corrs, Enya, Chieftains, Riverdance, Boyzone, U2 and Van Morrison who have been achieving success nationally and internationally.

Traditional Music

It started in the seventeenth century when the harp had been patronized in its time by the aristocracy in Ireland, this trend died out in eighteenth century. Turlough Carolan was the most famous at that time and there are over 200 known compositions that he has made. He had a certain style that is defined as baroque that is classified as classical music and now, it is being played by many popular musicians today. In the BELFAST HARP FESTIVAL, Edward Bunting collected most of the last known harp tunes of Ireland in 1792. There are other known collectors of these tunes which are found with Petrie and Francis O’Neill. Folk musicians are usually soloists, by the nineteenth century ensembles playing had become rampant and common.

If there’s Irish music then there is traditional Irish dancing as well in band playing reels, horpipes and jigs. Polka dancing arrived in the nineteenth century that was spread by itinerant dancing masters and mercenary soldiers that were returning from Europe at that time. Set Dancing arrived in the eighteenth century with a mix of imported dance signatures such as mazurka.

After sometime, the diversity of Irish instruments had emerged adding bodrah, flute and fiddle and the uilleann pipes. Other instruments had diversified so much that they are not played along with other instruments due to difficult tuning.

Here is the Top 5 Biggest Irish Acts of all time

1. U2, a Rock band selling over 150 million albums from 1976 to Present
2. Enya, A new age artist selling over 75 million 1986 to present
3. Van Morrison, a soul artist that sold over 55 million albums from 1967 to Present
4. The Cranberries which sold over 45 million albums in 13 years from 1990 to 2003
5. The Corrs who have sold over 43 Million albums in over 11 years.

Classical Scene

While some classical music are famous in other parts of Europe, Ireland had to make a distinction of their own and it took sometime before they made their own voice. There is a blunt divide between the North and the South of Ireland as the Northern Ireland is under the classical influence of the UK and south that is being governed by the republic of Ireland. To name some of the successful composers of classical music at that time would be Thomas Moore and Turlough O Carolan. In the romantic era John Field was famous with his repertoire and was developed further by the young Frederic Chopin. Irish composers like Charles Villiers Stanford had been successful in England and Gerald Barry’s operatic work grew most successfully in Europe and UK.

In the international classical music scene, Irish musicians like Sir James Galway is considered as one of the finest concert flautists in the world today while classical pianists like Barry Douglas also has it’s share of it’s own fame when he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition and brought home the gold medal that later on followed a very good soloist career that is renowned internationally. There are classical Irish singers as well like Bernadette Greevy and Ann Murray who are also known on an international level.

Choral singing is very popular in Ireland especially in the Northern part of Ireland. This strong influences had made events all year round be ignited with this certain Irish tradition found in choral singing. One of the known Irish choir would be The Nationl Chamber Choir Ireland, however there was a stagnant partake of the choral aspect for a couple of decades where in the the Art Coucil of Ireland lacked strategy to promote it. This had been recently corrected in 2007 where it sprung the most successful choirs of the world that are Anuna who was best known for their contribution to Riverdance in the early 1990’s. They are still ongoing with their world tours.