the choral music of irish composer michael mcglynn
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University of MiamiScholarly Repository
Open Access Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations
2010-06-24
The Choral Music of Irish Composer MichaelMcGlynnStacie Lee RossowUniversity of Miami, [email protected]
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Recommended CitationRossow, Stacie Lee, "The Choral Music of Irish Composer Michael McGlynn" (2010). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 438.
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UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
THE CHORAL MUSIC OF IRISH COMPOSER MICHAEL MCGLYNN
By
Stacie Lee Rossow
A DOCTORAL ESSAY
Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Miami
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts
Coral Gables, Florida
June 2010
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2010 Stacie Lee Rossow
All Rights Reserved
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UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
A doctoral essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
THE CHORAL MUSIC OF IRISH COMPOSER
MICHAEL MCGLYNN
Stacie Lee Rossow
Approved: ________________ _________________ Donald Oglesby, D.M. Terri A. Scandura, Ph.D. Professor Dean of the Graduate School Vocal Performance ________________ _________________ Joshua Habermann, D.M.A. Melissa de Graaf, Ph.D. Associate Professor Assistant Professor Vocal Performance Musicology ________________ Teresa Lesiuk, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Music Therapy
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ROSSOW, STACIE LEE (D.M.A., Choral Conducting) The Choral Music of Irish Composer (June 2010) Michael McGlynn. Abstract of a doctoral essay at the University of Miami. Doctoral essay supervised by Professor Donald Oglesby. No. of pages in text (271)
Michael McGlynn is predominantly known around the world for his choral music that
reflects the traditional sounds of Ireland. The greater body of his compositions, however,
fit into the contemporary choral genre and represent a sizable contribution to the choral
music repertoire of Ireland. This essay begins with a discussion of McGlynns life and
work. Extensive interviews and rehearsal comments with the composer regarding
compositional process and performance practice were conducted and are included. The
musical history of Ireland and details regarding the harmonic and rhythmic language
specific to the vocal music of the country are included to provide background information
for the reader. Song comparisons from various sources detail the living nature of
Irelands traditional music. The Appendices contain a complete list of McGlynns works,
a discography, IPA pronunciation guides for McGlynns Irish language compositions,
reference scores for all compositions discussed, and programming details about Michael
McGlynns most frequently performed choral compositions.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sincere gratitude to Michael McGlynn for his cooperation and invaluable assistance throughout this process.
Thank you to the staff of the Irish Traditional Music Archive for their patience and
guidance in securing research sources.
Thank you to my mother, Kris Niehaus, and my grandmother, Mary Arline Hohlt, to Sue, Dave, and Pamela Rossow, and to Patricia Fleitas for their support and dedication to my
education.
Lastly, thank you to my husband, David, and my children, David and Emma, for their love, patience, and encouragement throughout my doctoral education.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ............................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ......................................................................... xi Chapter 1 MICHAEL MCGLYNN ................................................................................. 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Personal History ............................................................................................ 3 Anna ............................................................................................................. 6 Compositional Output and Style .................................................................... 10 2 CULTURE AND MUSIC HISTORY OF IRELAND .................................. 12 Irish Historical Overview .............................................................................. 12 Music in Ireland ............................................................................................. 15 3 IRISH VOCAL MUSIC ................................................................................. 20 Language ......................................................................................................... 21 Sean-ns........................................................................................................... 25 Choral Music in Ireland ................................................................................... 29 4 TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSICAL ELEMENTS ......................................... 32 Harmonic Devices .......................................................................................... 33 Rhythmic Devices............................................................................................ 42 Instruments and Accompaniment ................................................................... 43 5 TRADITIONAL SONGS OF IRELAND ....................................................... 49 Collectors of Irish Music ................................................................................ 49 Song Comparisons .......................................................................................... 52 S do Mhaimeo ....................................................................................... 53 Ardaigh Cuan ............................................................................................ 58 Silent, OMoyle ......................................................................................... 60 Siil, a Rin ............................................................................................... 63 6 SELECTED CHORAL ARRANGEMENTS OF MICHAEL MCGLYNN ... 66 Traditional Repertoire ..................................................................................... 67
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S do Mhaimeo ....................................................................................... 67 Siil, a Rin ............................................................................................... 74 Medieval Chant Source .................................................................................. 75 Cormacus Scripsit...................................................................................... 75 7 SELECTED ORIGINAL CHORAL WORKS OF MICHAEL MCGLYNN . 81 Traditional Works ........................................................................................... 82 Dlamn .................................................................................................... 82 Natural Works ................................................................................................. 86 Wind on Sea............................................................................................... 87 Island ......... ............................................................................................... 92 Spiritual Works ............................................................................................... 95 Sanctus ....................................................................................................... 96 Incantations................................................................................................ 99 Agnus Dei (2008)....................................................................................... 105 GLOSSARY................................................................................................................. 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX A: Works List ........................................................................................ 125 Alphabetical Listing by Title ........................................................................... 125 Chronological Listing of Works ...................................................................... 129 List of Works by Commission......................................................................... 132 Works by Voicing............................................................................................ 133 Arrangements................................................................................................... 136 Original Compositions..................................................................................... 137 APPENDIX B: Discography ...................................................................................... 140 APPENDIX C: IPA Transcriptions ............................................................................. 145 Agnus Dei (2008)............................................................................................. 146 An Oche .......................................................................................................... 146 Cnnla ............................................................................................................ 147 Dlamn .......................................................................................................... 148 Incantations .................................................................................................... 149 Salve Rex ........................................................................................................ 150 S do Mhaimeo ............................................................................................. 150 APPENDIX D: Complete Musical Examples ............................................................. 152 S do Mhaimeo ............................................................................................. 152 Ardaigh Cuan .................................................................................................. 158 Silent, OMoyle ............................................................................................... 160 Siil, a Rin ..................................................................................................... 163
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APPENDIX E: Michael McGlynn Selected Scores .................................................... 167 Agnus Dei ........................................................................................................ 169 Cormacus Scripsit............................................................................................ 177 Dlamn .......................................................................................................... 181 Incantations...................................................................................................... 185 Invocation ........................................................................................................ 190 Island ............................................................................................................. 194 Sanctus ............................................................................................................. 203 S do Mhaimeo ............................................................................................. 209 Siil, a Rin ..................................................................................................... 218 Wind on Sea..................................................................................................... 224 APPENDIX F: Survey of Suggested Choral Works of Michael McGlynn................. 231
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LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Example
3.1 Amhrnaocht meter in 9/8 ................................................................. 22
3.2 Amhrnaocht meter in 3/4 .................................................................. 23
4.1 Doh mode (F Doh) ............................................................................... 36
4.2 Doh Mode, Cailleacha Chige Uladh ................................................. 36
4.3 Re Mode (C Doh) ................................................................................ 36
4.4 Re Mode, Tiagharna Mhaighe-eo ....................................................... 37
4.5 Mi mode (F Doh) ................................................................................. 37
4.6 Mi Mode, The Campbells are Coming ............................................ 38
4.7 Fa Mode (C Doh) ................................................................................. 38
4.8 Fa Mode, The Last Time I Came Thro the Muire .......................... 39
4.9 Sol Mode (G Doh) ................................................................................ 39
4.10 Sol Mode, Bn-Chnoic ireann ...................................................... 39
4.11 La Mode (G Doh) ................................................................................ 40
4.12 La Mode, Ardaidh Cuain .................................................................... 40
4.13 Pentatonic Scale .................................................................................. 41
4.14 Hexatonic Scale................................................................................... 41
4.15 Uilleann Pipes, chanter range ............................................................. 47
4.16 Uilleann pipes, Drones ....................................................................... 47
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4.17 Uilleann Pipes, regulator chords ......................................................... 48
5.1 Cailleach an Airgid, Canainn, mm. 1-2 ......................................... 55
5.2 Cailleacha Chige Uladh, Petrie, mm. 1-2 ....................................... 55
5.3 Cailleacha Chige Uladh, Petrie .......................................................... 56
5.4 Cailleach an Airgid, Canainn ........................................................... 56
5.5 Cailleach an Airgid, Heaney, mm. 1-4 ................................................ 56
5.6 'S Do Mhaimeo , hEidhin, mm. 1-4 .............................................. 57
5.7 'S do Mhaimeo , McGlynn, mm. 1-4 ................................................. 57
5.8 S Do Mham , McLaughlin, mm. 1-5 ................................................. 58
5.9 'S Do Mhaimeo , hEidhin, mm. 9-12 ............................................. 58
5.10 'S do Mhaimeo - McGlynn, mm. 10-13 .............................................. 58
5.11 Airdi Cuan, Baoill, mm. 16-22 .......................................................... 59
5.12 Airde Cuan, MacEoin, mm. 16-22 ........................................................ 59
5.13 Ardaigh Cuan, McGlynn, mm. 1-4 ....................................................... 60
5.14 The Song of Fionnuala- Moore, m. 1-2 ................................................. 61
5.15 Arah My Dear Ev'Leen- Fleischmann (4521), m. 1-2 ............................ 61
5.16 Silent O Moyle, be the Roar of the Water, Page, mm. 1-2 ...................... 62
5.17 Silent, O Moyle- McGlynn, m. 13-16 ..................................................... 62
5.18 Song of Fionnaula- Moore, mm. 13-16 .................................................. 62
5.19 Alone in Crowds: Shule Aroon, Moore, mm. 9-13 ................................. 64
6.1 Cailleach an Airgid, Heaney .................................................................. 68
6.2 S do Mhaimeo , McGlynn ................................................................... 69
6.3 S do Mhaimeo , McGlynn, mm. 1-5 .................................................... 70
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6.4 S do Mhaimeo , McGlynn, mm.11-12 .................................................. 71
6.5 S do Mhaimeo , McGlynn, mm. 16-19 ................................................. 72
6.6 S do Mhaimeo , McGlynn, mm. 9-12 .................................................. 74
6.7 Cormacus Scripsit, mm. 2-5, Theme A ................................................... 78
6.8 Cormacus Scripsit, mm. 10-13, Theme B ............................................... 78
6.9 Cormacus Scripsit, m. 18, Theme C ....................................................... 78
6.10 Cormacus Scripsit, mm. 23, Theme A doubled ..................................... 79
6.11 Cormacus Scripsit, mm. 28-30, Themes B and C variations ................... 79
6.12 Cormacus Scripsit, mm. 28-30, Sliding between notes ........................... 80
7.1 Dlamn, Amhrin Chige Uladh, traditional tune ................................ 83
7.2 Dlamn, mm. 1-5, solo ......................................................................... 83
7.3 Dlamn, mm. 6-9, refrain .................................................................... 84
7.4 Dlamn, mm. 26-27, chorus ................................................................. 86
7.5 Wind on Sea, mm. 9-12, choral passage ................................................. 89
7.6 Wind on Sea, mm. 17-20, violin and solo .............................................. 90
7.7 Wind on Sea, mm. 17-20, part b ............................................................. 91
7.8 Island, mm. 1-4, chorus and harp contrast ............................................. 92
7.9 Island, mm. 29-32, choral stasis ............................................................. 93
7.10 Sanctus, mm. 2-5, Theme A .................................................................. 98
7.11 Sanctus, mm. 9-12, Theme B ................................................................. 98
7.12 Sanctus, mm. 51- 57, final section ......................................................... 99
7.13 Incantations, mm. 1-4, ostinato ............................................................ 101
7.14 Incantations, mm. 8-11, Theme A ......................................................... 102
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7.15 Incantations, mm. 20-25, Theme B ....................................................... 102
7.16 Incantations, mm. 33-36, Theme C ....................................................... 103
7.17 Incantations, mm. 37-40, Theme C ....................................................... 103
7.18 Incantations, mm. 50-54, ostinato and hemiola ..................................... 103
7.19 Incantations, mm. 13-16, ostinato ......................................................... 104
7.20 Incantations, mm. 33-36, parallel motion .............................................. 105
7.21 Incantations, mm. 43-48, chromatic alternation .................................... 105
7.22 Agnus Dei, McGlynn, mm.1-5, solo ...................................................... 107
7.23 Agnus Dei, Riada, mm. 1-6, solo ....................................................... 108
7.24 Agnus Dei, McGlynn, m. 6, choral harmony ......................................... 109
7.25 Agnus Dei, mm. 15-19, tenor entry Theme A ........................................ 110
7.26 Agnus Dei, mm. 19-23, baritone entry Theme A .................................. 110
7.27 Agnus Dei, mm. 23-24, parallel and inverted statements ..................... 111
7.28 Agnus Dei, mm. 28-31, solo................................................................... 112
7.29 Agnus Dei, mm. 28-31, harmonic superimposition .............................. 112
7.30 Agnus Dei, mm. 42-44, Themes A and B ............................................. 113
7.31 Agnus Dei, m. 79, final chords ............................................................. 114
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LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES
Figure
3.1 Map of Gaeltacht areas of Ireland ........................................................ 26
3. 2. Cross of Muireadach, Monasterboice, County Louth, Ireland ............ 30
4.1 Drawing of Brian Boru Harp ................................................................ 34
4.2 Maedoc book cover from Ireland (circa 1000 A.D.) ............................ 45
4.3 Uilleann pipes ........................................................................................ 46
6.1 Facsimile of Psalter, final page ............................................................. 76
Table
3.1 Siil, a Rin, mixed English and Irish text and translation .................. 24
4.1 Modes found in Irish Traditional Music ............................................... 35
4.2 Dance Forms and Structure .................................................................. 43
6. 1 S do Mhaimeo , Text and Translation ............................................... 73
6. 2 Siil a Rin, form .................................................................................. 75
6. 3 Cormacus Scripsit, Text and Translation ............................................. 77
6. 4 Cormacus Scripsit, form ....................................................................... 78
7. 1 Dlamn, text and translation .............................................................. 85
7. 2 Wind on Sea, form ............................................................................... 88
7. 3 Wind on Sea, translation ...................................................................... 91
7. 4 Island, text and translation ................................................................... 94
7. 5 Island, Form .......................................................................................... 95
7. 6 Sanctus, formal structure ...................................................................... 97
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7. 7 Incantations, text and translation .......................................................... 100
7. 8 Incantations, form ................................................................................. 101
7. 9 Agnus Dei, text and translation ........................................................... 105
7.10 Agnus Dei, form .................................................................................. 106
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CHAPTER 1
MICHAEL MCGLYNN
Introduction
Since 1987, Michael McGlynn has been trying to create a choral sound native to his
country. Ireland was long controlled by Great Britain and was only released from British
domination in the last century. A Dublin-born composer, Michael McGlynn has fought to
capture in his compositions something that is uniquely Irish. Through this process
McGlynn has become a highly successful composer and choral director in Ireland.
Through the recordings, performances, and arrangements for Anna, a professional
ensemble directed by the composer, his music has reached millions of people and has
been performed by hundreds of choruses worldwide.
It is important to understand the context in which McGlynns music was written.
The traditional music of Ireland has a long history influenced by the cultural and social
heritage of its people, the language of the songs, and the instruments used for
accompaniments and companion music. Although he does not claim these musical
elements as primary influences, there are commonalities between his choral compositions
and Irish traditional music. These are his use of modal harmonies, drones, and texts from
the traditional Irish repertoire. McGlynn cannot separate his music from his cultural
heritage; it is part of the world in which his music exists.
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In addition to traditional Irish music, McGlynn is also influenced by Western
European Medieval styles, reflected in his use of parallel motion and chant. It was during
the Medieval period that the music of Ireland was last free from foreign influence.
Therefore it is logical that McGlynn would turn to this music to discover a compositional
voice that is truly Irish. Because of foreign domination after the eleventh century, choral
music with an Irish identity was not permitted to develop. All aspects of cultural life
came under control of England, and native musical ideas were stifled. The only forms of
Irish music that survived this oppression were solo songs and a limited selection of
instrumental music. Since these forms did not require large numbers of performers and
could exist within individual homes, they succeeded in evading the ruling entities.
McGlynns compositional style combines the sounds and forms of Irish traditional
and Medieval music. Craig Harris writes that McGlynns music ...combines songs in
middle English, Scots Gaelic, Irish, Breton, Medieval Irish, Latin, and Greek in [the]
examination of ancient and contemporary Irish music.1 He has gone beyond the mere
creation of choral arrangements from existing solo songs; he has combined the musical
elements of his country to create a choral compositional voice that has assimilated past
traditions into a new style worthy of Irelands musical heritage. It is for these reasons that
Michael McGlynns music is deserving of study as representing the choral music of
Ireland.
1 Craig Harris, All-Music Guide, Craig Harris, All-Music Guide: Anna, 1995,
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll (accessed November 28, 2009).
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A Personal History
Michael McGlynn was born in Dublin, Ireland, in May 1964. His mother, Clare,
and father, Andrew, worked in the hotel industry, though his father later turned to
photography. Michael has two brothers: Tom, the youngest, and a twin, John. All three
boys were musically inclined. When they were young they enjoyed singing in three-part
harmonies. Clare and Andrew, while not classically trained musicians themselves, saw
the value of music in their familys life.
McGlynns first musical training was through piano lessons, but much of his early
musical influence was from rock musicians such as the Beatles and David Bowie. He was
introduced to large-scale orchestral and choral classical music in secondary school and
was particularly attracted to the works of Debussy and Britten. During his teen years,
Ligetis contribution to the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey made a significant
impression on him.2
Clare and Andrew sought to instill within their children a sense of pride in their
heritage. Though the family were not native Irish speakers, at the age of nine and ten
John, Tom, and Michael lived as boarders for a year at the Irish-speaking college of
Coliste na Rinne in Dn Garbhn (Dungarvan), County Waterford. This Gaeltacht
(Irish-speaking community) is where McGlynn gained fluency in the Irish language.
More importantly, it provided his first exposure to traditional Irish song.3
When the time came to enter college in 1982, McGlynn elected to study music
and English literature at University College, Dublin (UCD). It was at UCD that he first
2 Michael McGlynn, interview by author, Dublin, Ireland, October 2009.
3 Michael McGlynn, interview by author, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, February 2010
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received an introduction to early Western Medieval music. He began studies in both
English and music, and after receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in English (1985) he
continued and completed his Bachelor of Music degree (1986). Musical forms and the
structure of music were most intriguing him. During his time at UCD, at age nineteen, he
first sang in a choir. He entered the field of music from a non-classical perspective, and
this choral ensemble introduced him to the choral music of the great master composers.
McGlynn stated in a 2010 interview:
One of the things that has put me in a unique position among professional choral directors is that I took up choral music quite late. I had never sung in a choir before the age of nineteen. I first sang in college in a chamber choir, the UCD Chamber Choir, which I went on to conduct. I later went on to conduct the Trinity College Singers as well. This has allowed me to look at choral music as a completely fresh and new form.4
Soon after graduation from UCD he composed his earliest formal work, a setting of four
Rimbaud poems for soprano and piano. After completing this composition he felt
compelled to make his living as a composer.5
By the completion of his collegiate choral experiences, he was completely
captured with the choral medium. In 1987 McGlynn founded the small Irish choral
ensemble An Uaithne, renamed Anna in 1991. In the twenty-two years that McGlynn
has been the director of Anna, he has become an advocate for change within the choral
infrastructure of Ireland. In 2006, McGlynn wrote for The Irish Times:
On the surface choral music in Ireland appears to be healthy, but the reality is very different. I dread auditioning new singers for Anna. Virtually none of them can read music adequately, or have more than the basic musical skills or even general [musical] knowledge. Even those that do have vocal training have come
4 Michael McGlynn, interview by author, Ft. Lauderdale, February 2010
5 Michael McGlynn, interview by author, Dublin, Ireland, October 2009.
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through music schools and colleges that appear to believe that there is only one form of classical singing, and that is opera. Choral music transmits the poetry and the language of a nation through song in a unique manner, something that should be of particular interest and importance in a country that prides itself in its literary heroes.6
He further explains that promoting a unique identity for Irish choral music is difficult, as
much of the repertoire performed is related to schools and traditions of other nations, in
particular the United Kingdom.
While McGlynn has gained prominence in the choral community as the director
of Anna, he has also become an internationally recognized composer. His compositions
have been commissioned, performed, and recorded by some of the worlds best choral
ensembles including The Dale Warland Singers, Rajaton, The BBC (British Broadcasting
Corporation) Singers, The National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Conspirare, the
Phoenix Chorale, and Chanticleer. In 2007, the RT (Radio Telefs ireann) Concert
Orchestra, one of the national orchestras of Ireland, commissioned a large-scale work for
SSAA chorus and symphony orchestra, which resulted in the four-movement cantata St.
Francis. Also in 2007, the award-winning choral ensemble Chanticleer commissioned
McGlynn to compose the Agnus Dei for the multi-composer work And On Earth Peace:
A Chanticleer Mass. In July 2009, the RT National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland
programmed a retrospective of McGlynns compositions for a major concert in Dublins
National Concert Hall that also featured Anna.7 This program resulted in a large number
of new adaptations and original works scored for symphony orchestra and chorus.
6 Michael McGlynn, A Way to Find Different Voices in this Multi-Ethnic Age, The Irish Times.
June 5, 2006, http://www.anuna.ie/IT2006.htm (accessed 10 October 2009).
7 Michael McGlynn, Biography, www.anuna.ie/MichaelBiography.html (accessed 11 August 2009).
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McGlynn uses a unique and highly successful method of publication and
distribution of his compositions which has contributed to his success. While mechanical
and performance rights are held by Warner Chappell, he self-publishes his sheet music
through his website, www.michaelmcglynn.com. This method of distribution makes his
music both accessible and affordable for choral directors worldwide. When directors
purchase a composition to perform they are also sent an audio recording of the text, a
translation, and in some cases, a sound approximation pronunciation guide. Unlike
standard means of music distribution, the music is received normally within forty-eight
hours via email with a certificate for the number of copies purchased. Nearly all of his
choral compositions have been recorded by Anna, which also gives directors an audio
reference. A complete list of his works is found in Appendix A of this document. The list
has been cross-referenced by title, date of composition, commission, and voicing.
Appendix B is a discography to assist in locating recordings of specific compositions.
Anna
Anna, the current name of the group that McGlynn formed in 1987, has become
one of the leading professional choral ensembles in the world. The ensemble is known for
its interpretations of traditional Irish songs, reconstructions of medieval Irish music,
McGlynns own original music, and for its unique staging. As McGlynns music and
compositional output is directly related to Anna, it is essential to view it as an aspect of
his work as a composer, as well as a tool he uses in the compositional process.
The original name of the ensemble, An Uaithne, is the collective term that
describes the three ancient kinds of Irish music, Suantra (lullaby), Geantra (happy
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song), and Goltra (lament). An Uaithne was shortened to Anna, a name that has no
meaning but uses portions of the original words; it was simply easier for non-Irish
speakers to pronounce and recognize. When asked about the reason for creating an
ensemble of this kind McGlynn stated, Anna developed from that idea [of bringing
choral music to more people]. It developed from the need to reinterpret the choral
canvas.8 Under McGlynns direction the ensemble has released fourteen albums which
feature primarily his own compositions and arrangements. Three of the albums have
placed in the United States Billboard charts, and Deep Dead Blue reached the top five in
the United Kingdom Classical Chart and was nominated for a Classical Brit Award in
2000.9
When McGlynn was asked why he chose to form a new ensemble instead of work
within the framework of the existing choral infrastructure in Ireland he stated that he
created Anna because he felt that there was a need to find a choral voice that was
distinctly Irish.10 All of the ensembles that were in existence were founded from non-
Irish sources and rarely performed music influenced by their country. As he perceived it,
there was no indigenous form of choral singing in Ireland. McGlynn felt a ...need to
define Ireland in a choral fashion in some way.11 He also wanted to make certain that
choral music was accessible to the people, not just to the lucky few who could understand
8 Michael McGlynn, interview with Contemporary Music Center, Dublin, Ireland, July 2009
www.anuna.ie/JML (accessed 16 August 2009).
9 Craig Harris, Anna, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wxfwxqlgldte~T1 (accessed 28 November 2010).
10 Michael McGlynn, interview with author, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, February 2010. 11 Ibid.
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it. In his opinion, much of classical music in Ireland, has only been accessible to a
minority of people.12 He has succeeded with Anna in bringing choral music, and
specifically that which he feels expressed a sound native to Ireland to a large number of
people.
In a 2009 interview McGlynn discussed the fragility of the human voice that first
intrigued him. McGlynn uses this term to describe the natural and beautiful flaws heard
in untrained singers. The fragility of Annas sound, in his opinion, is one of the primary
reasons it is successful.
Listen to the Sixteen or the Tallis Scholars [singing chorally] and it will sound beautiful, but it doesnt allow the human element to come out. These people are brilliant singers, with fantastic technique. All of us in Anna are flawed. And thats conscious. What I have done is to try to always create an accessibility using the concept of fragility in the voice to allow the audience to access music that otherwise they might find overtly and harmonically complex or technically demanding to listen to. In a recent recording of the Allegri Misereri Mei Deus the first soprano soloist, unusually for us, was a trained English singer. She had the ability to sing all of the lines in one breath, but she was instructed to sound more fragile.13 With Anna McGlynn serves as composer, artistic director, vocal coach,
conductor, singer, producer, and business manager. In his desire to produce a better
sounding ensemble with a group of non-trained singers he has developed an approach to
producing better singers. He has found over his twenty years as a choral director that
awareness of singers posture, technique, and attitude during the rehearsal process
contributes to the overall success or failure of an ensemble. If an individual singer is not
standing with the correct posture or appears to have brought the stress of daily life into
12 Ibid. 13 Ibid.
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the rehearsal, he will address that singer and insist on an immediate change of demeanor
or posture. His manner of rehearsing is focused on empowering and requiring each
individual to concentrate on his or her own performance within the choral ensemble. In a
February 2010 interview with this author, McGlynn spoke about his rehearsal and
audition process:
I can spend hours over six months on only a few notes if I am not happy with the sound they are making. I try to bring musical persons into the ensemble, but quite often that is not possible. Many people I bring in I bring in based on personality; they need to be able to take criticism.14
While an awareness of singers physical well-being and attitude is not new to choral
conductors, his instence and attention to detail has proven to make a distinct difference in
the sound quality of Anna.
Instead of conducting in front of the ensemble, which McGlynn chose to forego
after only a few seasons, he leads from within the tenor section. He believes that the
essential connection that should occur between performer and audience is often impeded
rather than helped by the presence of a conductor. His rehearsal and performance
techniques have been developed to aid in the elimination of the physical obstruction of a
body between the chorus members and the audience. While he does believe that a
conductor can be an asset to an ensemble, in his opinion optimal music making is only
possible when the ensemble members have the responsibility of creating the musical
impulse of a performance.15 To him, the role of the conductor is to shape and form the
music during the rehearsal process, not in the moment of performance. Although his
14 Ibid. 15 Ibid.
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standard expectation for Anna is high, and perhaps challenging for the mostly non-
professional singers he encounters, he considers the ensembles amateur nature among its
greatest attributes and one of its sustaining factors. Through his role as a member of the
ensemble he is able to aid in tuning, energize, and focus the performance.16
Compositional Output and Style
McGlynns compositional output is indelibly linked with Anna. Fundamentally,
the ensemble is a compositional tool for him; he uses Anna as many composers would
use a piano in the creation of new works. He generally will make changes or adjustments
to a new work only after hearing it in a performance. Prior to publication, new
compositions will sometimes go through several revisions before he feels the singers and
the audience gauge the piece in the way he intended.
The complexity of McGlynns compositions is limited by what Anna is able to
achieve vocally and musically without a conductor. Contrary to what many believe, the
vast majority of the singers in Anna are not trained musicians. Few of them have had
any formal theory or musicianship classes, and even fewer have had traditional vocal
training. Occasionally one or two classically trained singers will audition, but most often
the core of the ensemble is simply people who love to sing and share the same passion
and desire to communicate through music that McGlynn has. For this reason he has
created a unique manner of quickly training his members to sing as part of the chorus. It
is also why he leads the ensemble from within.
16 Ibid.
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11
As a choir that is known the world over as an Irish choral ensemble, Anna must
maintain several traditional or traditional sounding compositions in its repertoire at any
given time. Instead of solely producing arrangements of traditional songs for the
ensemble, McGlynn also composes completely original songs that use many of the
elements found in the traditional song repertoire. His use of familiar texts and original
melodies that incorporate elements of traditional music leads the listener to identify these
choral compositions as part of the ever-changing corpus of Irish music.
The use of compositional elements that have existed in the Irish music tradition
has closely identified McGlynns compositions with Ireland. It is also for this reason that
an understanding of the history, culture, and music of Ireland is important to the study of
his music. This understanding allows the choral conductor to identify those aspects in his
compositions that are traditional. While McGlynns music draws influence from various
idioms, it is considered by many to be the genuine sound of Irish choral music.
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12
CHAPTER 2
CULTURE AND MUSIC HISTORY OF IRELAND
In ancient times Ireland was renowned for skilled musicians, many of whose tales
are recounted in mythology and lore. It was the turbulent history of conquest and rule
from around AD 1100 that both stifled the performance and transmission of this music
and kept Ireland from following the same path of musical creation that other European
countries enjoyed. The void was created by an absence of native composers and music
indigenous to Ireland. The only choral music found on the island was that of the church,
which originated in other areas of Europe. The study of Michael McGlynns musical
influences must begin with an understanding of both Irish culture and the music history
of Ireland, as it is from this tradition and culture that his music is created.
Irish Historical Overview
The people who began settling Ireland as long ago as 500 BC belonged to a now
extinct race of people called the Celts. The Celts settled in clan groups in areas
throughout much of Europe, including parts of modern-day Ireland, Scotland, Wales,
Brittany, and Cornwall. Celtic influence can also be found in the regions of Galicia and
Asturias, in Spain, and in areas of Portugal.17 In Ireland these clans or tribes were well
17 Dorthea E Hast and Stanley Scott, Music in Ireland: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture
(Oxford: Oxford University Pres, 2004), 20.
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13
established by 100 BC. The descendents of these groups, the Gaelic chieftains, are those
commonly associated with the creation and proliferation of the Gaelic-Irish language and
culture. Legends of the kings and chieftains who ruled the four provinces (Ulster,
Munster, Leinster, and Connaught) evolved into sagas and have since been passed down
through story and song.
First conquered in the fifth century AD by the Norse (Vikings), Irelands first
peaceful visitors came from its nearest neighbor, Britain. These missionaries began the
rapid spread of Christianity through the pagan Celtic land. This influx of people from
England also began almost 1500 years of British involvement in Ireland.
When the British first occupied Ireland they were fascinated by the cultural
differences they found on an island so close to their own. However, as time passed the
British governing body became less and less tolerant of Irish culture. The Irish people
came to be considered degenerate and barbaric, and the British government, through a
series of laws and acts beginning around 1350, outlawed the language, music, religion,
and culture of the Irish people. Subsequent to the original missionary settlements, Ireland
had become a strong Catholic region, wholly embracing the religion the British had
spread only years earlier. King Henry VIII, through his disaffiliation with the Catholic
Church in 1532, further complicated Irish life. Following the English Reformation, a
series of laws prohibited Catholics from participation in public life, voting, and
ownership of land.18
18 Ibid., 27.
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14
During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries under Queen Elizabeth,
life for the Irish became worse. The Queen felt that the wandering bards and harpers, who
had enjoyed a high status in earlier years, were political spies and that their music and
lyrics stirred up political unrest. By 1571 the Earl of Kildare was commissioned to punish
all harpers, poets, and bards by death. A 1603 proclamation, to hang the harpers
wherever found and destroy their instruments, effectively halted the public playing of
Irish music.19 While records do not indicate a mass extermination of harpers and bards,
the threat served to seriously diminish the tradition and its oral transmission to
subsequent generations. The Act of Settlement in 1652 allowed Cromwell to confiscate
property from Irish-Catholic landowners, thereby displacing seventy-five percent of the
population, all Catholic, to less than fifteen percent of land. The land to which they were
displaced was an area in the province of Connaught deemed quite infertile.20 Although it
appeared the heritage and livelihood of the Irish people had been broken, many families
continued to pass on the language and music of their ancestors in the privacy of their
homes. In 1695 the British Parliament, after a few small uprisings, removed the authority
of the Irish Parliament to create laws for itself.
There were many attempts to remove the British government from power in
Ireland. After the American and French Revolutions, the people of Ireland felt that they
would be able to retake their parliament. In 1782 an effective campaign for legislative
independence was initiated with the Constitution of 1782. This document did
acknowledge the sole right of the Irish Parliament to create laws for Ireland, but it was a
19 San O'Boyle, The Irish Song Tradition (Toronto: Macmilian of Canada, 1976), 10. 20 J.C. Beckett, Introduction: Eighteenth Century Ireland, Vol. IV, in A New History of Ireland,
ed. T.W. Moody and W.E Vaughan, xliii (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), xliii.
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15
Parliament still under the authority of the British government. Many who led the
movement were not satisfied. The outbreak of the French Revolution rekindled their
desire to unite Irishmen of all denominations in an attempt to break connection [with
Great Britain] and establish in Ireland a republic on the French model.21 It was this
disagreement between countrymen that led to civil unrest and instability and kept the
people from regaining governance over their country. This internal conflict continued
until the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-1800s. During the twenty years beginning in
1845 with the first of many years of crop failures, the population of the country was
depleted by nearly two-thirds either from death or emigration. Those who remained and
survived were in no way able to remove Englands control. It was not until 1922, when
the Irish Free State was established and the British government no longer ruled Ireland,
that the native culture and language of the people experienced a renaissance. In the 1922
Constitution English and Irish were established as co-national languages, demonstrating
the new governments commitment to the heritage of the people.
Music in Ireland
Brian Boydell writes that ...Ireland has a reputation for inheriting a great musical
tradition extending back to the earliest of times.22 When British rulers outlawed the Irish
language, culture, and tradition that existed for at least a millennium prior to their arrival,
this musical heritage was almost lost.
21 J.C. Beckett, Eighteenth Century Ireland, 1691-1800, Vol. 4, in A New History of Ireland, ed.
T.W. Moody and W.E. Vaughan (Oxford: Claredon Press, 1986), xil-xli. 22 Brian Boydell, Music Before 1700, Vol. IV, in A New History of Ireland, ed. T.W. Moody and
W.E. Vaughan, 544 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), 544.
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16
The origin of the musical heritage of Ireland is still disputed, even though much
research on the topic exists. Very few sources have been found, and records of musical
events are scarce. As is often the case with traditional music, there was no one readily
available to transcribe it for posterity. It was not until the eighteenth century that
musicians trained in the Western classical style of music began to collect the traditional
music of Ireland. The earliest complete transcriptions of this traditional music were made
and published in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Composers and
musicologists Charles Villiers Stanford, Edward Bunting, George Petrie, and P.W. Joyce
collected, transcribed, and described the music that had been a vital component of the
cultural identity of Ireland since early recorded times. There were a few writings and
single songs published in English volumes before these Irish collections, but much of
what is known about music before 1600 is based only upon anecdotal reference.
There are letters and other writings that confirm the existence of music schools
within monasteries and that the harp was considered the only instrument suitable to
accompany voices. Various writers, artists, and poets mention instruments and musical
gatherings, though very little writing about the style of the music exists. Within courts
and villages, bards and harpers held places of honor. The bards were the oral keepers of
the laws; they recounted stories of war and genealogy. Perhaps most importantly for their
social status, they praised their patrons. Most often a harper would accompany the bard as
the stories were recounted; thus the development of a solo musical tradition began. This
led to a multi-century comingling of ideas, mythology, Gaelic traditions, and the old style
(sean-ns) singing that makes Irelands musical heritage unique.
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17
The vocal music of Ireland includes a long mythological tradition that contributed
to its complicated history. Irish folklore tells of four races that existed in Ireland before
the Gaels arrived in the fourth century BC. According to the mythology as described by
Cowdery, these races began with the Fomorians, or sinister giants, who were defeated by
the Firbologs. The Firbologs, a small but cunning race, eventually disappeared, giving
way to the Danaans. The Danaans were seen as the embodiment of all that was good. The
Milesians eventually overtook them, but due to their close connection with nature, they
were able to turn into the invisible little peopleleprechauns and fairies. The Danaans
were admired for their music, especially that of the fairies, whose tunes were said to be
the sweetest music ever heard and which possessed magic powers. Many tunes that exist
in the modern repertoire are said to have come from the fairies.23
The musical tradition of the early Gaelic court musicians is, of course, not known
in concrete terms. There are sources that give terminology to various kinds of songs,
though those are without examples. These musical categories include goltra (music for
sorrow), geantra (music for happiness), and suantra (music for sleep). Terms found in
later sources cited by Harry Flood, goltraighe (music of valor), geantraight (music for
love), and suantraighe (music for rest), are each related to a particular mode or traighe.
The modal associations are the Dorian, Phrygian, and Lydian modes accordingly.24
Sean-ns, which translates to old-style, is a form of solo singing considered the
oldest in Ireland and is generally believed to date from at least the fifteenth century AD,
23 James Cowdery, The Melodic Tradition of Ireland (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press,
1990), 5.
24 Ibid., 6.
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18
and possibly earlier. This style of music is usually modal, highly ornamented, either a
cappella or with very little accompaniment, and above all else, highly personalized by the
singer. While a great majority of these songs is in the Irish language, due to the dual use
of English and Irish for a long period of time, many tunes were adapted to English texts.
One of the best examples of this is found in the Irish Melodies of Thomas Moore in
which the author creates new English language texts to fit the existing ancient Irish
tunes.25
Harmonically, the use of modal structures does predominate in the genre, but
some songs in the Irish repertoire also use hexatonic and pentatonic scales.26 Most songs
in the Irish song repertoire are binary (in two large sections) and most sections can be
divided into four near-equal phrases. The use of the binary form also demonstrates the
close relation of the song tradition to dance, which by its nature requires regular sections
that are commonly repeated. Several styles of dance, including the jig, reel, hornpipe, and
slide are commonly used as the rhythmic and structural basis of solo songs.27
Although Irish music was long a solo art, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
there began a movement towards group performances and the arrangement and
adaptation of many traditional songs for choral ensembles. Several ensembles and
composers (Altan, Anna, Clannad, David Mooney, and Michael McGlynn among them)
25 Thomas Moore, Moore's Irish Melodies With Symphonies and Accompaniments (Boston: Oliver
Ditson, 1893). 26 Breandn Breathnach, Folk Music and Dances of Ireland: A Comprehensice Study examining
the Basic Elements of Irish Folk Music and Dance (Cork: Mercier Press, 1996), 12.
27 James Cowdery, The Melodic Tradition of Ireland (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1990), 16-18.
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19
specialize in choral settings and work diligently to adhere to the artistic ideals of that solo
art form in the ensemble medium.
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20
CHAPTER 3
IRISH VOCAL MUSIC
The vocal music of Ireland has been influenced by many changes in the culture of
the country. The song tradition was first influenced by the structure of the Irish language
and then by the increased, and eventually mandated, use of English. The song styles that
flourished in earlier times, especially the sean-ns, were limited to specific areas and
were kept alive by a few communities throughout times of occupation and oppression.
Because of Britains rules and restrictions in the use of the Irish language and the
domination of the Anglican Church through musics developmental periods, the choral
music of Ireland remained in an infantile state. The only choral music that existed was in
the church, and that was British.
When the Irish language was outlawed and the majority of the ruling class for
whom the songs were performed spoke only English, musicians were forced to either
forego their native language or combine it in moderation with English. When Englands
rulers outlawed Irish music, any development in group singing of traditional repertoire
was cut short. Music that began as a solo art style remained as such outside of the choral
development within the Anglican Church.
It has only been in the last century that choral music began to take a foothold in
the world of Irish music, but that is not to say that choral music did not exist in Ireland.
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21
During the years of occupation it was difficult for musicians to perform any music that
was not sanctioned by Great Britain. There were, however, great choral societies. Musical
events based on the English model, like the premiere of Handels Messiah in Dublin,
were permitted and encouraged. Michael McGlynn has been trying to create a distinct
Irish choral tradition, which due to the strong foreign influence did not develop. His
music is a window into all that has come before him and synthesizes the language
influences, song traditions, and early choral forms that were in place prior to Irelands
subjugation.
Language
The language that is today known as Irish or Irish-Gaelic belongs to the Celtic
group of languages. While similar to other Celtic languages including Welsh, Manx,
Breton, and Scots Gaelic, Irish also assimilated components from languages outside the
immediate family group. Borrowed words in the Irish language came primarily from
Latin, Norse, and English. These additions came through missionaries, early settlements
of the Viking peoples on the east coast, and the use of a language that was required by the
British rule.28
The Irish Gaelic literary tradition had great influence on the songs of Ireland.
Bards used very complex forms of poetic meter, which in turn defined the musical
structure of the songs and airs. George Petrie first stated the importance of the
28 James Cowdery, The Melodic Tradition of Ireland (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press,
1990), 7.
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22
interrelationship of the two structures in his Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland in
1855:
For those airs are not, like so many modern melodies, mere ad libitum arrangements of a pleasing succession of tones unshackled by a rigid obedience of the sentiments of the songs for which they were composed, but always strictly coincident with, and subservient to, the laws of rhythm and metre which govern the construction of those songs, and to which they consequently owe their peculiarities of structure. And hence it obviously follows that entire body of our vocal melodies may be easily divided into, and arranged under, as many classes as there are metrical forms of construction in our native lyrics but no further; and that any melody that will not naturally fall into some one or other of those classes must either be corrupt or altogether fictitious.29 Of the six meters used in Irish-language poetry, amhrnaocht is one of the most
common. The meter, which forms the basis for some of the most characteristic melodies,
consists of a stanza with five stressed syllables in each line. Each stanza fits easily into
two bars of 9/8 or six bars of 3/4. OBoyle gives as an example of this metric similarity
as the first line of An Bata Dubh Droighin. The five stressed syllables per line of this
meter fit into two measures of 9/8 (Example 3.1) or five measures of 3/4 (Example 3.2).30
Example 3.1. Amhrnaocht meter in 9/8
29 George Petrie, The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland, ed. David Cooper (Cork:
Cork University Press, 2005), 36.
30 San O'Boyle, The Irish Song Tradition (Toronto: Macmilian of Canada, 1976), 21.
& 89 43.t
t
j t
jslai tn bhog bhocht n gag de'n
.t
.t
.chuil eann chas chuar
!- -
& 434 .
tj
slai tn bhog
t
bhocht n
t
gag de'n
.t
j chuil eann chas
.tchuar
! !- -
&11 ! !
Amhranainocht Meter examplesMusic by: [Composer]Lyrics by: [Lyricist]
Arranged by [Arranger]
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23
Example 3.2. Amhrnaocht meter in 3/4
When the English language is used with Irish melody the construction is changed
slightly. As OBoyle noted:
William Carleton, the Tyrone novelist, records that his mother, when asked to sing the English version of Bean an Fhir Rua, said: Ill sing it for you, but the English words and the air are like a quarrelling man and wife the Irish melts into the tune but the English doesnt.31
Many nineteenth century Irish speakers shared this sentiment, and when writing in
English, poets who were familiar with Irish poetry attempted to place assonances and
stressed syllables in a location that was suited to the amhrnaocht meter. However, that
was not always possible. Those that did not fit the traditional structure fell into a verse
form known as Ochtfhoclach, or tail-rhyme. Consisting of four large parts, each
containing three lines of five syllables and one line of four syllables, the five-syllable
lines rhyme, as do the lines of four.
Ochfhoclach Mr is another verse form that contains odd syllabification. In this
structure there are two large groups. The first has three lines of six syllables, each
rhyming with the other, and a line of five syllables. The second contains three lines of
five syllables, all of which rhyme with the six-syllable lines of the first part, and a line of
four syllables that rhymes with the last line of the first section.
31 Ibid., 25.
& 89 43.t
t
j t
jslai tn bhog bhocht n gag de'n
.t
.t
.chuil eann chas chuar
!- -
& 434 .
tj
slai tn bhog
t
bhocht n
t
gag de'n
.t
j chuil eann chas
.tchuar
! !- -
&11 ! !
Amhranainocht Meter examplesMusic by: [Composer]Lyrics by: [Lyricist]
Arranged by [Arranger]
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24
The outlawing of the Irish language brought about changes in the repertoire of
Irish music. Many songs became bi-lingual, that is, the traditional tune was sometimes
translated into what became a well-known English version. Other tunes were sung
partially in each language, typically with verses in English and a refrain in Irish. One
example of this kind of modification is seen in Siil a Rin (Table 3.1). A detailed
description of this familiar song is included in Chapter Five.
Table 3. 1. Siil, a Rin, mixed English text and translation32 Verse Chorus (crfa) I wish I were on yonder hill
'Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill
And every tear would turn a mill
I wish I sat on my true love's knee
Many a fond story he told to me
He told me things that ne'er shall be
Siil, siil, siil a rin
Siil go sochair agus siil go ciin
Siil go doras agus alaigh liom
(Translation:
Go, go, go my love
Go quietly and go peacefully
Go to the door and fly with me)
By the nineteenth century Hiberno-English, a dialect of English, was the primary
language spoken in Ireland. However in the last decade of the same century a movement
began to reinstate Irish and its historical literary style. The movement to reestablish Irish
to the prominence it once held fed into the struggle for national independence, which was
eventually won in 1922. Today, although English continues to be the primary language
throughout Ireland, basic Irish language skills are taught in schools and certain
communities exist where Irish is the sole language. In supporting this initiative, the
32 Celtic Lyrics Corner, November 27, 2008, http://www.celticlyricscorner.net/anuna/siuil.htm (accessed October 29, 2009).
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25
government has kept Irish from becoming a dead language and has made it one whose
future is yet to be determined.
Sean-ns
Sean-ns refers to both the repertoire and style of singing generally considered to
be the oldest in Ireland, dating from at least the fifteenth century, if not earlier.33 While
found most frequently in the southwestern area of the country, sean-ns has spread to all
parts of Ireland. It is an unaccompanied musical style that is typically characterized by a
highly ornamented melodic line, though the means and degree of ornamentation change
from region to region. Although an original source for this music is unknown, it is
generally assumed that it is derived from the medieval bardic tradition. Many sean-ns
singers in recent history have come from Gaeltacht areas (Figure 3.1), and most consider
Irish their first language. These are regional areas in Ireland where Irish is the primary
language and where the culture of passing this body of songs through generations is still
part of daily life. At the very least the singers have a considerable facility and
competency in it.
33 The Sean-ns style of singing was discussed on page 16.
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26
Figure 3. 1. Gaeltacht areas (darkened areas are officially recognized regions)34
The performer of sean-ns takes considerable liberties with the original tune or
framework of the song through knowledge of a commonly understood rules. These
stylistic constraints permit him to adhere to tradition while allowing enough freedom to
place his own unique mark and interpretation on the song. The singer is not constrained
by meter or tempo, but moves through the song according to both his interpretation of the
34 Irish Gaelic Translator, http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/translation/topic66267.html
(accessed June 21, 2010). Map alterd by author to illustrate regions.
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27
text and through his use of sometimes very elaborate ornamentation. This process is
called humoring or gracing the tune.35
Harmonically, sean-ns is similar to much of what will be seen in the greater
body of Irish song; modalities and alternate scale structures (pentatonic and hexatonic
scales) are often employed. To the listener accustomed to European art music, especially
that of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, it may sound foreign. Irish composer
Sen Riada has said:
In approaching that style of singing which is called in Irish, the Sean-Ns the old styleit is best to listen as if we were listening to music for the first time, with a childs new mind; or to think of Indian music rather than European.36 Within the corpus of the sean-ns repertoire there exist several subgenres
according to the subject matter. These include love songs, lullabies, vision or dream
songs, laments, hymns, drinking songs, and humorous songs. Many of these songs were
composed for a local audience who would have known either the story upon which the
song was based or who had a personal connection with the place or event described. The
songs therefore do not relay the events in a journalistic manner, but are a part of the long
storytelling tradition that stems from the bardic era.
The bards of medieval Ireland held highly honored places in the court. Their
manner of reciting poetry and stories, often of epic length, was long revered by their
patrons. Though the use of the harp to accompany the recitation was lost, two features of
35 Dorthea E Hast and Stanley Scott, Music in Ireland: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture
(Oxford: Oxford University Pres, 2004), 103. 36 Sean Riada, Thomas Kinsella and Toms Canainn, Our Musical Heritage (Mountrth:
Fundireacht an Riadaigh/ Dolmen Press, 1982), 23.
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28
early Irish poetry did have significant effects on sean-ns singing. First, the length of the
poetic line was far greater than many of its counterparts in English or other languages.
This meant that there would be more stresses or accented beats in a musical line. It also
made the overall poem or song longer than those in other languages. Second, there was a
prevalence of internal rhyming and assonance.37 The internal rhyming did transfer into
English language poetry and song in Ireland, but caused problems for those poets and
musicians who tried to maintain both the rhyme scheme and the original musical line.
While it may not be overly difficult to create an adequate translation in English that uses
a final syllable rhyme scheme, internal rhyming does pose a considerable challenge.38
There are many accounts of the vocal tone used in the singing of this old style.
Many modern day recordings demonstrate a rather nasal sound while others employ a
vocal tone reminiscent of Italian bel canto technique. What might this style have sounded
like before the modern influence and training of various styles? An account from John
Dutton near the end of the seventeenth century states that he
...was entertained by the landlady, who was brought in to sing an Irish cronaan, which is so odd a thing that I cannot express it, being mostly performed in the throat, only now and then some miserable sounds are sent through the nose.39
It is not known if the performer described was suitably versed in the form and
performance of the style.
37 Dorthea E Hast and Stanley Scott, Music in Ireland: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture
(Oxford: Oxford University Pres, 2004), 99. 38 A detailed description of the common features of Irish poetic meter found on page 20.
39 Brian Boydell, Music Before 1700, Vol. IV, in A New History of Ireland, ed. T.W. Moody and W.E. Vaughan, 544 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), 565.
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29
Ornamention in sean-ns varies greatly from area to area. Singers from Connacht,
the western portion of Ireland, normally have very florid musical lines in contrast with
Ulster (northern Ireland), which customarily has a simple presentation.40 The singer
strives to reflect the stresses of the poetic meter above all, moving from stress to stress at
his own pace.
Sean-ns began as a solo-unaccompanied style much like ballad singing across
Europe, but unlike other areas of Europe, it never developed to incorporate harmony,
group singing, or accompaniment.41 During the Elizabethan age there was a necessity for
anonymity, lest one be put to death. Only recently has this repertoire been developed to
incorporate group singing.
Choral Music in Ireland
The concept of choral singing in Ireland has long been an imported art form. But
what might have been in place before the Norman invasion (1169-1171)? Are we to
believe that throughout fifteen centuries no singing was done in groups? There are forms
of work songs that survive from c. AD 600. It would not be unusual for these to have
been sung by all of those contributing to the days chores. Was this done as a form of call
and response or in rudimentary harmony? Unfortunately there is no definitive answer.
The Cross of Muireadach (Figure 3.2), a Celtic high cross dating from the tenth
century, depicts a choir of monks among other musicians, with one of the figures holding
a book. If the era from which this cross dates is compared to the rest of Europe, one
40 Toms Canainn, Traditional Music in Ireland (London: Routledge & Kegan, 1978), 49. 41 Nuala O'Conor, Bringing it All Back Home: The Influence of Irish Music (Dublin: Merlin
Publishing, 2001), 9.
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30
might assume that this could be a depiction of early organum singing. Many sources have
references to singing in churches dating from the seventh century, but the earliest Irish
music manuscripts that have polyphonic notation date from between the twelfth and
fifteenth centuries.42 These date from after the Norman invasion and thus demonstrate
more of the outside influence on the people and practices of Ireland than on the
indigenous culture. A polyphonic choir was established at St. Patricks Cathedral in
Dublin established in 1431. Its music followed the developing continental polyphonic
style and composition, particularly that of the Burgundian School.43
Figure 3. 2. Cross of Muireadach, Monasterboice, County Louth, Ireland44
42 Ibid., 782. 43 Brian Boydell, Music Before 1700, Vol. IV, in A New History of Ireland, ed. T.W. Moody and
W.E. Vaughan, 544 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), 543. 44 Monasterboice, Ireland, http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/muiredach/muiredach.html
(accessed June 21, 2010).
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31
From the inception of polyphony at St. Patricks Cathedral, choral church music
in Ireland developed similarily to that of northern continental Europe and Britain. The
influence the British exerted was great, and, for a country that would be under foreign
rule for over a millennea, it was insurmountable. Any secular choral singing would have
been done in the home, away from the ears of the ruling class, and without notation. We
know that the oral tradition continued in the Gaeltacht areas. Modern ensembles, such as
the Bothy Band, Clannad, and Altan, demonstrate the kind of ensemble singing that
might have occurred.45 These groups sing in simple harmonies, usually at the third or the
fifth, and are accompanied by the pipes, fiddle, and bodhrn (traditional drum). They
often use drone voices at intervals of a fifth to accompany a solo line and join either in
unison or harmony during the curf (refrain). Scholars agree that this kind of group
singing might have been very typical in family and social gatherings throughout Ireland
for centuries.
45 These ensembles are popular Celtic/ Irish vocal and instrumental groups who have recorded
extensively from the 1990s on.
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CHAPTER 4
TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSICAL ELEMENTS
Even in their liveliest strains we find some melancholy note intrude some minor third or flat seventh which throws its shade as it passes, and makes even mirth interesting. Thomas Moore, The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore
The traditional music of Ireland has long been isolated from the musical
developments of continental Europe and the rest of the world. The traditional music as
described in this chapter belonged to the Irish peasantry, not the English elite. The native
musicians were not exposed to the music that was fashionable in England, France, and
Germany. Traditional Irish musicians were still using modal systems and non-tempered
instruments when trained musicians such as George Petrie and Edward Bunting began
fieldwork collecting and notating tunes in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
century. The harmonic systems, rhythmic theories, and traditional instruments in use
throughout the various regions of Ireland combined to give traditional Irish music the
old, essentially medieval sound it retains today. Many of the musical elements described
in this chapter are visible in McGlynns compositions.
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Harmonic Devices
The specific scales found in traditional Irish music derive from the stringing of
the cruit (Irish Harp). A general understanding of the harp as it existed when many of
the traditional tunes first came into being is therefore essential. A favored instrument
among the upper classes in Ireland, once strung these harps were fixed in pitch. Strings
were made of thick brass anchored at one end by metal pins, with the other end wound
around wooden pegs housed in the hollowed-out soundboard. An example of this, the
Brian Boru harp (Figure 4.1), is housed at Trinity College Dublin. Flood indicates that
this specific harp dates from around AD 1220, but Breanthnach lists the date for its
construction at about one hundred years later. Traditional Irish harps had between
twenty-one and sixty strings (the Boru harp had twenty-nine strings).46 This surviving
specimen of the traditional instrument was restrung in the mid-1900s with metal strings.
When played it was said to have an extraordinarily sweet and clear [tone] with a quality
which was somewhat bell-like.47
46 William H. Grattan Flood, "A History of Irish Music," Library Ireland, 1905,
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.libraryireland.com/IrishMusic/boruharp.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.libraryireland.com/IrishMusic/III.php&h=257&w=150&sz=40&tbnid=rYQj36spHkU6NM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=65&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrian%2Bboru%2Bharp&usg=__Nd0cAlg9CSnB8mEeNMqc9RR5c84=&ei=P1--S6fiDIKdlgf25bneBg&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=9&ct=image&ved=0CBYQ9QEwCA (accessed March 28, 2010).
47 Brendn Breathnach, Folk Music and Dances of Ireland. (Cork: Mercier Press, 1996), 66.
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Figure 4.1. Brian Boru Harp, illustration48
When Edward Bunting transcribed songs of the harpers at the Belfast Harp
Festival in July of 1792, he noted: It would appear that the old Musicians, in
transmitting Music to us through so many centuries, treated it with the utmost reverence,
as they seem to never have ventured to make the slightest innovation in it during its
descent. He further states It is remarkable that the performers all tuned their
instruments on the same principle, totally ignorant of the principle itself, and without
being able to assign any reason for their mode of tuning, or their playing of the bass.49
48 Early Gaelic Harp, http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/harps/trinity.htm (accessed March 24,
2010). 49 Edward Bunting, The Ancient Music of Ireland: The Bunting Collections (a facsimile edition of
Edward Bunting's songs and airs in piano arrangements), ed. Harry Long (Dublin: Walton Manufacturing Ltd., 2002), preface.
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While musicologists now consider Buntings concept that there was no innovation as
generally false, the observation is significant in its reference to the tuning systems
employed.
Since the tuning system of the harp was fixed it is widely agreed that the scales
employed were of a modal origin. From various writings and from later transcriptions of
tunes, it is likely that the harp had one of its G strings tuned down to F# in order to
facilitate a greater variety of modal scales. Thus the Do, Re, and Mi modes were played
through the C Do using the F natural while the Fa, Sol, and La modes were played
through the G Do with the F#.50 The division and distribution of notes within each scale
and their relation to the traditional church modes, as seein in table 4.1, is easily viewed
in two sets of three modes.
Table 4.1. Modes found in Irish Traditional Music51 First scale degree Scale Scale name
Do Re Mi
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E
Ionian Dorian
Phrygian Fa Sol La
C D E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E
Lydian Mixolydian
Aeolian
The final note defines the mode of each song. In order to facilitate the
recognition of modes in a variety of songs, it is helpful to see examples of tunes in each
of the six possibilities:
50 San O'Boyle, The Irish Song Tradition (Toronto: Macmilian of Canada, 1976), 30-31. In order
to facilitate discussion of the harmonic structures, solfege syllables will be used.
51 Ibid., 30.
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Do Mode
Example 4.1. Doh mode (C Doh)
Example 4.2. Doh mode, Cailleacha Chige Uladh52
Re Mode
Example 4.3. Re mode (C Doh)
52 George Petrie, The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland, ed. David Cooper (Cork:
Cork University Press, 2005). George Petrie, The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland, ed. David Cooper (Cork: Cork University Press, 2005), 152.
&Voice !
& b3
!
& b n5 ! !
& #8
!
& #10
!
& #12
!
& #14 !
ScalesMusic by: [Composer]Lyrics by: [Lyricist]
Arranged by [Arranger]
& 89 ..qd = 118
J j
& .. ..5
j j
Cailleacha Chige Uladh from Petrie Collection
& b nVoice !
& b3
!
& b n5 ! !
& #8
!
& #10
!
& #12
!
& #14 !
ScalesMusic by: [Composer]Lyrics by: [Lyricist]
Arranged by [Arranger]
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Example 4.4. Re mode, Tiagharna Mhaighe-eo53
Mi mode
Example 4.5. Mi mode (F Doh)
53 Aloys Fleischmann, Sources of Irish Traditional Music c. 1600-1855: An Annotated Catalogue of Prints and Manuscripts, 1583-1855, ed. Aloys Fleischmann, Vol. 1, 2 vols. (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998), 429.
& C . .
&5 . . . &8
&11 . . . .
Tiagharna Mhaighe-eoFleischmann 2212
& b nVoice !
& b3
!
& b n5 ! !
& #8
!
& #10
!
& #12
!
& #14 !
ScalesMusic by: [Composer]Lyrics by: [Lyricist]
Arranged by [Arranger]
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Example 4.6. Mi mode, The Campbells are Coming54
Fa Mode
Example 4.7. Fa mode (C Doh)
54 Aloys Fleischmann, Sources of Irish Traditional Music c. 1600-1855: An Annotated Catalogue of Prints and Manuscripts, 1583-1855, ed. Aloys Fleischmann, Vol. 1, 2 vols. (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998), 448.
& b 86 j j j j j
& b6 . . j J J . J .
& b11 J . J J . . .
& b16 j j j j j j
& b21 . . j
The Campbells are ComingFleischmann- 2315)
& b nVoice !
& b3
!
& b n5 ! !
& #8
!
& #10
!
& #12
!
& #14 !
ScalesMusic by: [Composer]Lyrics by: [Lyricist]
Arranged by [Arranger]
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Example 4.8. Fa mode, The Last Time I Came Thro the Muire55
Sol Mode
Example 4.9. Sol mode (G Doh)
Example 4.10. Sol mode, Bn-Chnoic ireann 56
55 Aloys Fleischmann, Sources of Irish Traditional Music c. 1600-1855: An Annotated Catalogue
of Prints and Manuscripts, 1583-1855, ed. Aloys Fleischmann, Vol. 1, 2 vols. (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998), 86.
56 San O'Boyle, The Irish Song Tradition (Toronto: Macmilian of Canada, 1976), 36.
& C J . J . J . J
&5
.
&9 . J . j . j . J
&14
. J
The Last Time I Came Thro' the Muire Fleischmann 445
& b nVoice !
& b3
!
& b n5 ! !
& #8
!
& #10
!
& #12
!
& #14 !
ScalesMusic by: [Composer]Lyrics by: [Lyricist]
Arranged by [Arranger]
& c # # 42! ! !
& # 42 Beir
j jbean nacht m'
chroi go
tir na
hi reann- -
& # Bn chnoic
i reann
Chun