Re: What is a Celtic mandolin?
Originally Posted by
Al Trujillo
I wonder if his intent was that Irish music became 'mainstream' and thus more popular. Pre-internet there was vinyl and radio and before that music probably moved slow as cultures were uprooted and moved across oceans. I agree that its been there for much longer than he states in the article but there are those, like me perhaps, who only discovered it just a few years ago. Does Flogging Molly count as proper Irish music??
If that's his point, he's wrong. Irish bands toured the east coast of the US and Canada since at least the early 20th century. My family in Atlantic Canada had numerous Irish jigs and reels in its collective repertoire (though we only have a touch of Irish in us), as did our neighbours. We called such music "old time" or "fiddle music", and not "Irish." It was from a fiddling neighbour in Windsor, Ontario, 2,000 kilometres away, that I first heard "Paddy On The Turnpike." There were various times when Irish music became mainstream in North America during the 20th century. Though I'd never heard of them, Tommy Makem and the Clancy's were very popular in the 50's and 60's folk revival. When I move around Ottawa, I meet numerous people, mainly over 55, but young folks too, who own their records and song books, and assume that every English, Scottish, or North American song in their repertoire is "Irish." These people also play and sing their songs. In the mid-70's, the Chieftains were introduced to mainstream audiences outside the British Isles, by playing the soundtrack to the popular movie, "Barry Lyndon." There were a great number of other well-known groups, both vocal and instrumental, influencing North American music. In the early 70's groups playing in their styles, tended to call themselves "Irish," though their repertoires were often wider. By the late 70's, the term "Celtic" was replacing Irish. In fact, by the early 80's, I was getting tired of hearing so much "Celtic music " in Canada. At that time, "Celtic" musicians didn't tend to play the old Canadian repertoire of Irish fiddle tunes, but preferred the style of Counties Kerry, Sligo and Mayo. I'd certainly never heard of a "slip jig" before this time, or thought of "polkas" as Irish music. One writer claims that, in the 1970's, the Scottish multi-instrumentalist, Robin Williamson, formerly of the Incredible Sting Band, coined the term "Celtic" as it is used to describe music today, though the Breton harpist, Alain Stivell, must have used "Celtic" about the same time. All of which goes to show how complex such matters are. We could probably have had a similar discussion about blues, bluegrass, or Balkan music, to name just a few -- and that's just getting up to the letter "B.".
Is the American band, "Flogging Molly," Irish? You'd have to ask the Irish what they think. (They aren't claiming the American song, "The Unicorn," by the way) I noticed someone on the Cafe has posted an arrangement of "My Way." It was written by Paul Anka, who was born and raised here in Ottawa (believe it or not, I live on Paul Anka Drive), but may well be an American citizen. It was popularized by Frank Sinatra, and improved by Sid Vicious. What culture do we attribute it to? I'd just call it "pop culture". However, if the Pogues do a version, someone will soon be singing it as a "Celtic song" at your local session.
Last edited by Ranald; Mar-15-2019 at 1:26pm.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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