Foreign Bodies in the River of Sound
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FOREIGN BODIES IN THE RIVER OF SOUND SEEKING IDENTITY AND IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC Helen O’Shea Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social Sciences Faculty of Arts Victoria University of Technology 2005 CONTENTS Images................................................................................................................................ v Musical Examples............................................................................................................ vi Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ix Declaration........................................................................................................................ x Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1 THE RESEARCHER’S QUEST: THEORIZING MUSIC AND IDENTITY ..................... 6 1.1 Identifying identity .................................................................................................. 6 1.2 Theorizing music.................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Understanding Irish music..................................................................................... 21 1.4 The researcher’s quest............................................................................................ 25 Chapter 2 WHEN SMILING EYES ARE TEARFUL: THE HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF IRISH MUSIC ............................................................................................................ 38 2.1 Music and autonomy............................................................................................. 40 2.2 The genesis of an Irish canon................................................................................. 42 2.3 Cultural revival in nineteenth-century Ireland....................................................... 46 2.4 Cultural revival and de-Anglicization................................................................... 49 2.5 Dance music joins the Irish music canon............................................................... 52 2.6 Cultural nationalism and the modernist project................................................... 54 2.7 The gelded harp: Irish music and colonial inversion............................................. 58 Chapter 3 OFF THE RECORD: HOW IRISH DANCE MUSIC BECAME TRADITIONAL......... 64 3.1 ‘Farewell to Ireland’: Michael Coleman and modernity........................................ 66 3.2 ‘Far from Home’: The impact of the American recordings.................................... 70 3.3 ‘Sweet Jesus, ‘tis a gift!’ Paddy Canny and P. J. Hayes........................................ 75 3.4 ‘The Holy Land’: The Church, the State and Irish music...................................... 81 3.5 Paddy in the Smoke: Irish music and the sound of modernity ............................... 89 3.6 ‘The Boys of the Town’: The sound of the session................................................ 95 Helen O’Shea 2004 ii 3.7 The Chieftains: Irish traditional art music ............................................................ 99 3.8 ‘The Woman of the House’: Women’s musical participation ............................. 102 3.9 Traditional music in a reformed economy........................................................... 103 Chapter 4 MUSICAL COMMUNITIES: IDENTIFYING (WITH) IRISH MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA............................................................................................................ 108 4.1 A musical scene...................................................................................................... 110 4.2 Discovering an ideal musical community .............................................................. 113 4.3 ‘Grabbing it’: Learning to play Irish traditional music .......................................... 118 4.4 The session: Playing with the rules........................................................................ 123 4.5 Contesting authority in the session........................................................................ 125 4.6 Rejecting Danny Boy.............................................................................................. 132 4.7 The changing identity of the Irish in Australia ...................................................... 134 Chapter 5 MUSICAL PILGRIMS ................................................................................................... 144 5.1 Ireland of the welcomes....................................................................................... 147 5.2 Cultural pilgrimages............................................................................................. 156 5.3 Musical pilgrims................................................................................................... 159 5.4 Communitas at Willie Week ................................................................................. 167 5.5 Caritas at Willie Week.......................................................................................... 170 5.6 Seeking identity in postmodernity....................................................................... 173 Chapter 6 MUSICAL COMMUNITIES: PLAYING UP IN THE SESSION ................................. 177 6.1 Theorizing collective musical identities............................................................... 178 6.2 Romancing the session........................................................................................ 182 6.3 Musical chairs at Pepper’s .................................................................................. 186 6.4 Being in the centre at Lena’s................................................................................ 190 6.5 Codifying the session........................................................................................... 196 6.6 Lovely girls: Negotiating the gendered space of the session............................... 202 6.7 Sounding different ............................................................................................... 205 6.8 Musical community in the pub session................................................................ 209 Helen O’Shea 2004 iii Chapter 7 FINDING A PLACE IN IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC.............................................. 212 7.1 Recognizing regional style in Irish traditional music ........................................... 213 7.2 Locating home in East Clare................................................................................ 223 7.3 The music is of the land and the people: Mary MacNamara ............................. 226 7.4 Nostalgia and the lonesome touch ...................................................................... 233 7.5 Music at home and away: Martin Hayes............................................................ 241 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................. 249 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................... 254 Helen O’Shea 2004 iv IMAGES 1 facing page 118 ‘The Morning Dew’ as a standard transcription. 2 facing page 118 ‘The Morning Dew’ in ABC notation. 3 facing page 119 ‘The Morning Dew’ as a complex transcription. 4 facing page 151 ‘Lakeside Cottages’ (oil on canvas: Paul Henry). 5 facing page 151 ‘Timeless’ cottage (photo: Jill Uris). 6 facing page 185 A session at Pepper’s Pub, Feakle, Co Clare (photo: Frank Miller) 7 facing page 200 Codifying the session (Ó hAllmurháin 1998: 160). 8 facing page 225 Tulla’s pipe band (photo: Helen O’Shea). 9 facing page 225 The Tulla Millennium Stone (photo: Helen O’Shea). 10 facing page 226 The priest (photo: Helen O’Shea). 11 facing page 226 The politician (photo: Helen O’Shea). 12 facing page 226 The guard (photo: Helen O’Shea). 13 facing page 226 The Tulla Millennium Stone revealed (photo: Helen O’Shea). 14 facing page 227 Water pump, Tulla, sporting Co. Clare colours (photo: Helen O’Shea). 15 facing page 227 Shop display, Tulla, sporting Co. Clare colours (photo: Helen O’Shea). 16 facing page 228 Mary MacNamara (photo: Mícheál Ó Catháin). 17 facing page 234 ‘Wet. Pain’ (photo: Steve Pyke) (O’Grady 1997: 93). 18 facing page 234 Josephine Marsh (photo: Christy McNamara (Woods 1997: 76). 19 facing page 234 Josephine Marsh (photo: Helen O’Shea). 20 facing page 228 Martin Hayes (with P. J. Hayes) (oil on canvas: Catharine Kingcome). Helen O’Shea 2004 v MUSICAL EXAMPLES 1 (CD1, Track 01) Gaelic Storm, ‘An Irish Party in Third Class’ (including ‘John Ryan’s Polka’ and ‘Blarney Pilgrim’). Back to Titanic (1998). New York: Sony Music Entertainment Inc., SK60691. 2 (CD1, Track 02) James Horner (conductor) and Sissel (vocals) ‘Rose’. Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture (1997). New York: Sony Music Entertainment Inc., SK63213. 3 (CD1, Track 03) Kathleen Loughnane and Dordán, ‘Lady Dillon’. Ceol na Gealaí: ‘Jigs to the Moon’ (1994). Dublin: Gael Linn, CEFCD168. 4 (CD1, Track 04) Nioclás Tóibín, ‘Cáit Ní Dhuibhir’ (Kate O’Dwyer). Ceol na hÉireann: The Traditional Music of Ireland from the Sound Archives of RTÉ (nd). Dublin: Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Recorded 1964. 5 (CD1, Track 05) Julie Mulvihill, ‘Cáit Ní Dhuibhir’ (Kate O’Dwyer). Ceol na hÉireann: