...Heard it on the Grapevine
Companion to Irish Traditional Music launched in Dublin
Fintan Vallely busy signing at the launch
he launch of the Companion to Irish Traditional Music took place in The Royal Irish Academy / Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann, Dublin on November 24th, 2011. This unique encyclopedia covers the people, instruments, styles, repertoires and regions of past and present Irish Traditional music, song and dance.
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The book is edited by Fintan Vallely, with contributions from over 200 other musicians, writers and researchers. In A – Z format, it deals with all instruments and playing styles, repertoires, people, performance and transmission, media and professionalism, ideology, awards, standards and competition. The immense volume of biography, history and opinion is diverse yet comprehensive. Half a million words and several hundred images present facts, ideas and terminology, explore aesthetics and ideology, and document teaching, learning, study and performance.
The Companion carries extensive data on Irish Traditional music as it is played in all counties of the island of Ireland, as well as in Britain, Scotland, the USA and the major European countries. This marks the book as a compendium of not only what is being done and by whom, but also of where it is happening and in what way.
The Living Tradition - Page 8
A detailed time-line charts the history of music events, initiative and publications as prompted by and interwoven with history, and a categorized bibliography carries easy reference for all forms of enquiry. The book lays out the canon of Traditional music in Ireland as assembled by its significant performers, teachers and collectors, composers and arrangers, commentators, promoters, and audiences. It is an essential asset and a core reference for all research and further study in Irish studies, Irish music and ethnomusicology.
Mike Collins of Cork University Press coordinated the event and introduced the speakers: Professor Michael Cronin of Dublin City University discussed the book in the context of contemporary philosophical and sociological thinking. Nicholas Carolan, Director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, appraised the work as a contribution to research and access to information on Traditional music and its society. The editor, Fintan Vallely, acknowledged contributors and funding agencies, and elaborated on the significance of The Royal Irish Academy as the launch venue.
Some 200 people took part in the launch event. Present in the gathering were the ambassadors to Ireland of Canada and Bulgaria; representatives from
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