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“800 Years We Have Been Down”: Rebel Songs And The Retrospective Reach Of The Irish Republican Narrative, Seán Ó Cadhla

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From the glamorous, cross-dressing “Rebel, Rebel” of David Bowie, to the righteous Trenchtown “Soul Rebel” of Bob Marley and The Wailers, both varied and various musical articulations of cultural and socio-political rebellion have long enjoyed a ubiquitous presence across multiple soundscapes. As a musicological delineator in Ireland, however, ‘rebel’ conveys a specifically political dynamic due to its consistent deployment as an all-encompassing descriptor for songs detailing events and personalities from the Irish national struggle. This paper sets out to examine the specific musical delineator of “rebel song” from both musicological and politico-ideological perspectives with a view to interrogating its appropriateness …

Ann Flood, Mairéad Farrell, And The Representation Of Armed Femininity In Irish Republican Ballads, Seán Ó Cadhla

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This article critically considers the representation of armed femininity within the attendant song tradition of Irish physical-force Republicanism, with specific focus on the personal and cultural consequences for two prominent female Republican activists, both of whom successfully traverse the gender demarcation lines of war. While noting the didactic, often misogynistic, trajectory of works narrating ‘transgressive’ females within the broader ballad tradition, this article seeks to determine whether or not the interwoven essentialist tropes of death, martyrdom and resurrection — all deeply-embedded ideological constructs within the framework of Irish Republicanism — successfully supersede calcified patriarchal mores and in so doing, facilitate …

“Young Men Of Erin, Our Dead Are Calling”: Death, Immortality And The Otherworld In Modern Irish Republican Ballads, Seán Ó Cadhla

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Irish physical-force Republicanism has long been noted for its tendency to promote the tropes of martyrdom and immortality as core tenets of its ideological belief system. This essay sets out to examine the genre of Republican death ballads so as to identify how such essentialist concepts are represented and promoted within the attendant song tradition. Particular attention will be paid to works that deploy overtly supernatural tropes in order to articulate the key Republican concept of heroic immortality. The present research will demonstrate the consistency with which such narrative devices have been retained within the Republican song tradition into the …

On Constructing A Sonic Gangbang: System And Subversion In Gerald Barry’S Chevaux-De-Frise, Mark Fitzgerald

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This paper examines Chevaux-de-frise by Gerald Barry. The work is from a transitional period in Barry's work forming a bridge between the work of the 1980s (most notably The Intelligence Park) and the more polyphonic work of the 1990s. The paper describes Barry's use of canonic devices and his manipulation of found material before making some brief links to later works from Barry's output.

In Search Of The Original "Skewball", Seán Ó Cadhla

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The well-known horseracing ballad ‘Skewball’ has been widely documented in oral tradition on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as on numerous English broadside printings. It recounts the tale of a mid-eighteenth-century horserace held at The Curragh of Kildare, in which a heavily-backed mare is comprehensively beaten by a relatively unknown skewbald gelding leaving the mare’s owner — along with much of the assembled onlookers — significantly out of pocket. The ballad became widely popularised in North America where it was first published in a song book in 1826 (Benton 1826:3-4). It was later subsumed into African-American song tradition, …

Horses For Discourses?: The Transition From Oral To Broadside Narrative In “Skewball”, Seán Ó Cadhla

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The well-known horse-racing ballad ‘Skewball’ (hereafter, SB) has a well-established oral tradition in Ireland, with versions documented throughout the eighteenth-,nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries. The latest is a 1979 field-recording of Derry folksinger and storyteller, Eddie Butcher (Shields 2011:58-9). The ballad was also assimilated into African-American oral tradition, in which it was reconstructed and renamed ‘Stewball’ (Scarborough 1925:61-4; Lomax 1994:68-71), and was still being documented in American folk tradition as late as the 1930s (Flanders 1939:172-4). In common with countless other folk songs, SB was appropriated by broadside printers and subsequently enjoyed widespread public appeal throughout England in the early- to …

New Tools In Improvised Music Performance., Seán Mac Erlaine

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This paper looks at the synthesis of computer technology and instrumental practice in improvised music performance. The emerging field of performers who use real-time signal processing as a technological extension of their instrument is discussed. How do new tools affect musical practice? Does the use of computers impose an associated aesthetic?

A number of key players are scrutinised including Evan Parker, La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Jon Hassell, Miles Davis, Pauline Oliveros, David Behrman. The research provides a historical context to these practices and explores how pre- and post-digital technologies have shaped their work.

This article identifies an innovative and …

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Siobhán Cleary, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Siobhán Cleary

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Michael Holohan, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Michael Holohan

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: John Mclachlan, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer John McLachlan

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Crash Ensemble, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Crash Ensemble

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Deirdre Gribbin, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Deirdre Gribbin

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Rob Canning, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Rob Canning

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Kevin Volans, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on Kevin Volans

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Jonathan Nangle, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Jonathan Nangle

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Point Theatre, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Point Theatre

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Royal Hospital Kilmainham

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Gráinne Mulvey, Adrian Smith

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Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Gráinne Mulvey

Poldowski Rediscovered, David Mooney

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This is a brief magazine article, commissioned to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the death of Poldowski. It contains a biographical sketch and a description of compositions.

The Harper's Legacy: National Airs And Pianoforte Music., Una Hunt

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No abstract provided.