Here we will examine the music of the Celts, from ancient to more recent. I will not cover much in the way of modern Celtic music, for the simple reason that (in my personal opinion), very little of it is Celtic in a true sense. (More on this anon.) Much of what is presented is based on a life-time of learning, researching, and playing the music myself, from youth, and what I have learned from the tradition bearers.
This is not a guarantee of accuracy, however, nor am I claiming to be the one and only arbiter of Celtic traditions or music. I can only pass on what I have learned and know - or think that I know! I am not a great musician by any means, or perhaps even a good one. (Depends on who you talk to or what day you hear me play!) But I have tried to faithfully and accurately reproduce the music of the Gaelic people who taught me as they themselves sing and play it, to the best of my ability.
As with everything on this site, some of the material is subject to speculation, conjecture, and opinion.
Wherever my personal views are expressed, they are labeled as such. When my conclusions differ from accepted opinion or "authority", I have tried to justify them by use of cross-disciplinary sources, and applying logic to the evidence. As new information becomes available, I will post it.
As to debate, there are many forums for that on the web, and some of the better of these will be given in the Links, including some to sites that may disagree with me, but who have excellent content. Because I don't have the time, energy, or desire to moderate a forum, I will not have one here, though anyone is free to send me a comment, pro or con, or a correction, etc. Accurate and interesting material (even that I don't agree with!) may be posted.
An Introduction to the History of Celtic Music
The musical traditions of the Celts have in recent years become of interest to the modern world, not only to the modern Celtic people, but to many from outwith the culture in every part of the globe.
To understand the character of the music, it is necessary to examine the character of those who made it. Thus, I will briefly review the background of the Celts. If more information is desired, the bibliography and prior articles will be of assistance.
Background
The Celts were an ethno-linguistic group. They were a typical tripartite Indo-European tribal culture (priests, warriors, farmers) governed by a military aristocracy and powerful priesthood.
Their economy centered on a pastoral-agrarian life, (particularly cattle and horses), and trade centered around salt and slaves as the principal exports, with wine, gold and bronze jewelry, pottery, and other manufactured goods as the main imports from Mediterranean trading nations.
They were also a warlike people and commanded a vast territory at their height. However, the lack of any form of central government led to a series of defeats by their enemies, and to their eventual conquest and domination by the expanding Roman Empire.
Despite their bloodthirsty tendencies, the literary and scholastic abilities of the Celts were widely recognized by their Mediterranean neighbors. Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC Greek historian) described the Druids as "...philosophers and theologians...", and further stated; "...they are quick of mind and with good natural ability for learning." This seems to be a common thread in Classical descriptions of the Celts.
Though a non-literate culture, the Celts probably (based on the prolific work recorded in more recent times) produced a large volume of oral traditional poetry and legends, much of the epic type. These included battle incitements and other compositions one would associate with such a warlike people.
Evidence of the nature of these lost pieces can be gained by study of later Celtic vernacular literary remains, and other sources including historic commentators and heroic literature from other Indo-European cultures. Archaeology can be incorporated to confirm many aspects of their life learned from the literature.
Surviving Celtic vernacular literature is from a much later historic period, being first recorded c. 8th century AD. Though of relatively recent date in their written form, they afford us many valuable clues about earlier Celtic and even Indo-European beliefs and practices because of the tenacious inherent conservativism of the Celtic cultures. This gives us an insight into their society that could not otherwise be achieved. Kenneth H. Jackson once said that the stories provide us with; "…a window on the Iron Age." Of Conchobar's palace in the great Irish epic, the "Taín Bó Cuaílgne" (Cattle Raid of Cooley), we are told;
"His household was very handsome... gold of sword hilts and... grey javelins... and in the sets of goblets, cups and drinking horns... 150 inner rooms each holding three couples,...paneled with red yew.... Conchobar's own room, guarded by screens of copper with silver bars, and gold bird's heads, and precious jewels for the bird's eyes."
This relates a legendary war between the Ulstermen and the "Men of Ireland" (c. 1st century A.D.), led by Mebh, Queen of Connaught. As in many of the tales and songs, some of the motifs probably date far back into earlier Celtic and Indo-European lore.
Mebh was likely a euhemerized version of the Goddess-spirit of Connaught, the recurring motif of a female divinity who represents the right to rule, and who must be "wed" in order to attain the kingship. This would explain her repeated offering of her lands, cattle, and the sexual favors of herself and / or her daughter to the champions she wishes to oppose the hero Cuchullain, the great "Hound of Cullann" war champion of the men of Ulster.
Cuchullainn himself is an interesting character. A great hero among the early Irish and Scots Gaels, he would seem a sociopathic killer by modern standards. (But then, most Celtic and other "warrior society" heroes would seem so today.)
His boyhood name, Setanta, seems possibly cognate with or related to the British tribe known as the Setantii, who dwelt on the Lancashire coast. This has led to some interesting, although diverse, speculation that perhaps he was either a euhemerized god of the Setantii British Celts that had somehow transferred to Ireland, or, if a real person, that he was a sort of "hired gun" for Conchobhar {or perhaps hired spear or sword would be more accurate}. His story does bear all the hallmarks of the classic "Hero" - the singularities surrounding his birth and childhood, his almost supernatural prowess at an extremely early age, etc.
The Indo-European connection is also apparent when one compares the poetry from other Indo-European cultures – the Bhagavad Ghita and Rig-Vedas offer ample scope for comparison, as do the lines of Homer, especially in the Iliad. (I will soon offer here selected lines from these and other texts, thousands of years in time and thousands of miles apart in space from one another.)
Archaeology confirms the wealth of these people by such spectacular finds as the tombs at Vix and Hochdorf among others. Many of these agree in detail with the descriptions afforded by the legends and songs. Thus we find through the media of Classical Mediterranean authors, archeological remains, and the native vernacular literature, a complex, energetic and volatile people.
Nature of the Music
I will first define what constitutes "Celtic" music. Celtic music, as with all cultural expressions, has changed over the years, and continues to change, ever faster and more radically diverging from its roots in modern times. Also, there is much debate on what should be included under the term, which has been applied very indiscriminately in past years. Indeed, the term itself is rather a recent one, as formerly the music was described by regions or countries as "Irish", "Scottish", "Welsh", etc.
For our purposes, Celtic music will be rather narrowly defined here as that music, both vocal and instrumental, which is composed in a native (i.e.; Celtic) language (and/or that linguistic/cultural tradition) by people either trained in or following the forms of the Celtic bardic schools, or by their cultural heirs, and which adheres to certain musical forms directly developed in or derived from those sources.
This deliberately excludes most pieces and instrumentation imported or introduced from outside the native traditions and languages in the last 175 years or more, even when these were part of the repertoire of (for example) the Scottish court.
It also excludes most Irish and Scottish music and song in the English language dialects spoken in Ireland and Scotland. Although this music comprises a vast and interesting corpus, and much is derived from Celtic antecedants, most of it is not "Celtic" except in terms of geography, or even derived from Celtic music. Also, it has been widely studied and written of elsewhere.
Examples of instruments would be the lute and rebec, and of vocal music, Latin, Anglo-irish, and Broad Scots ("Lallans") songs, etc., except where they directly reflect Celtic origins or influences. These are distinct from the indigenous music and culture, and are covered in detail by other authors. (See Bibliography )
I also purposely excluded that large and growing part of the body of the music that is clearly not of Celtic origin (as defined above). This includes that music which is so strongly influenced by material from outwith the native tradition as to have lost its aboriginal nature, although perhaps still in a native tongue. (I might add that I give much credit to those artists who record in Celtic languages, albeit outwith the strictly traditional genre. They serve their purpose, and are at least true to their tongue.)
Much of the current flurry of "Celtic" recordings and marketing is an attempt by the mainstream artists and media moguls to cash in on the "Celtic" and other "World Music” interest.
I based my decision on three factors: first, the work of linguists who have demonstrated that the rhythm of a language drives the rhythm of its native music (as opposed to music from outwith the culture). Therefore, to be truly "Celtic" (or Turkish, or whatever the ethno-linguistic group), the music must be in or from the relevant native linguistic and cultural tradition. I also wanted to narrow the scope of the material, which would otherwise be quite unmanageable even for an encyclopedia. Last, I firmly believe that true "Celtic" music springs from the heart and soul of Celtic-speaking people, from their total experience as a people, from their work, love, war, and play. In this I follow my mentors in the music and language, and such great exponents of the traditional music as the late Willy Clancy, Joe Heaney, and many others, who held similar views.
I will focus on the music of Ireland and Scotland primarily, as those are the traditions I am most acquainted with, though some of the commentary would also apply to the other Celtic traditions of Britain (Manx, Welsh, Cornish), and to some extent, to those of Brittany and Galicia. I will also touch lightly on those traditions. I hope that those better versed in those traditions than I will see fit to add their knowledge to this section in the future.
Much of the earliest native Celtic music, (where age can be ascertained), and in that music which borrows from the older melodies, is in modal form. This is true of much of the native music of the entire world. These forms are still common world-wide, but the twelve tone major scale has gained steadily, reaching a /flowering in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, in the various forms now known collectively as Classical (though widely known in the 17th and 18th centuries as "Italian" from the place it is considered to have originated and flourished). A better term is European art music, as its rules and forms are constant from nation to nation, regardless of their native forms, and entirely separate from them.
Some information on musical scales, modes, and the theoretical aspects of music might be useful. To provide a more detailed treatment for those interested, I will be appending quotations from several very interesting papers and works from a variety of sources.
The modal forms seem to be the earliest in Celtic music. It should be noted that there are those who believe the major scale was in wide use far earlier, though it seems to have been largely unrecorded if it was. I do not put this past the realms of possibility. It is quite possible that these scales coexisted. However, many musical scholars believe that major music “evolved” from earlier and simpler forms.
As in most cultures, the voice was probably the first instrument, perhaps in imitation of natural sounds such as bird or animal calls for hunting, or as ritual charm-songs, praises of hunters and heroes, etc. Instrumental music followed later, probably at first as an imitation of the singing voice. This occurred relatively early. There are Neolithic examples of bone flutes or whistles, which demonstrates attempts at an early stage to produce music. One would also surmise the existence of some form of percussion, and, (particularly in the case of bow cultures), strings, though due to the transitory nature of the materials used, none of these have survived, at least in recognizable form.
Native Celtic music (as opposed to that adopted or adapted from outwith), exhibits this modal trait very strongly, being a conscious effort to imitate the Gaelic singing voice.
The main categories of music examined here will include vocal, strings, brass, and woodwinds, and their manner of execution. Some of the instruments (such as the harp and the pipes) are or were common to all the Celtic nations, though I will deal in the main with Ireland and Scotland for the reasons given above. I hope that I can later broaden this with material from those more familiar with the other Celtic genre than I.
