Music & Dance
Ceol ⁊ Damhsa
Traditional Irish music and dance are vibrant and integral parts of our culture. Irish music is often played on instruments such as the fiddle, tin whistle, flute, bodhrán, accordion, harp, and uilleann pipes (a type of bagpipe about as loud as a fiddle). The melodies can be hauntingly beautiful or exuberantly joyful, evoking a range of emotions, and are deeply rooted in tradition. Tunes are often passing down from one generation to the next entirely through listening. Irish music is often played during social gatherings where people dance, sing, tell stories, and recite poetry together. Pub sessions, where the focus is on playing wordless tunes, is thought to have started first among Irish emigrants in places like England. Irish music has also influenced Canadian instrumental folk music, particularly old-time fiddling, where many Irish tunes have been played continuously since they were first brought by Irish immigrants. The Ottawa Valley fiddling style, with its deep Irish roots, has had a wide influence in Canada.
Sean Nós Singing
Sean nós singing is a traditional style of unaccompanied singing. The term "sean nós" translates to "old style,” and it refers to a deeply expressive and ornamented form of singing that has been passed down through generations. The term “sean nós” is modern. Singing this way is so common that many (if not most) speakers simply call this “amhránaíocht,” meaning “singing.”
Irish influences can be heard in the repertoire of Canadian traditional singers, with many folksongs set to Irish tunes and following Irish verse patterns. There are also traditional Irish language songs that were created here in Canada.
Sean nós singing has several features that make it unique:
Sean nós singing is known for its ornamentation. Singers add extra sounds to the melody, like trills and rolls. These make the music more interesting and emotional.
Sean nós singing usually doesn't have any instruments playing in the background. It's just the singer's voice. The focus is on the singer and how they perform the song.
Unlike other kinds of music, sean nós singing doesn't have a regular beat or rhythm. The singer follows the natural flow of the words, making the music more free and flexible.
Many sean nós songs tell stories. They can be about love, sad things, history, or even old myths. The singer's job is to be a conduit to share the emotions and tell the story of the original composer through their singing.
Learn songs from the oral record
Lilting
Lilting, “portaireacht” in Irish, is a style of singing without using actual words or lyrics. Instead, the singer produces a rhythmic and melodic series of sounds, imitating the sounds of instruments, such as fiddles or uilleann pipes.
In Irish lilting, the singer uses various vocal techniques, including rapid and repetitive vowel and consonant sounds and vocalized rhythmic patterns to evoke the ornamentation of Irish tunes. The melodies are often lively and syncopated, reflecting the energetic nature of traditional Irish music. It is performed as a solo vocal art, showcasing the singer's skill in reproducing complex tunes and rhythms.
Lilting serves as a form of accompaniment or substitute for instrumental music, especially in social gatherings and dances. During harder time of previous centuries, when Irish speakers were unable to own instruments, lilting helped to transmit tunes orally to the next generation.
Dance
Irish dance is known for its quick and fancy footwork, intricate patterns, and precise movements. Traditional dance in Ireland has an very long recorded history, with some common modern dances being mentioned in writing for almost 500 years. Modern step dancing is famous, but there's also a more traditional style called sean nós, which is looser and more flowing.
Starting in the 1820s, Irish immigrants to Ontario, Canada, developed their own form called “Ottawa Valley Step”.
Céilí dances are danced by any number of couples, and are usually a single loop of movements to one temp of music that is continued until all have had a chance to lead the dance. In céilí dances, any number of couples can participate, and they dance in a loop until everyone has a turn leading.
Set dancing is for a specific number of couples, usually four, and involves different patterns (called figures) with breaks and changes in the music. Traditional dance includes a number of different styles including:
Rincí Céimeanna (Step Dances)
Single and double jigs, single reels, hornpipes, hop-times.
Rincí Áirithe (Figure Dances)
Such as St. Patrick’s Day, the Blackbird, Etc. Usually danced solo or in very small groups to tunes that have an irregular structure (that is, tunes which are not two parts of eight bars).
Rincí Fite (Round Dances)
Such as the 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16-hand reels and jigs.
Rincí Fada / Rincí Móra (Set Dances)
Sets of figures for usually 4 couples of 8 dancers, with each figure often starting and ending the same, such as the Kerry Set.
Dance Instructions (Members)
Dance Terms
Lead Around – Gabháil timpeall
Body – An corp
Figures - Sosa
Dance up centre – Suas i lár baill
Right-hands across – Deaslámha trasna
Right-left chain – Lámh ar lámh timpeall
Half right-and-left – Trasna leataobh
Hands round – Fáinne
Link arms – Uillinn in uillinn
Full chain – Lán-tslabhra
Return chain – Slabhra fillte
Skip across – Scinneadh trasna
Back-to-back – Cúl le cúl
Set all round – Fáinne isteach ‘s amach
Swing into line – Dá rang isteach
Double ¼ chain – Slabhra an dá cheathrú
Advance and retire – ar aghaidh is ar chúl
Figure of 8 – An dá lúb
Hands round four – Fáinne triúir is ceathrair
Ladies’ chain – Slabhra ban
Men’s chain – Slabhra fear
Ladies’ right hand in centre – Na mná isteach
Men’s right hand in centre – Na fir isteach
Advance through centre – Idir an bheirt thall
Centre meet – Trasna i lár baill
Right-hand to opposite lady - Deaslámha anonn
Hands across – Ar aghaidh is lámha trasna
Centre cross – Snaidhm an chúil
Circle and cross – Fáinne agus bosa isteach
Loop and swing – Lúb na péiste
Link at back – Uilinn in uilinn laistiar
Arch arms – Lámha in airde
Finish - Deireadh