CARTLANN
RÉGIÚNDA
COMHALTAS CEOLTÓIRÍ
ÉIREANN
REGIONAL
ARCHIVE
at
COIS
na hABHNA
|
Recent Releases from
County Clare Recent Releases
|
 The Archive has published A book of original tunes by Paddy O' Donoghue entitled "Ceol an Chláir". Click here for more about this noted traditional musician in pictures, words and a sound clip.
"Ceol
an Chláir" is available from the Archive. Write to |
About
the Archive
The archive is located at Cois na hAbhna, the Co. Clare headquarters of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Ennis.
|
||||||||
|
Cairde
na Ceardlainne
|
Published
Music from
Cois na hAbhna Archive. Video: Robbie McMahon C.D: Music,songs and folklore from Fanore C.D: Gaelcholaiste Ennis Ceili Band |
Irish Traditional Music Notes by Seamus MacMathuna |
Irish Traditional Music, Song, Dance and Folklore
Description
of the
Archive
The Regional Archive is a resource centre and a library of Irish
traditional
music, song, dance, and folklore relating mainly to County Clare.
Located at
Cois na hAbhna, Galway Road, Ennis, the heartland of Irish traditional
music
and Clare's headquarters of Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Eireann, the Archive
serves
as a focus of research in the local styles of the Munster area. While
the
Archive is a comparatively new venture, it already contains a large
collection
of material. This material exists in the following forms:
- Sound Recordings: records, 78s, LPs, EPs, Reel to Reel tapes, Audio Cassettes and CDs.
- Printed Material: ballad sheets, sheet music, instrument tutors, song books, dance studies, music studies histories, periodicals, programmes, catalogues, leaflets, posters and newspaper clippings.
- Visual: paintings, prints, photographs, video cassettes and DVDs. We also have a collection of old instruments and other interesting artefacts.
Major
Collections
Four main collections form the majority of the Archive's holdings.
- The Culturlann Archive Collection. This consists of recordings made and collected by Seamus McMathuna, Timire Cheoil C.C.E., covering a period from the late 1950s to the 1970s.
- The Vaughan Collection. Private recordings made by Joe Vaughan from Miltown Malbay during the 1960s.
- The McNamara Collection. Recording made by Martin McNamara from Scariff in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Recent Field Recordings. Volunteers and participants in the "Meet the Musician Project" have been gathering additional material since 1991.
Facilities
in the
Archive
Two fully equipped audio-visual stations provide the public with the
most
up-to-date means of extracting and researching material. A computer
index and
cataloguing programme are presently under way which will further
enhance the
service provided. The Archive policy is to make the collection as
accessible as
possible to the public, consistent with needs to insure the
preservation of the
material. None of the material in the collection is available for loan.
A small
research fee may apply and services such as photocopying will be at a
minimal
rate.
Irish
Traditional Music
Irish traditional music comes in two forms, vocal and instrumental. The
latter
is mostly dance music -- reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas, set dances,
mazurkas
-- the remainder being marches, slow airs (usually song tunes) and
planxties
(harpers' pieces which have survived from the 17th or 18th centuries).
These
tunes have various origins, but it is possible to state generally that
they
were mostly composed in the 18th and 19th centuries, that they were
passed down
aurally through generations of-music makers and that practitioners of
the art
of traditional music share a common approach and set of techniques in
their
interpretation of this music. Within this common approach there are
standards
-- accepted by performers and enlightened listeners -- by which one
judges a
musician's ability to interpret, rework and refurbish the old tunes,
through
the use of various forms of ornamentation and of melodic and rhythmic
variation. These variations and ornamentations are generally minor
ones,
involving just a few notes in a particular phrase of a tune, yet when
executed
with skill and subtlety they can show a considerable level of
imagination and
even creativity. One is more likely to find this kind of music where
music is
played for listening, rather than where the dance tunes are "belted
out" for the set, but even in the latter case the musician will usually
try to give the tunes that little bit extra in rhythm (called "lift"
or "swing" in traditional music) which will add extra zest to the
dancing.
Seamus MacMathuna
Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Eireann
Contact the Archive by Email at ceoltrad @ eircom.net
For sites related to the archive see the Clare CCE home page or the CCE home page in Ireland.
This web site
has been developed
behalf of CARTLANN
RÉGIÚNDA by Jim Vint, a
volunteer. It is based on published
materials
produced by Frank Whelan of the Archive.
----------------------------------
This page
was first posted
on November 5, 1997 and last updated on May 13, 2005.