The study of 'Celtic' culture has been locked within modern nationalist paradigms, shaped by contemporary media, tourism, and labor migration. Celtic Modern collects critical essays on the global circulation of Celtic music, and the place of music in the construction of Celtic 'Imaginaries'. It provides detailed case studies of the global dimensions of Celtic music in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Brittany, and amongst Diasporas in Canada, the United States and Australia, with specific reference to pipe bands, traditional music education in Edinburgh, the politics of popular/traditional crossover...

The study of 'Celtic' culture has been locked within modern nationalist paradigms, shaped by contemporary media, tourism, and labor migration. Celtic Modern collects critical essays on the global circulation of Celtic music, and the place of music in the construction of Celtic 'Imaginaries'. It provides detailed case studies of the global dimensions of Celtic music in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Brittany, and amongst Diasporas in Canada, the United States and Australia, with specific reference to pipe bands, traditional music education in Edinburgh, the politics of popular/traditional crossover...

This resource aims to introduce Western audiences to what is perhaps the least known, heard or discussed urban folk-music in Europe. Although this music--Albanian urban song--is the most prominent of Albanian musical genres, it has continuously been overlooked by musicologists in favor of rural folk-music. Some commentators have implied that Albanian urban music was not as genuinely Albanian as the music of its mountains and countryside. But it is no less a part of the country's musical history, particularly in the twentieth century, and is equally as pure an expression of Albanian spirit and...

Taking as its subject the small Gaelic-speaking community of Tory Island off the Donegal coast of Ireland, On a Rock in the Middle of the Ocean tries to answer the deceptively simple question of why people sing. The book focuses on aspects of song transmission and performance, showing how early exposure to musical culture led certain individuals to be singled out and given special encouragement to express themselves. Individual desire and ability to overcome the rigors of social scrutiny are important factors in the development of an active public performer. In a special study of one song,...

Politically and historically, the Mediterranean has been a space for critical dialogue for competing and often antagonistic voices, and still functions as meeting place for diverse and interdisciplinary approaches. Although other academic disciplines have attempted a unified approach to Mediterranean studies, until recently Mediterranean music as a singular concept has received relatively little scholarly development. This volume is a crucial first step and investigates several musical cultures that have traditionally demonstrated common threads, trends, and interactions. The music of Greece,...

This book is an ethnomusicological investigation into traditional and contemporary music in Corsica, with a critical analysis of associated theoretical and ideological issues, focusing particularly on the evolution of musical activity and discourse since 1970.