| dc.description.abstract | Performance practice and aesthetics is an under-researched area in Scottish
Gaelic song. Previous studies have focused on text rather than context, and there is a
significant lack of information from the singers themselves, in their own words, as to
how they view their own tradition of singing and performance. The objective of this
study is to present an overview of modern performance practice and aesthetics in
Scottish Gaelic singing, based primarily on what singers believe to be important.
The scope is not meant to be exhaustive; rather the purpose is to serve as a
preliminary study of Gaelic singing and promote discussion in the topic. Located in
the field of ethnomusicology, it will consider not just the musical sounds produced,
but the performance as a whole, and consequently the research is divided into the
four topics of aesthetics; singing styles and vocal techniques; performance contexts;
and repertoire selection and transmission. The data were collected primarily through
fieldwork, combining interviews with fifteen Gaelic singers of different ages and
experience in Gaelic song with participant-observation at céilidhs, formal concerts,
and Gaelic singing classes. The information gathered is revealing, indicating that,
although singers have a clear sense of what is important to them in their singing,
there is no universal set of criteria with which every singer agrees. Certain aspects of
singing might inspire very definite opinions in some singers, and ambivalence in
others. But one prominent theme to have emerged, that appears to pervade
throughout modern Gaelic singing, is the juxtaposition of preservation versus
innovation. This manifests itself in many different ways, such as the contrasting
contexts of céilidh and concert hall; the contradictory opinions of how much interpretation is acceptable; whether or not singers choose songs based on the
traditional criterion of the poetry, or for the melody; whether or not accompaniment
or choral singing has a place in traditional Gaelic song; and whether or not their
repertoire selection is affected by the taste of modern, often non-Gaelic-speaking,
audiences. All of this certainly reflects the state of change in which the world of
Gaelic singing finds itself, with more external influences than ever before, and facing
the question of whether or not it can survive if it is not relevant for modern singers
and audiences. | en |
