Irish Music on the
Web
The
web offers hundreds of Irish music sites and many of them are what the Irish
would call, you should pardon the expression, "shite". Your best bet
is to ignore the web, stay at Eliza Lodge and wander the streets of Temple
Bar any night of the week with your ear cocked for the unmistakable sounds
of music - Irish. There's always a session or three on tap as well as
a Pint.
But, till you can arrange
your visit, here are some truly worthwhile web resources.
Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann
 The
National Organisation for Irish Traditional Music and Musicians has a site that
was recently re-designed and is starting to grow. There are hundreds of Comhaltas groups
scattered throughout Ireland and the world and if you're into traditional music, you're likely
to end up a member.
This is the voluntary group
that gave rebirth to Irish traditional music following Irish independence in
the 1920's. Stronger than ever, Comhaltas (pronounced Colt-us) has
put up a site with some information about the organisation. Better, there are
schedules of local comhaltas shows and overseas tours.
Unfortunately, there ain't
much music. But, more is being added all the time since the site's re-organisation in early 2007.
Turlough O'Carolan:
Irish Harper
Without a doubt, the greatest
of all traditional Irish composers was Turlough O'Carolan. O'Carolan, blind
and something of a rake and hellion, lived in the 18th century. His airs for
the Irish Harp are astonishing and the basis of the traditional repertoire.
 There
are a number of web sites devoted to O'Carolan. Nothing compares to the richness
of that most beautiful of all musical instruments, the Irish Harp. But, Midi
files do a surprisingly good job of capturing his melodies. This is because
his works survive only as single line melodies.
This site includes single
line melodies as well as full arrangements, and if your sound system is decent,
you can get some reasonable idea of the music. Midi files will play on almost
any computer setup you're likely to have, so don't worry. Click and enjoy. Your
PC or Mac will take care of the rest.
chiffandfipple.com
The ultimate guide to the Tin Whistle is how the site bills itself. But, it's crowning glory is a vast message board with more than 600,000 articles and loads of forums haunted by devotees of pipes, fiddles, whistles, accordions and the like. You can spend months in this site, following posts to YouTube videos of sessions, discussions about the intricacies of reeds and lively insights into Trad music. Highly recommended!
Irish
Abroad
 Here is possibly the single
largest compendium of links to the web sites of key Irish musicians and groups.
Irish Abroad, in case you haven't come across them before, does an excellent
job at being a worldwide resource for the Irish Diaspora.
Irish-Music.net
This is an older site put out by the monthly magazine
devoted to the Traditional Irish Music Scene. The key thing is that there are dozens and dozens of links that will lead you, eventually, to anything and everything about Irish traditional music.
Temple
Bar
Temple Bar Associates -
calendar of events in Temple Bar, Dublin's cultural quarter. The site includes a map of local cultural spots.
|
