The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
I'm sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, but apparently a new directive has just been issued from the EEC offices in Brussels, at midnight Europaen Time, ( the bastards ! don't they always sneak bad news in when nobody's watching ? ) that all traditional culture within the EEC, obviously including music, is going to be reorganised and categorised under a new series of regions. These will cut across current political boundaries where it has been felt necessary for cultural reasons.
The most important one for us is obviously Celtic; this definition will include the following areas; Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Northumberland and Durham, Cornwall, Brittany, and Galicia. Norse will consist of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Shetlands; the Anglo-Saxon region will consist of what remains of England, plus Holland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal, who for old political reasons flatly refused to be included with; the Romance countries; France, Spain, and Italy. Greece will be included in a region ( I forget the name, I skip-read this bit ) with all those little countries that fell out of Yugoslavia, plus Albania and Turkey ( whenever it gets into the EEC finally ). Eastern Europe obviously gets amalgamated into various clumps as well, I didn't bother to look further.
The implications of this seem to be huge. Just as an example, CCE will not be able to disqualify anyone for not playing in a traditional irish style, so long as it is part of the wider Celtic tradition. They will have to include all the other pipers, including the lowland, smallpipes both scots and northumbrian, etc ( Kathryn Tickell for the Gold Medal, Yah ! ); and obviously scots players of the clarsach and welsh triple-harpers too.
As for us, for instance myself, playing celtic music in an anglosaxon area, although we will be permitted to do so, we will be required both to label and present our music as being from outside our own region, and only do so under strict licence from the Europaen Commissioners.
This may well come as a shock, especially to those across the Atlantic. I know many of you consider that you have been keeping the flame of ITM alive since your great-great-grandparents came over on the famine ships, but here in Europe many things have changed since then,we're all europaens now ( except for my SO as I married an alien ), and we have accepted this federalist type of central government ( not too unlike the US of A in some ways ) and have to accept these dictats passed down from on high without complaint.
Hopefully, like the new Licensing Act in England, this may ultimately prove to be a good rather than a bad thing.
As Mike Cooney wrote on my SO's album sleeve, "Canta y no llores."
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Belgium, Holland and Germany are each an hour ahead of the UK, so thesession.org's server could be in one of those countries. An authoritative comment from an eminent source - possible nonattributable - would be interesting.
BTW, Jeremy sets out in http://adactio.com/portfolio/thesession.php a useful history of the technical development of thesession.org, its interface and design. In fact, the whole of adactio.com is well worth a good browse through.
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Pete! You forgot to mention: Any and all traditional musicians will be stamped with a UPC seal, to make sure their precise musicethnological designations are precisely aligned. Don't worry, folks, won't hurt a bit!
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Well, obviously I was straying beyond the liimits of my regional knowledge - I do know a Belgian restaurant in Chalk Farm, and the one statistic I know of Belgium is that, apparently, they eat more chips per head than any other country in Europe. Also I can name three famous Belgians; Jaques Brel, Eddie Merckx, and Hercule Poirot. There ! And they speak two languages.
Now name three famous Canadians; ( Pierre and Margaret Trudeau only count as one ) ; Joni Mitchell, Steve Stills, Neil Diamond, Donald Sutherland..........
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Cromwell apparently celebrated the marrige of his daughter with much music, high jinks, and frivolity ( someone find me the original quote, please ).
Didn't deserve to have his head dug up and displayed.
Apparently what particularly offended his puritan soul about the irish was that they slept naked. What's that to him, tell him to mind his own business !
The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
I'm sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, but apparently a new directive has just been issued from the EEC offices in Brussels, at midnight Europaen Time, ( the bastards ! don't they always sneak bad news in when nobody's watching ? ) that all traditional culture within the EEC, obviously including music, is going to be reorganised and categorised under a new series of regions. These will cut across current political boundaries where it has been felt necessary for cultural reasons.
The most important one for us is obviously Celtic; this definition will include the following areas; Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Northumberland and Durham, Cornwall, Brittany, and Galicia. Norse will consist of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Shetlands; the Anglo-Saxon region will consist of what remains of England, plus Holland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal, who for old political reasons flatly refused to be included with; the Romance countries; France, Spain, and Italy. Greece will be included in a region ( I forget the name, I skip-read this bit ) with all those little countries that fell out of Yugoslavia, plus Albania and Turkey ( whenever it gets into the EEC finally ). Eastern Europe obviously gets amalgamated into various clumps as well, I didn't bother to look further.
The implications of this seem to be huge. Just as an example, CCE will not be able to disqualify anyone for not playing in a traditional irish style, so long as it is part of the wider Celtic tradition. They will have to include all the other pipers, including the lowland, smallpipes both scots and northumbrian, etc ( Kathryn Tickell for the Gold Medal, Yah ! ); and obviously scots players of the clarsach and welsh triple-harpers too.
As for us, for instance myself, playing celtic music in an anglosaxon area, although we will be permitted to do so, we will be required both to label and present our music as being from outside our own region, and only do so under strict licence from the Europaen Commissioners.
This may well come as a shock, especially to those across the Atlantic. I know many of you consider that you have been keeping the flame of ITM alive since your great-great-grandparents came over on the famine ships, but here in Europe many things have changed since then,we're all europaens now ( except for my SO as I married an alien ), and we have accepted this federalist type of central government ( not too unlike the US of A in some ways ) and have to accept these dictats passed down from on high without complaint.
Hopefully, like the new Licensing Act in England, this may ultimately prove to be a good rather than a bad thing.
As Mike Cooney wrote on my SO's album sleeve, "Canta y no llores."
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Oi Pete! It's still the 31st March here.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Ron P
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Wait a minute, where's thesession.org's server? - it's obviously an hour ahead.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Ron P
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
No, no I checked the date before posting.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Dont worry Guernsey Pete the more music the better.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Bog_Trotter
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
HELL---LO! WHAT?!!? It's not what, but WHEN!
Does April 1st mean anything to you??
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by oldstrings
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Well done, Guernsey Pete! At a glance, looks highly researched and just what Big Brother might come up with next.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by oldstrings
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
An elaborate April Fools, perhaps?
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by TyroneMick
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
There's a tradition I'm trying to maintain here, folks.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Think I got what?!!? the first time around.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Computers don't lie - check the date on the posting. How could that be wrong ? Jeremy wouldn't make a mistake.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
I'm just worried that you're going to give somebody in the EU government ideas.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Murph
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Belgium, Holland and Germany are each an hour ahead of the UK, so thesession.org's server could be in one of those countries. An authoritative comment from an eminent source - possible nonattributable
- would be interesting.
BTW, Jeremy sets out in http://adactio.com/portfolio/thesession.php a useful history of the technical development of thesession.org, its interface and design. In fact, the whole of adactio.com is well worth a good browse through.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by lazyhound
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Pete! You forgot to mention: Any and all traditional musicians will be stamped with a UPC seal, to make sure their precise musicethnological designations are precisely aligned. Don't worry, folks, won't hurt a bit!
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by sts
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
I love all this EC terminology.....I hope they apply it to the letter of the law. Rethink here..nah ....just another shower of old farts !
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Strathfoyle
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Us in Germany being classed as Anglo-Saxons? I wonder what the Bavarians will make of that
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by kuec
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
There will also be deep, deep problems if anyone tries to classify the whole of Belgium under either Anglo-Saxon or Romance.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by lazyhound
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Well, obviously I was straying beyond the liimits of my regional knowledge - I do know a Belgian restaurant in Chalk Farm, and the one statistic I know of Belgium is that, apparently, they eat more chips per head than any other country in Europe. Also I can name three famous Belgians; Jaques Brel, Eddie Merckx, and Hercule Poirot. There ! And they speak two languages.
Now name three famous Canadians; ( Pierre and Margaret Trudeau only count as one ) ; Joni Mitchell, Steve Stills, Neil Diamond, Donald Sutherland..........
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
...Leonard Cohen, Jack Kerouac.........
Three famous Welshman; St Patrick, Catherine Zeta Jones, Tom Jones ( oh, he's SIR Tom now ),.....
This is fun.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Three famous new zealanders anyone???........
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Aberandy
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Edmund Hillarey, Rutherford, Brendan Power
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Patkiwi
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Mmm three famous Scousers. Nope, sorry, it's just not possible to name less than four.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by flossie
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Calling Cromwell, the original English/Irish republican and parliamentarian, a facist must be an April fool. He was a good viola pplayer as well.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by bodhran bliss
Re: The end of Irish Traditional Music as we know it .
Cromwell apparently celebrated the marrige of his daughter with much music, high jinks, and frivolity ( someone find me the original quote, please ).
Didn't deserve to have his head dug up and displayed.
Apparently what particularly offended his puritan soul about the irish was that they slept naked. What's that to him, tell him to mind his own business !
# Posted on April 2nd 2006 by Guernsey Pete