AES Dublin 2019
Tutorial T15

Thursday, March 21, 12:45 — 14:15 (Liffey A)

T15 - Recording Irish Music

This session traces the recording activity that took place at first in the USA, where immigrant Irish musicians found good work playing to the large Irish communities in America. Recordings had a ready market (of course on 78-rpm discs), many of which were also pressed in UK and Ireland and that are often the only extant evidence of some legendary artists. We will play some of these, including the Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman, Leo Rowsome’s pipe band, and later recordings of, e.g., Michael Gorman, the Donegal fiddler John Doherty, and the family band of the McPeakes. Additionally we must remember that the classical music was enriched by John Field, who invented the “Nocturne” later popularized by Chopin. On the vocal front we cannot ignore Count John McCormack plus the many balladeers of popular songs. It may be only a slight exaggeration to say that preservation of the Irish Music tradition would be justification enough for the invention of recording.

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