Seán Ó Riada Memorial Lecture

‘Transforming Carolan’ Sandra Joyce, (IWAMD, UL), 9th February 2012

The life and music of the Irish harper/composer Turlough Carolan (1670-1738) have been imagined and re-imagined in many different cultural contexts from the eighteenth century. These imaginings frequently occur through engagement with sources of Carolan's music, as the primary means by which this music has survived. Carolan is often regarded as a transitional figure between the worlds of classical and traditional music, between patrons of different classes and religions, between the orality of the old Irish harping tradition and literate sources which preserve this tradition.

This lecture highlights the vibrancy and changing performance contexts of Carolan's music as it was transformed in different musical and cultural settings in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, reflecting social issues, commodification, audiences, politics and class.

Dr Sandra Joyce is currently Acting Associate Director of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick. She is also Course Director of the MA Irish Traditional Music Performance, having designed this programme, and the BA Irish Music and Dance, with Niall Keegan and Professor Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. Her research interests include Irish traditional song, the Irish harp, and historical sources of Irish traditional music. She performs regularly as a singer and bodhrán player.

Presented by the Department of Music, the Irish Traditional Music Archive and the Irish Traditional Music Society, UCC – Thursday, 09 February, 5:00 pm - Ó Riada Hall, Music Building, UCC. Admission Free.