Companion to Irish Traditional Music
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Companion to Irish Traditional Music
24.11.2011

The second edition of the Companion to Irish Traditional Music will be introduced by Professor Michael Cronin (DCU) and launched by Nicholas Carolan (Director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive) today ( November 24th 2011) at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.  This second edition is not only revised but also greatly expanded, and has much new information, including material never before printed and unavailable elsewhere. In 1,750 individual articles and as many more sub-sections The Companion gives A-Z coverage of song, dance, instruments, bands, storytelling, technology, tunes and style, composition, organisations and promotion, education and transmission, collectors and archives, revival, broadcasting and recording, English, Scottish and Welsh music and song, and music in all Irish counties, Europe and the USA-Companion to Irish Traditional Music is edited Fintan (Cork University Press, ISBN 978 185918 450 9, sbk, 856pp, 245 x 175mm, €59/£50).

The editor Fintan Vallely is himself an accomplished musician and music writer. He has harnessed the expertise of some  200 specialists from all aspects of traditional music, who in more than half a million words and 300 images present the most comprehensive image of Irish traditional music ever assembled.  This detailed mosaic is coloured by history, ideology, scholarship, virtuosity, romance, satisfaction, pride and internationalism, all appropriately flagged by the cover’s use of Maclise’s fabulously energetic Snap Apple Night.

The Companion to Irish Traditional Music is a key reference for the interested enthusiast, session player and professional performer.  It is also a profoundly comprehensive, one-stop resource for every library, school and home with an interest in the distinctive rituals, qualities and history of Irish culture. And it is a vital resource for all levels in education, particularly valuable at third level as both textbook and research resource. The book is uniquely backed by the provision of a parallel website – www.companion.ie  - which guides structured exploration of the text and fully integrates it with the existing vast and magnificent range of traditional music internet resources.

 

 



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