Bianca,

Some additional resources to address your questions --

if you haven't already consulted it, you might want to review the
articles on "Song" and "Sean Nos" in _The Companion To Traditional Irish
Music_, edited by Fintan Vallely (New York: New York University Press,
c1999). There is a great deal of in-depth information on traditional
singing in that volume that may be of interest. If you can't afford to
buy it (around $50), your local library can obtain a copy for you
through interlibrary loan.

The author of much of the sean nos article is my friend Julie Henigan.
Julie has an MA in Folklore from University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill, and her MA thesis was on Sean Nos. She has been to Ireland many
times (usually to the Donegal gaeltacht) and knows the traditional scene
well.

Her email is: jhenigan@...

She is a friend of mine. You can tell her I sent you.

Good luck.

Chris Brennan
cristoir@...

----- Original Message -----
From: meeb_ <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2005 4:02 am
Subject: [Traditional Irish Singing] Questions

>
>
> Hi, there! I've just joined this group. I've always had a love of
> traditional Irish singing and of Irish music and culture in
> general. I
> have a few questions for anyone willing to answer. I'm taking a world
> music class and am writing a paper on sean nos singing.
>
> Here's my first question: I'm not sure if there is anyone on the list
> currently living in Ireland, but as the influence of mass media
> and mass culture has spread across Ireland, how has the sean nos
> singing tradition changed with regards to its position in the culture?
> (I understand that in the past, it was one of many forms of personal
> and/or communal entertainment - a component of ceilis and sessions.)
> Has its place in the culture changed? Has its place in everyday Irish
> life changed?
>
> Second question: What effects have the Oireachtas na Gaeilge sean nos
> song competitions had on the overall tradition? Have they had an
> impact on the various individual traditions/styles throughout the
> country (for example those of Connemara, Ulster, and Munster)?
>
> Personal experiences and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated and
> encouraged.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Bianca
>
>
>
>
>
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