#Sean nos

[anarcho-sgathach]

I’ve been getting really into various unaccompanied forms of singing, such as Appalachian Ballad Singing, English/Scottish border ballads, lilting, puirt-á-beul/waulking songs, seán-nós, turlutte, and more. I’ve become enamored with it and I’m more convinced than ever that everyone who can, especially the musically inclined, should learn to make music with nothing but their voice and body. There’s so much great traditional music out there, and it feels so human

[misneachsblr]

Maidin Luain Cincíse

“Maidin Luain Cinchíse” is one of my favourite Irish songs. It was written by the Munster poet Mícheál Óg Ó Longáin (1766-1837). Earlier Irish poets tended to be supporters of Jacobitism; however, Ó Longáin was a staunch republican, and even served as a messenger in the United Irishmen. The song, which laments the failure of the 1798 uprising, likely draws from his own personal experiences. Ó Longáin’s disappointment at the failure of his home province to rise is also expressed. I feel that this closeness to the writer is what makes the song so powerful.

“Maidin Luain Cincíse” means “Whit Monday Morning”, and refers to the Monday after Pentecost Sunday (usually referred to in England and Ireland as “Whit Sunday” or “Whitsun”). If I’m correct, I believe this would have fallen on May 28th in 1798. On that day in Wexford, the rebels successfully captured the garrison town of Enniscorthy. I’m not sure why this date is mentioned, as the song is lamenting defeat rather than victory. The language used seems to describe a rural rather than urban battle, too. I don’t know where Ó Longáin fought during the rebellion, and this would be key to understanding the exact situation he references. If anyone could help me check the date, or find the exact battle described, I would be most grateful! The mention of Whit Monday may also contrast the active state of the rebellion with that of Munster. The only major rebel action in Munster did not occur until the Battle of the Big Cross, on June 19th.

This version, sung by Aoife Granville (a folklore lecturer at my university) is the one I’ll translate. It’s considerably shorter than the texts I’ve found elsewhere. In places, different words are substituted. I think its arrangement is beautiful. It has an expressive quality that other versions I’ve found lack.

Maidin Luain Cincíse, labhair an síofra sa ghleann.

Do bhailíodar na cága chun ábhacht a dhéanamh ann

Do chruinníomar na dtimpeall, ‘s do lasamar ár dtinte

‘S do thógamar ceo draíochta go haoibhinn os a gcionn.

 Cá bhfuilid na Muimhnigh nó an fíor go mairid beo,

Ná cruinníd siad ‘nár dtimpeall is cabhrú linn sa ngleo?

Mar is deacair poirt do stríocadh ná clann búir do dhíbirt

Ónár mbailte dúchais dílis bhí ár sinsir riamh fadó...

 Pentecost Monday morning, the síofra spoke in the valley.

The jackdaws assembled, to make their fun there.

We gathered around, and we lit our fires

And we took a magic mist,  blissful, overhead.

 Where are the Munstermen, or the living image,

Won’t they come into our midst and help us in the fight?

For it’s difficult to strike port, or drive out the boorish clan,

From the sweet, native towns our ancestors held long ago.

 A particularly sad verse, not in this version:

Beir scéala suas chun Mumhan uainn, a rún ghil ‘s a stór,

Agus inis an scéal faoi chumha dóibh go bhfuil an sciúirse ‘nár gcomhair;

Mar is mó leanbh fireann fionn geal agus ainnir mhilis mhúinte

Agus ógfhear cliste lúfar san úir uainn ag feo.

 Bear a story from us up to Munster, bright darling, treasure,

And tell the lonely tale to them that the scourge is among us

For there are many fair bright manly lads, and sweet schooled maidens,

And agile clever young men, rotting in the earth.

[pouryourselfacupoffuckrightoff]

Not fair to judge but this sounds way fucking cooler than that lord of the dance shit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3Z8qG7AKo

[mariusz026]

Yo no voto, yo no les creo a sus "fiestas democráticas". Yo soy consciente de que cualquiera que quede en Palacio o en algún lugar dentro del estado mexicano estará al servicio de los saqueadores genocidas, el imperialismo gringo y continuará la misión de militarizar todo aspecto de la vida pública.

Yo sé que ir a votar solo legitimiza a un sistema podrido que tiene este territorio lleno de fosas clandestinas y que todos los partidos de todos los colores lucran con el dolor de cientos de miles de familias destrozadas por la violencia

Yo sé que en este sexenio, al igual que en los anteriores buscaron desaparecer a los desaparecidos porque a ellos no les duelen, porque ellos solo buscan sacar beneficio.

Yo sé que votar no sirve de nada y aún así me presentaré este domingo. Lo haré para escribir el nombre de Victoria Lizbeth Posadas Silva, de Miguel Ángel Lazo Roldán, de Jael Montserrat Uribe Palmeros , de Wendy Sanchez Muñoz, de Leonardo Sandoval Cázares, de Carlos Eduardo Fuentes García, de Alicia de los Ríos Merino o de cualquiera de los cientos de miles de seres humanos que nos faltan a todos nosotros y que sus familias siguen en su búsqueda a pesar de todos los peligros y todos los pesares. Yo sé que a ellos, los partidos, no les importan nuestros desaparecidos, pero a nosotros si y seguiremos apoyando a sus familias hasta que la dignidad y la justicia se hagan costumbre.

[thefulcrumfiles]

Yo escribiendo aquí cada mierda que pienso, que me pasa y que sueño sobre weyes que me gustan sabiendo perfectamente que nada nunca va a pasar y cada semana me consigo un nuevo weon que se me hace atractivo

[talesfrommedinastation]

Sinead O'Connor and Clones

In case you haven't heard, Sinead O'Connor passed away yesterday, at the age of 56. I literally stopped my car when I heard the news. I have loved O'Connor's music for many years, and have been heartbroken to hear about her battles with mental illness and other tragedies that have filled her life. May she rest in peace.

There's plenty of punk singing, pop music from her, but where she truly shone was traditional Irish singing, especially sean-nos, where her voice is both ethereal and full of unyielding pain.

Where do clones from Star Wars fit in here, you ask?

When O'Connor delved into sean-nos, it was not romantic Rather, it followed the pain of many who left or were taken form their homes to serve in war, and have tried to find their ways home or remember what they could beforehand.

While writing about the clones (and the Belters) in Far Past the Ring, I listen to that album a lot.

This is one of my favorites, The Moorlough Shore, and the lyrics remind me so much of many of the clones in Star Wars. One could argue that it seems like it was written by someone who loved a member of the GAR, who left or died in battle:

"And he was my only joy And ever since I saw his face I have loved that soldier boy"

The whole album is full of whispers and cries, with many of them having ties to the history of soldiers, colonialism, and missing loved ones. O'Connor was a fierce critic of authority, and for her fans, we loved that Celtic Valkyrie for that.

I do not know if O'Connor ever watched TCW or TBB, but I would have loved to hear her opinion on the shows. Of orphaned men of color who were aged too early, thrown into battle, their rights taken away, and their memories and lives forgotten by the universe that they served.

So many have opined about the last scene of TCW, and about Vader/Ashoka, but to me, the heart of the show is this helmet, and this shot. The clones were humans that were stripped down into tools and subsequently treated the same way.

And as I listen to O'Connor's music in her memory, I wish she would have made a sean-nos song about this scene, about these fictional people, these soldiers who were not meant to be human, but who lived, loved, and died for others.

RIP, Sinead. Your voice continues.

[juantinarchive]

Gala no gala de Granada parte 2

[elbiotipo]

I'm just saying that going online and reading headlines like "Yet another mysterious object shot down" "what's the origin of the mystery craft?" while trying to keep with my daily routine feels exactly like the beginning of some crappy Hollywood movie

xkcd did it better than me:

[armatofu]

[peaceeandcoolestvibes]

Estoy leyendo reseñas y es la puta risa, muchos mencionan a la competencia (no, no son reseñas de burger king) 👑 o sea, yo me lo haría mirar. Por eso los locales de muchas cadenas están vacíos incluso en horas punta 😂

La gente está amargadísima y a mí en la vida se me ocurrirá hacer las cosas con tanta desgana en mi lugar de trabajo. Entiendo que hostelería es un sector duro y más para hacer carrera, pero la desgana de los trabajadores en algunos sitios es palpable y mejor que os dediquéis a otra cosa. Con cariño y sin actitud. Luego a hacer publicidad en mano y a bombardear a anuncios en Spotify pero nadie entra en el local en hora punta. No me extraña que se cierren tantos locales y se vuelvan five guys (por cierto, que pesados son, están en todos los lados)

*negacionista: persona inteligente que sabe pensar, analizar y argumentar su punto de vista y que siempre acaba teniendo razón

[anarcho-sgathach]

Do you have any resources on traditional Celtic songs or sheet music? Throughout the British Isles? Thanks 💚

Hey, thanks for the question!

I don't know much about traditional Cornish, Welsh, and Breton music, perhaps one of my followers might be able to tell you more.

For Irish, Scottish, and Manx music I can recommend

The Session - lots of excellent (mostly irish, but some scottish and manx) session tunes

Tobar an Dualchais - Scottish Gaelic and Scots-language songs, poems, and stories with recordings and transcriptions

Traditional Tune Archive - A wikipedia style website with entries for TONS of traditional fiddle tunes

I'd also recommend heading over to RateYourMusic.com and looking at their genre list, it has lists of albums from almost every genre imaginable, including Celtic ones.

Hope this helps!

[whirling-ghost]

this is the reason behind six of Ireland's seven wins

Can we implement a rule for next year that everyone has to sing in the native language of their country? I'm so sick of everyone just singing English

Give me DRAMA Give me CULTURE

GIVE. ME. FUN.

[mariusz026]

"Mi voto es por los 110,000+ desaparecidxs."

¿Vas a anular tu voto? Hazlo ayudándonos a visibilizar a nuestros familiares que han sido desaparecidos, este 2 de junio 🗳️ #VotaDignamente #QueSeanVisibles #NosFaltanMasDe110mil #Elecciones2024

Más info con Glorieta de las y los Desaparecidos y aca 👇🏽https://votaxdesaparecidos.wordpress.com/

[notbecauseofvictories]

By the way, the inspiration for this was a Shen Yun performance, and I swear this Jia Tolentino article was hammering in the back of my head the whole time. It's a good article, but it also made me think about how America has been the refuge of weird splinter religions from the start---and most of whom in the 20st century have used media to conduct outreach. For example, there are ads in '30s pulp magazines for the Rosicrucians' LA branch; the Moody Bible Institute had phenomenal (decidedly creationist) school science videos in the 50s; in the 60s and 70s Pat Robertson (rest in fucking pieces) had CBN and The 700 Club which in turn led to the founding of American-Catholic tv station EWTN. I'm not even getting into the big names objectively associated with "cults", like Heaven's Gate, which leveraged the web as early as the 90s.

Yesterday, paging through the program brought me to an ad for the online "Shen Yun video platform" which feels like a rhyme on all that's come before. I mean, is there anything more quintessentially American than a sleek slick snake oil salesman, trading on all the religion and nationalism we've left lying around?

(Even just the concept of "snake oil" has its roots in American-Chinese-Native relations; one of the first cases the FDA took on was puncturing Clark Stanley's claims that beef fat and turpentine were "Native American" medicines.)

Afterwards, I went home and watched a bunch of youtube videos about Chinese dance: different variants of Mongolian biyelgee, the Yi's flower dance, even some beautiful Uyghur performances, because it came up on my feed and I was fascinated. Ironically, that led me down a rabbit hole---through First Nations/Native American rap; Latvian choral singing; Yemeni Jewish pop music; Chilean fusion. Maybe a song or two from The Hu to round it out.

All this to say....smart is for children, curiosity is forever, and also people should keep making music, writing articles, and doing things, because for good or ill---nothing on this earth is more fascinating to be around.

I do think that my seemingly limitless interest in the world is my best quality. I have other good qualities probably! But I am always, always deeply fascinated by the world and everything in it, such that even a lackluster dance performance can inspire thoughts about making a living as an artist and the creation/performance of identity and communicating meaning as a political act, plus a couple hours spent watching videos of folk dances to try and clear my palate.

[justanotherdharmabum]

Just thinkin’ about him...