The Waltons Guide to Irish Music: A Comprehensive A-Z Guide to Irish and Celtic Music in All its Forms

The Guide’s over 900 entries include important musicians, singers and groups, past and present, from Irish music legends like James Morrison, Elizabeth Crotty and Willie Clancy to the many great musicians and groups who keep the tradition alive and well today. It includes many types of instrumental music and their connections with dance. The forms of Irish and Celtic instrumental music go well beyond jigs and reels. Where did they all come from? How have they changed and evolved over the years? It includes Irish song and singing styles. Entries span the vast spectrum of Irish song that includes everything from sean-nos to emigrant songs, the Clancy Brothers to Iarla O Lionaird. It includes the history and development of Irish dancing. It covers dances ranging from the quadrille to the round dance, and such dance-related topics as the dancing masters, ceili dancing, dancing and religion and the Public Dance Halls Act. It includes the main instruments of traditional music and their history in Ireland. From bodhran to Lambeg drum, low whistle to uilleann pipes, and including such recent imports as bongos and blarge. It includes music in other countries and regions that have influenced - and been influenced by - Irish music. It includes extensive entries on the US, England, Australia, Canada, Brittany, Galicia and Argentina, among others. It includes collectors, cultural organizations and festivals. Substantial entries on Bunting, Petrie, O'Neill, Breathnach and Ritchie, among others, as well as such important song collectors as Frank Harte and Sam Henry. Information on cultural organizations and festivals is also extensive and up-to-date. (Included as an appendix is the most comprehensive list of festivals and summer schools currently available.)