What Is Celtic Music?


The phrase "celtic music" has many different meanings to many different people. It is often the subject of many arguments among Celtic music lovers. Who is right? And who is wrong?

Well, there is no right or wrong answer. At it’s core, "celtic music’ could be defined as the traditional music of the Celts who settled in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Galacia, Brittany, Nova Scotia, and the Isle of Man. But during the last thirty years or so the term "celtic music" has undergone a transformation.

Traditional Celtic Music

Thirty years ago, "celtic music" referred almost exclusively to the traditional music of Ireland. The now-dormant website Ceolas defines "celtic music" in terms of their website as traditional Irish and Scottish music. They make the supposition that most Celtic musicians are bound to play those styles of music if they play traditional Celtic music no matter where they are from.

Another school of thought is that of Texas-based Celtic website owner. He told me that to be a Celtic musician in terms of his website, you must have a background in the traditional music of the Celtic nations. Basically, if you don’t know how to play reels and jigs, you can’t play Celtic music. His argument was that even Enya started off playing Irish traditional music.

Traditional Celtic Folk Music

John Wilmott of Celtic Ways pointed out to me that there are also regional differences in definitions of "celtic music". In the United Kingdom, when people mention "celtic music", they too are talking about the traditional reels and jigs of the Celtic nations. And often times, even traditional folk songs of Ireland and Scotland are called just that "folk songs" not "celtic songs".

I was performing once with The Rogues, a Scottish pipe & drum quartet. The former bodhran player argued that they did not play Celtic music. They played Scottish music. And he has a point considering the Celtic people of Scotland were based in the Highlands an 95% of the current population is based in the lowlands of Scotland. However, as one reader pointed out, the vast majority of the music was originally Celtic and preserved despite the Highland Clearances and repression of the Scottish Celtic culture.

Celtic New Age

This takes us to the other side of the spectrum--Celtic New Age. In the early 1980’s "celtic music" took a new direction. Enya and Clannad introduced a new sound that is now known as Celtic New Age. This style of "celtic music" is largely based more around synthesizers and heavy effects. It attempts to capture the "feel" of "celtic music". Clannad was followed by Loreena McKennit, Sara McLaughlin and many more artists. Each one having less of traditional sound and having more of a "feeling".

Celtic Rock

Then, there is Celtic Rock. Celtic Rock began with the formation of the Scottish band Runrig who combined Scots Gaelic in a modern rock band. They were the first successful band to do so, and their success spawned countless imitators.

In general, most Celtic Rock bands combine their sound with some traditional Celtic sound whether that be instrumentation (fiddle, bagpipes) or vocal (singing in Gaelic). But Larry Kirwan of Black 47 would argue differently. In the band’s biography, Black 47 was playing at an Irish pub when someone shouted out "Play some Celtic music". Kirwan’s response was basically, "I’m from Ireland. I am Celtic. Therefore, we are playing Celtic music."

    凯尔特音乐,其悲壮的历史使得这变成了一个有些争议的范畴（在《勇敢的心》中我们就可以看到苏格兰可歌可泣的部分历史。）

    凯尔特人原来是公元前一千年左右居住在中欧、西欧的一些部落。经过不断的宗教纷争和国家之间的战争等等历史变迁，凯尔特人逐渐分散到爱尔兰、苏格兰、威尔士、法国西北部的布列塔尼半岛和西班牙西北部的加里西亚省，另外也包括了美国和加拿大沿海诸省。正如在收集和出版传统爱尔兰音乐工作方面有着无与伦比贡献的Francis O’Neill在其著作《爱尔兰民间音乐》中所写道的：“爱尔兰的压迫者们给她留下的只剩下了音乐。”然而，无论历史如何的惨痛，无论那些凯尔特人的后裔现居何地，传统的凯尔特音乐已经在他们心里深深的扎根，这也是民族精神的永远不泯。

    传统凯尔特音乐的主要形式分成舞曲和歌谣两种，另外还有一些其他形式。
    凯尔特舞曲中有：jig、slip－Jig、reel、hornpipe、slide、set dance等。其中jig的节奏最快，一般是6/8拍。jig又有single jig、double jig；slip－jig也是快节奏，一般是9/8拍，而且大量的使用三连音；reel一般是4/4拍，虽然其节奏也很快，但听上去比Jig要连贯一些，它与jig各自强调的重拍也不一样；hornpipe有6/8拍、12/8拍和4/4拍，其重拍与jig、reel均不同；slide是一种和jig很相近的曲式；set dance听上去较为庄重而古典。

    凯尔特歌谣的形式一般有：air、lament和peobracht。air是一种缓慢而有很强旋律性的形式，具有吟咏的特征；lament就是挽歌，也是有很强旋律性。lament往往是在葬礼上，由游吟诗人或死者家族的重要人物吟唱，用来歌颂死者的美德和生平事迹的。peobracht是一种慢而庄重的形式，其中往往有风笛的独奏。
    凯尔特音乐的其他形式还有march。march很强调鼓点效果，一般作为行军伴奏。

    传统凯尔特音乐中的乐器也是多种多样，包括：小提琴、长笛、六孔哨、风笛、手风琴、斑鸠琴、曼陀铃、吉他、竖琴、洋琴和一些打击乐器。

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