Music Library No. 12: Irish Music for St. Patrick's Day

The Chieftains: Great Irish Music for St. Patrick's Day - March 17, 2012

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, it's a great time to think about a different kind of music, namely Irish folk music. Not only does it have a very distinctive sound, it also includes instruments that we do not otherwise encounter. The Irish harp is a smaller harp - much easier to transport that the big symphonic harp, is often used by singers to accompany themselves as well as playing in Irish folk groups. The Uilleann pipes are the Irish bagpipes. If you have listened to the Maestro Classics CD Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, you will have already heard the uilleann pipes. Paul Brennan, the piper on the CD, is one of Ireland's finest. There are also flutes, recorders, penny whistles, wooden transverse flutes, and, of course, the fiddle. Is a violin a fiddle? They are the same instrument but played in very different styles.  In addition to wearing green or making green mashed potatoes or green icing for cupcakes on St. Patrick's day, why don't you try to find some Irish music. One of the most famous Irish music groups is The Chieftains. Their album The Best of the Chieftains will put a smile on your face and a dance in your feet.

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, it's a great time to think about a different kind of music, namely Irish folk music. Not only does it have a very distinctive sound, it also includes instruments that we do not otherwise encounter. The Irish harp is a smaller harp - much easier to transport that the big symphonic harp, is often used by singers to accompany themselves as well as playing in Irish folk groups. The Uilleann pipes are the Irish bagpipes. If you have listened to the Maestro Classics CD Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, you will have already heard the uilleann pipes. Paul Brennan, the piper on the CD, is one of Ireland's finest. There are also flutes, recorders, penny whistles, wooden transverse flutes, and, of course, the fiddle. Is a violin a fiddle? They are the same instrument but played in very different styles.  In addition to wearing green or making green mashed potatoes or green icing for cupcakes on St. Patrick's day, why don't you try to find some Irish music. One of the most famous Irish music groups is The Chieftains. Their album The Best of the Chieftains will put a smile on your face and a dance in your feet. Check out this 6-year-old doing Irish dancing.