The Joys of Gaelic

Who would guess that Bean Phaidin is pronounced “bawn faw-jeen?”

Or that A ‘níon mhín o sin is spoken as “ah nee-in vee-n oh shin?”

Or that MCE members, besides nimbly negotiating the above, have to do so with music that frequently changes meters from 2 to 3 and back again?!  At fairly fast tempos!!

These are the joys of the Gaelic language and Celtic music.  The rhythm of the music and the rhythm of the language are closely tied together.  Stressed syllables, long and short vowels, anything pertinent to the language, are reflected in the flow of the tune.  In fact, poets were considered song makers, with no distinction made between poem and song.  No one in Celtic lands hums a tune without words; they always go together.  But the words are of first importance, the melody second, and the purpose is social, to communicate with and to their community the things that are important to them all.  I like that since I also want music to communicate!  Even if we don’t know the language, we can respond to the persuasive rhythm and passion of music and language entwined.

For us, since we don’t know the language, the tunes are quite a challenge.  But when the pronunciation is mastered the rhythmic intricacies become easier.  And Gaelic is so beautiful and flowing that it is just plain fun to learn—and to sing the music with which it is linked.

Here is a taste of Bean Phaidin, sung by Donal Lunny of the Irish band Planxty.  We won’t sound quite like him, but we want to capture that rough-hewn, feet-on-the-ground quality.

Dr. Linda Gingrich, D.M.A
Artistic Director/Conductor

Master Chorus Eastside