Traditional Irish Song and Storytelling: An Artistic Approach of Performing Traditional Irish Song and Storytelling to a Modern Audience Outside of Ireland

Abstract

Irish oral tradition is an ancient artform that has an active global presence. Due to this global appeal, performing musicians and storytellers could experience challenges with modern audiences that are not familiar with the Irish oral tradition artform.

My goal as a grassroots level Irish traditional musician and storyteller was to explore artistic approaches of performing to a modern audience outside of Ireland for a better understanding of the art form and apply those suitable aspects to my own artistic approach to be a better artist.

Qualitative data was collected through interviewing top Irish professionals with vast backgrounds and experiences of Irish oral tradition to gain a deep understanding of the art form and apply that knowledge to my artistic approach.

The results of this research produced three main themes, which were 1). Placing value on the origins of each song or story in Irish oral tradition, 2). The importance of artistic expression by the performer and 3). The performer’s attention to artistic approach in their performances to all audiences. These themes were the focus of each of the professionals in this research in relation to the foundation and integrity of the artform.

These main themes are similar throughout my artistic journey into the Irish oral tradition of song and storytelling and the manner to which I currently perform them to modern audiences outside of Ireland.

I present my interpretation of these artistic themes in Tales & Tunes, my original solo performance of sean nós songs and storytelling demonstrating the artistic approach to a modern audience outside of Ireland.

Keywords: Traditional Irish Song, Irish Storytelling, Gaelic Culture, Sean nós singing, Performance, Artistic Expression, Irish oral tradition