The Elusive Celt : Perceptions of Traditional Irish Music Communities in Europe

Abstract

The Elusive Celt departs from previous work in the wider ethnomusicological fi eld about traditional Irish music within its home contexts and the English-speaking main destination countries of Irish emigration, by adding a central and eastern European perspective on perceptions of Irish musical culture and images of ‘the Celtic’ Specifi c attention is given to infl uences of recent European history on these perceptions. Detailed ethnographies of community music-making contexts in six different countries from the Baltic to the Bosphorus, along both sides of the former Iron Curtain, introduce the reader to cultural intimacies of local community musicians with a long-term dedication to playing traditional Irish music. The emerging images differ widely from common stereotypes. The reader gains an insight into processes of how musical and extra-musical detail is communicated between local native Irish and non-Irish musicians at these locations, for which Rina was able to draw on her knowledge of different European languages.