Great music, lousy image

While Irish traditional music enjoys increasing popularity among folk music fans and a much wider audience, the traditional folk music of England and many other European countries remains firmly in the realm of minority interest.

Worse than that, it is sidelined as an inferior and quirky musical genre not worthy of serious consideration, radio airtime, quality newspaper coverage or any other attention apart from the occasional snigger.

What a shame! The heritage of traditional folk music is culturally rich, socially and historically important and a highly emotive art form.

OK, it's easy to be romantic about this. And yes, most (though certainly not all) folk music is relatively simple in musical form. But even allowing for all that, the music which emerged from the everyday thrills, spills and yearnings of our forefathers deserves better than being dismissed in cultural conscience as a trivial preserve of the sad and lonely.

How is it that in Ireland, and to a lesser extent in Scotland, Brittany, Sweden and central France, traditional folk music is regarded as a legitimate and valued form of artistic heritage, while elsewhere, and particularly in England, it is sneered at by non-followers?

It's noticeable that the music is best regarded in those places where it never really died out. In Ireland especially it is still a living tradition and strongly associated by the general public as part of the national culture. Even people who don't find it pleasing to the ear tend to regard it as an important contributor to the national identity.

Another factor is that this is reinforced by the national radio network. Traditional music is played extensively during the daytime on RTS Radio 3, which in the evening becomes the classical music station - the two musics are held in equal esteem. See http://www.rte.ie/

Artistic collaborations between folk musicians and classical orchestras are much more common there, and Irish classical composers happily write works featuring folk instruments and styles. Shaun Davey's Relief of Derry Symphony and The Brendan Voyage and Bill Whelan's Seville Suite are great examples - all on Tara Records, http://homepages.iol.ie/~cybmanmc/TaraMu...

The different perceptions are not confined to the music's home countries. I asked an English publican what happens when he advertises live music of this sort in his bar. He told me that when he calls it an Irish music session he gets all sorts of people coming in and enjoying it. But he once billed the same group of musicians as an English folk night and the bar remained empty apart from a couple of long-bearded sandal-wearers in 60s flares.

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