Young composers in Irish traditional music c. 2004-2016: compositions, process and tradition

This dissertation is an examination of the compositional styles and imperatives of young composers locating within the Irish music tradition from the years c.2004 – 2016. Over the course of this paper, four case studies investigate two sample compositions each by four identified composers of Irish traditional music, aged between 14 and 28 during this time period. Analysis of these compositions as well as in-depth interviews with the selected composers inform the bulk of the findings of this thesis. Interviews touch on the composers’ respective motivations, approaches, and attitudes towards composing. Personal satisfaction, commerciality, and education each emerge as motivational factors to varying degrees for the young composer in undertaking composition. In terms of approach, the role of harmony in composition emerges as a particularly important aspect of the process for these composers. Following on from this, the study discusses issues surrounding the composers' own understanding of what it is that comprises ‘the composition’. Varying attitudes are uncovered whereby predetermined harmonic accompaniments can be seen as an equal constituent part of the composition at times, while at other stages remain secondary to the melody. Composers’ adherence to certain traditional expectations, especially in terms of the overall structure of compositions, is a key trend uncovered in this study. While innovations in terms of rhythmic patterns and time signatures emerge that stray beyond those commonly found within the traditional repertoire, the standard structure of the tunes, or ‘the round’ (Ó Súilleabháin 1990), is retained with little exception. In addition to this, the impact that choice of instrumentation has on the compositional process becomes evident over the course of this dissertation. At times, an instrument’s limitations and/or possibilities can impact an idiomatic compositional process, while in other instances, these can be deliberately ignored in the quest to compose a tune. In all, the young composer emerges as an agent of tradition and innovation in his or her own quest to create new repertoire.