Poetry - recitation - song links (Gaelic and other)

Bill Innes posted a bi-lingual message about recitiation a couple of days ago at Gaidhlig-B (available on line -see the Sabhail Mòr Ostaig website and click on Gaelic-L on your right hand side of the page (www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/liosta).

Bill will be giving a workshop at "Ceolas" in South Uist (7th - 12th July). He writes "The workshops (on music, song and stepdance) are geared to the principle that in order to understand Gaelic music you have to know something of Gaelic traditional song. This year there is a further dimension - that in order to understand Gaelic traditional song you have to know something of Gaelic traditional poetry (of which Uist has a rich treasurehouse).

"I will be running some (unadvertised) workshops on the almost forgotten art of reciting poetry aloud - which was so fundamental to the oral tradition."

I do hope Aodh can respond to tell us what he knows about poetry and recitation in the Uists, and Annraoi more generally about the links between poetry and song in Gaelic.

The thread needn't be limited to the Gaelic tradition. In fact, where I live in the north of Ireland (though obviously we are influenced in some way by a Gaelic past) recitation in English is still fairly common. There are recitatin competions included in the Feis and it isn't uncommon to hear a recitation at sessions - a couple of William Marshall's Tyrone poems are popular as is "The Man From God Knows Where" (to be found in Mudcat archives). You might hear poems by Robert Burns or Robert Service. Some people prefer to recite what most people would sing; I recently heard The Bodhrán Song recited at Foyle Folk Club (I prefer it sung). And some songs such as William Bloat and The Brickie are also found in recitation versions.

In the Donegal Gaeltacht, my experience is that spoken performance is at least as valued as singing. The story-tellers recite lays about the legendary Fionn MacCumhaill and the Fianna, and the 'agallamh beirte' - a poetic dialogue form, usually comical, is popular. There is a specific rhythm used in storytelling and recitation (personally I would prefer more variation in tone).

Another aspect of spoken word linked with song is the telling of a story along with the song. Songs such as "A' Bhean Údaí Thall"* (A' Bhean Eudach") and "An Maighdean Mhara"* really aren't complete without the narrative story. I think that tradition is dying out except when singers tell the bones of the story in English for an audience who may not understand the Irish of the song. [*also archived at Mudcat forum]

I need Annraoi's help for this one - or maybe we can enlist Bill Innes in Mudcat - Some of our Gaelic songs are shortened forms of longer poetry from the 17th-18th centuries and some have even earlier origins. But I think it was normal in those days to sing, or rather chant, these poems.

And now it's open to you.