Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the
Goidelic
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historical ...
speaking areas of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and the
Isle of Mann
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as ''diddling'' (generally in England and Scotland), ''mouth music'', ''jigging'', ''chin music'' or ''cheek music'', ''
puirt à beul'' or ''
canntaireachd Canntaireachd (; ) is the ancient method of teaching, learning and memorizing ''pibroch, Piobaireachd'' (also spelt ''Pibroch''), a type of music primarily played on the Great Highland bagpipe. In the canntairached method of instruction, the teacher ...
'' in
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
, or ''portaireacht bhéil'' (''port a'bhéil'', "mouth-singing") in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
. It in some ways resembles
scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...
.
Features
Lilting often accompanied dancing. Features such as rhythm and tone dominate in lilting. The lyrics thus are often meaningless or nonsensical.
History
The origins of lilting are unclear. It might have resulted in part from the unavailability of instruments, whether because they were seen as too expensive or were banned. However, peasant music in other Indo-European cultures was subject to similar constraints, and lilting did not develop.
Notable lilters
*
Jimmy Ward
*
Paddy Tunney
*
Bobby Gardiner
*
Len Graham
*
Christine Primrose
Christine Primrose ( gd, Cairistìona Primrose; born 17 February 1950) is a Gaelic singer and music teacher. She was born in Carloway, Lewis, but she currently lives on the Isle of Skye.
In interviews Primrose has stated that she has been singi ...
*
Karen Matheson
Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lea ...
and
Mary Ann Kennedy demonstrate lilting on a
BBC 2005 television series, ''The Highland Sessions'', filmed in
Killiecrankie
Killiecrankie (; ( gd, Coille Chreithnich, meaning aspen wood) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland on the River Garry. It lies at the Pass of Killiecrankie, by the A9 road which has been bypassed since 1986. The village is home to a ...
, Perthshire
*
Dolores O'Riordan
Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan ( ; 6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. She was best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist for the alternative rock band the Cranberries. One of the most recogniz ...
, singer of Irish rock band
The Cranberries
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
*
Siobhan Owen
Siobhán Owen (born 4 October 1993) is a soprano and harpist from Adelaide, South Australia. Owen regularly performs at festivals, concerts and events around Australia and further abroad. She favours classical and Celtic/folk songs, but also s ...
, Welsh-born Australian celtic and classical singer, harpist
See also
*
List of All-Ireland lilting champions''
*
List of traditional Irish singers
This is a list of notable traditional singers from Ireland. Some of the singers alphabetically listed below are known to have sung in both the Irish and English language and if so are listed in both sections below as well known singers of macar ...
*
Sean-nós singing
Sean-nós singing ( , ; Irish for "old style") is unaccompanied traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. Sean-nós singing usually involves very long melodic phrases with highly ornamented and melismatic melodic ...
, unaccompanied Irish traditional singing
*
Puirt à beul, Scottish lilting
*
Waulking song, unaccompanied Scottish traditional singing while fulling cloth
References
External links
Article on Gaelic puirt-a-beul (mouth music)
{{Cape Breton folk music
Irish styles of music
Irish folk music
Scottish folk music