Lilting is a form of traditional Celtic singing common in the Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland and Scotland. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as "mouth music", diddling, jigging, chin music or cheek music), puirt a beul in Scottish Gaelic, Canterach, or portaireacht bhéil (port a'bhéil) in Irish Gaelic. It in some ways resembles scat singing.

Contents 1 Features 2 History 3 Notable lilters 4 See also 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Features

Lilting often accompanied dancing^[1]. Features such as rhythm and tone dominate in lilting. The lyrics thus are often meaningless or nonsensical. Because of this, translations from Gaelic often do not exist.

[edit] History

The origins of lilting are unclear. It might have resulted in part from the unavailability of instruments, whether because they seen as too dear or were banned. However peasant music in other Indo-European cultures was subject to similar constraints, and lilting did not develop.

Nonsense refrains (e.g. fa la la) are common in the folk music of the British Isles, whatever the language, since the start of recorded music^[2]. In Shakespeare's writings, songs with such refrains sometimes seem to indicate foolishness, playfulness, an imitation or a parody of musical sounds, or even madness.

[edit] Notable lilters

• Paddy Tunney, Bobby Gardiner, Seamus Brogan, Seamus Fay, M.J. O'Reilly, the McPeake Family, Len Graham, Joe Holmes, Micho Russell, Christine Primrose, Audrey Saint-Coeur, Elizabeth Cronin, etc.

{many of the above are illustrated on a CD, Celtic Mouth Music, ASIN: B0000059U2 (1999)}

Karen Matheson and Mary-Ann Kennedy demonstrate lilting on a BBC 2005 television series, The Highland Sessions, filmed in Killiecrankie, Perthshire.

The music group, Rua, develop lilting into an orchestral and vocal extravaganza, with Dum Dumda Diddle^[3].

[edit] See also

• List of All-Ireland lilting champions
• List of traditional Irish singers
• Sean-nós song, unaccompanied Irish traditional singing.
• Puirt a beul, Scottish Lilting.

• diddling, alternate term for Lilting or Puirt a beul

• Waulking song, unaccompanied Scottish traditional singing done while working.

[edit] External links

• Article on Gaelic puirt-a-beul (mouth music)
• Seamus Fay, Cavan's lilter

[edit] References

1. ^ Article on Gaelic puirt-a-beul, by Craig Cockburn
2. ^ See Lullabies and Other Lilting Melodies for Dulcimer: Lullabies, Folk, and Classical Selections, by Lorinda Jones (2004) ISBN 978-0786668489
3. ^ Rua, ASIN: B00005M2B0