Description
Book SynopsisBright Star of the West examines the life, repertoire, and influence of Ireland's greatest sean-nós (old-style) singer, Joe Heaney (1919-1984).
Trade ReviewAn engaging and exhaustive study of the historical developments and social realities that impacted Heaney's attitudes, performance styles, and his eventual rise to prominence as the sean-nós ("old-style") singer par excellence...an intimate and important look at the life of a major figure in Irish folk music. It is a significant work for ethnomusicologists, folklorists, and scholars of Irish culture, and a fitting tribute to the life and art of Joe Heaney.: * Journal of Folklore Research *
In Bright Star of the West, Williams and Ó Laoire have written a text that contextualizes and gives further meaning to the music and life of Joe Heaney. * The New Hibernia Review *
Authors Sean Williams and Lillis Ó Laoire [deliver] a book that is layered, beautifully non-teleological, and intimate, like loosely-sutured memories that do not strive to tell the complete social fact, but which instead subtly connect illuminating moments of performance and interpretation. * Ethnomusicology *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Singing the Dark Away ; Part One: Sean-nos Singing ; 1. Sean-nos Singing in Theory and Practice ; 2. The Performance of Sean-nos in Connemara ; Part Two: The Iconic Repertoire ; 3. Singing the Famine ; 4. The Religious Laments ; 5. The Medieval Transformed ; Part Three: Masculinity in a Musical Context ; 6. Irish Masculinities: The Irish Tenor and the Sean-nos Singer ; 7. Fighting Words, Fighting Music: The Performative Male ; Part Four: Joe Heaney in America ; 8. The Irishman at the Threshold ; 9. The Folk Revival and the Search for Authenticity ; Guide to Pronunciation ; References ; Discography ; Index
