Irish and Bretonic Music ****************************************************************************************** * Irish and Bretonic Music ****************************************************************************************** There are many languages spoken around the world, making it sometimes difficult for us to other. Yet, there is one near-universal way of communicating – through music and dance. Wh rhythm is merry and upbeat, its audience can be instantly uplifted, likewise, where the mu pensive and mellow, its audience may become  so too. This was why we were especially happy Erasmus students, with whom we prepared this interview to celebrate the occasion of the Er 25th anniversary, decided to approach the children in four partner primary schools of the Europe Meets School programme in this universal communicative style. Móna Corrigan, a student of St. Patrick's College, Dublin who stayed in Prague during the of 2010/11, and Celestine Doedens, of the University of Rennes who studied in Charles Univ 2011/12 summer semester, share not only a mutual love for music and dance – but were also Charles‘ Faculty of Education and hail from Celtic speaking countries. Móna is Irish, whil originally from Brittany (Bretagne) Móna, Celestine, … … do you speak Irish or Breton yourselves? How frequently used are these language today? D Ireland or Brittany learn them at schools? Móna:  Yes, I speak Irish. It’s not my first language and I am not completely fluent, howe use it quite competently. As part of my Bachelor of Education course to become a primary s have classes in Irish each year and also have the option of choosing it as our Academic Ar is worth half your degree. In Ireland it has become slightly fashionable to speak Irish, with ‘gaelscoileanna’ (schoo subjects are taught through Irish) popping up around the country. It is however more a nov actual everyday language in the majority of the country. The language is compulsorily taug from age four, when they start primary school, up until when they leave secondary school. learn Gaelige after that. Teachers and Police officers (called „Gardaí“) must speak Gaeilge to get a job. In the wes is spoken a great deal more, and is often used as people‘s first language. These areas whe is more alive are called ‘Gaeltacht’ areas and receive Government grants to encourage peop more and keep it alive.   Celestine: I do speak Breton. This is not the first language which is used in everyday lif as it has been strictly forbidden to speak it at school for many years, so there is a whol with very few Breton speakers. Thus it is usually spoken by older people, or young people school), but not typically by the middle-aged generation. I’ve been in a school where all classes are taught through Breton, so I speak it fluently. different systems in respect of teaching languages in schools. The school may offer all su French, which is the most common. In such a school you can – if you want – learn Breton th would learn a foreign language starting at the age of eleven. Aside from that, two differe bilingual schools exists – one with half of the classes in Breton and half in French, and everything is taught in Breton, which you use in everyday life as well. While the Celtic languages are not widely popular these days, the traditions of both your many people an important reason to visit the regions. Both the Irish and Breton dances and and practiced all around Europe. Are there many folklore groups in Ireland and Brittany an families) belong to any of them? Móna:  With regard to traditional stories and legends, these are taught to younger pupils history. Storytelling is a very traditional aspect of Irish culture and is primarily done generations and hasn’t really caught on in modern days. In the West of Ireland, it would b however. Traditional song and dance is an aspect of Irish culture which has spanned across the coun musicians often use traditional instruments to give a unique sound to their music which ma recognisable across the world. I don’t belong to any folklore group now, however when I wa learnt how to play the tin whistle and attended Irish dancing lessons. Irish dancing is al taught in schools as part of physical education class.   When I visited Gaeltacht regions in the past, I would have taken part in ‘céilís’ Irish gr These Irish dancing parties are organised around the country as well, most often in pubs a often goes to them in our local area. Celestine: In Brittany there are some folklore groups, which are called “cercles celtiques Breton music and dances, and wear traditional clothes when they perform dance shows. But f dances are in fact very popular, and not used only in these groups. You can learn traditional music in any music school, and it is a very dynamic field with a bands which are varied and quite popular. A lot of different kinds of people listen to Bre dance traditional dances - not only those are interested in tradition. Every weekend, and during the holiday season, you can find a “fest-noz” or “fest-deiz” in the area where you basically a party with Breton dances and live music, to go out, meet people and dance. I o dance with my friends and meet people, and sometimes I play music there. In the Czech Republic, folklore music and dance groups are usually most active in the trad such as South Moravia, Šumava or Beskydy  Mountains. Young people in other regions usually a small number of Classical and Latine dances while visiting a dance school when they are of age. Is this also the case of your home regions – or is the traditional folklore dance popular? Móna:  Yes, traditional music, dance and language are most popular in the west of Ireland   Galway and in the Gaeltacht regions. Irish dancing classes are however taught throughout Children, from as young as four or five, often learn the basic “1-2-3” step in and outside Traditional dance competitions called ‘Feis‘ or ‘Féile‘ are held regularly also. Children traditional instruments such as the fiddle violin, accordion and the tin whistle in and ou Modern popular dance classes are also taught around the country. Celestine: I do not think many young people attend classes to learn Breton dances. They us it straight away in the parties where we dance - the fest-noz - because most of our dances difficult to learn, and your neighbor in the dance circle can explain you the steps while always find someone to teach you there. It’s usually adult people who go to special dance courses where they typically learn more and more specific steps. Younger people who would like to be very good Breton dancers also it is really not necessary to go to a course to be a good dancer. Of course some people fo Latin-American dances, or rock or modern jazz dance too, but dance it in a different style How did you yourself start to dance or/and play music? Are you member of any dance group b do you just like to dance and perform the music for yourself? Móna:  I started doing Irish dancing when I was about four or five outside school and lear whistle in third class (when I was about 8 or 9). I lost interest in both when I went into school but have been reintroduced to them again in recent years. When I visited one of the regions in 2009 as part of my college course we were listening to traditional music and go Irish dancing parties) regularly. I’m not part of any traditional music or dance groups. However there are clubs and societi to such things in college. I do have a tin whistle at home which I can play, but I don't p at weddings or clubs when music comes on that sounds in anyway Celtic a lot of people have revert back to their childhood and begin doing Irish dancing, like the ‚1-2-3‘ step! Celestine: I’m not member of any dance group. I learned how to dance just by going to fest people dance and imitating them. I never had to take classes; I grew up listening to the m between the dancers. When I wanted to dance as well, I copied the steps that my neighbor w is how I learned, and how many people learn. I also saw musicians playing quite often, in well, and it seemed magical to me that they could produce such great sounds while moving t fast - I thought I would never be able to do it. I soon heard other children playing music, who were still learning. I first wanted to play my grandmother, and then the flute because you can take it with you everywhere you go. I a who played the harp, the small one that people call celtic harp, not the classical one. Th is nowadays quite popular and common in Brittany, at least more than in other parts of Fra learn it in any music school. When I went to enroll in a music school at age of twelve, the flute teacher was not here, teacher was here. So I thought “why not?” and so I started to learn the harp. Now I play a too, but as I started later I still have a lot of work to get better. Celestine, you study Music – would you like to work in this field as well?  Celestine: I have no concrete idea concerning my future work yet. I have to admit that I d think about it (yet)!!. Maybe I will give some harp lessons... I do not think I want to be musician because this is a very hard work, and you have to find places to play and sometim people like but not necessarily what you do. Getting a job also depends a lot on your soci contacts – it is not just about talent, so I don’t really know if I want to attempt that a of job. But what I’m sure about is that music will always have a very important place in m it’s not my profession. What do you like the best about music? Móna:  My favourite thing about music would be its universality. No matter what country yo if you don't understand the language - you can enjoy the music and immerse yourself in the country. Celestine: Music is music. I do not think I can explain it differently. Music can express say in words. To answer this question verbally I would need words and I don’t have them. You both prepared a nice dance and music program for two of the partner schools of the Eur programme (Móna visited Třebízského Primary School in Kralupy nad Vltavou and U Říčanského School in Říčany; Celestine prepared her project for the Professor Patočka High School in Strančice Primary School in Strančice). Could you say a few words about your projects?   Móna: My Project was entitled „Irish Music, Dance and Folklore“. I told the children a few about Ireland and taught them a ‚cúpla focail‘ (a few Irish words). I also read them a tra legend ,Tír na Nóg‘ (meaning Land of the Young) and stories about Leprechauns. I then showed them clips of different traditional and modern musicians and told them about instruments used in Ireland. I taught the children the basic Irish “1-2-3” dance step and traditional music. To finish off my presentation, we had a small céilí (Irish dancing part Celestine: I started with a short presentation about Brittany, so that the children were a my region on the map (actually in the Primary school, the children were so young that they know where France is, so I had shown it to them as well!), and so that they would have an history, culture and how its landscapes looks. Then I taught them a song “J’ai cinq ? six moutons” which you can dance to, with lyrics ha half in French, and they learned it very quickly – I was surprised how quick they picked i we learned how to dance to this melody, and I showed them another type of Breton dance. I so that they could rest a bit, in Strančice they filled in a crossword about my region in then we danced and sang again. At the end I played some more songs and then let the children try the harp. In Professor P School, I held the project in French because the children there were learning this languag Primary School I spoke in English and held the project with the help of Lenka Žehrová, a C was in Rennes on Erasmus and learned Breton dances. Lenka translated my explanations to th Czech. It was good to have her with me as a teaching aide, especially since she could help dances too. How was the cooperation with the Czech children (and teachers) for you? Did the schools di any differences between Czech children and children in your home countries? Móna:  The children participated with great energy and enthusiasm. They were really intere plenty of questions and they all joined in the céilí at the end. The teachers in both scho very co-operative and helpful, they enthusiastically showed me around their schools and po the students‘ artwork. The teacher in Říčany was even my translator on the day!  The school buildings themselves differed greatly, Říčany's school was brand new and was t Both schools had a great atmosphere, Kralupy was very small and had felt very much like a knit community whereas Říčany was a lot bigger and seemed like a very interesting exciting in. Overall I didn't see any major differences between the Czech children I worked with an home country - kids are kids, they are all different! Celestine: It was very nice! I think children were happy to dance rather than to sit all d very well and told me they enjoyed it. I was happy to share this experience with them too. I think the children were not very different from the children in my country but it’s hard such short visits (note of the redaction: in each case Celestine spent 2 hours with the ch a similar project in some schools at home and it worked about the same. Maybe the children more, asked more questions, and were a bit more active than those at home – though perhaps learning about Breton dance and music was an entirely new experience/topic for them! Have you enjoyed teaching? Would you like to work as a teacher – or for example join the C – in the future? Móna: I really enjoyed teaching, it was great getting to experience working in a classroom country. I am presently training to be a Primary school teacher in Ireland and would love to work abroad when I have finished my studies. Celestine: I really enjoyed teaching, especially since it was more of an exchange and not to a passive group of people absorbing my knowledge. I enjoyed it because the children wer to sing, to listen to me playing the harp (and to try it for themselves), and to have some happening in their school day. I am happy I had made this exchange possible when joining t School programme. I think I would enjoy teaching in this way for a while. I actually give French lessons in to make it this informal and interactive way as well. Teaching in a traditional way could an experience too but I think I wouldn’t want to do it for all my life. But well, you neve Thank you for the interview.