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Have you ever listened to a song taken from the Sean Nos style?
Do you know what the state of origin of this song is?
Sean Nos is a singing in Gaelic language from Ireland.
It is an exclusively vocal style with a rather difficult chapel in execution and demanding to listen.
Anyone who listens for the first time the Sean Nos, will be able to note how the melodies are treated and differentiated with each other, thanks to suggestive embellishments and variations.
Let's see together how many styles there are and how they differ from each other depending on the geographical origin.
The first style called Connacht present in the West Ireland, has as its main feature the use of various types of embellishment, which make this style one of the most complex of the Sean Nos tradition.
The style present in South Ireland is called Munster. La presenza di meno abbellimenti e melismi rendono sicuramente questo canto più semplice rispetto al Connacht .
The third is the last style takes the name of Ulster and is located in Northern Ireland. The difference from the other two styles is determined by the confluence of the characteristics mentioned above resulting in my opinion the most balanced of the styles.
In all three styles there is the presence of three types of variation: the first is called melismatic variation, consists of a group of auxiliary notes that decorate or replace a main note from the melody. The second type of variation called the interval consists in the possibility of replacing one interval with another, sometimes with the addition of passages of passage as a filling. The last type of variation relating to the rhythmic bearing of the sentences is dictated by rhythmic pulsation changes thanks to the use of a particular technique called Glottal Stop.
The technique consists in suddenly interrupts the air flow during execution, and consequently, in abruptly ending a note that is thus emphasized.
The effect of this interruption is to emphasize the newly sung or the one that follows it, the duration of the break decides in which note to drop the attention:
a) if the break is long, attention falls to the note preceding the glottal stop (during this type of execution it is allowed to breathe);
b) If the break is short, attention falls to the following note the glottal stop (during this type of execution, it is not allowed to breathe).
The lack of support tools presents, for a solo singer, a particular difficulty: he finds himself forced to maintain, with his only voice, the continuity between music and text: a truly difficult task that requires a lot of preparation.
I hope you liked this journey into the tradition of Irish sung. I have to tell you that I have never been to Ireland, who knows if in the near future I will be able to walk in those meadows admiring that sky masterfully described by the great Fiorella Mannoia.
I leave you with this videolist dedicated to Sean-Nós
Sean-nós na bhfear 2019
Liam ó'monlaí Sings Sean Nós in Galway
An Raibh tú ar an gcarraig (Were you on the rock) - Liam or Maonlai ft. The Swell Season
Sinead O'Connor - The Moorlough Shore - Sean Nos
Interview with Liam ó Maonlaí
Cruel Mother Sean Nos and Overone Singing
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