Write a commentA Film documenting the piping tradition of Irish Travellers is just one of the many exciting events at the upcoming Iúr Cinn Fleadh - Newry City Music Festival which runs from Thursday the 10th to Sunday the 13th of September.
Coppers and Brass will air at the Newry Rainbow Community Centre (NRC), 28a Monaghan Street, Newry on the 10th from 7.30pm.
All are welcome and admission is free.
Coppers and Brass is a film documentary about Irish traditional music played by members of the Irish Travelling community and it’s written and directed by local man Tommy Fegan as part of his recent MA at Dundalk Institute of Technology.
It focuses on uilleann pipe playing in particular, demonstrating how Irish Travellers exhibit specific stylistic traits within Irish traditional music. Issues of identity and Traveller lifestyle are included to give a complete ethnographic account in film of the Traveller music repertoire, style and socio-cultural context.
It consists of the selective use of rare archival footage, reconstructions of significant musical events and interviews with key Traveller and non-Traveller musicians. The autobiographic narrative is based around the Director’s journey over many decades of interest, fascination and the formal study of Irish Traveller music.
Coppers and Brass argues that the Travellers’ style has remained largely invisible in Irish traditional music, yet a small number of families, including the Fureys, Keenans, Dohertys and Dunnes, made an indelible impact on Irish traditional music. Musicians and enthusiasts will derive a deeper understanding of the development of Irish music from this riveting documentary.
Coppers and Brass provides a detailed and sociologically contextualised insight into the families, the individuals and their music. This serves to situate the ethnomusicological aspects of the study within the broader context of social and political changes in Irish society from the 1940s onwards to the changes which have led to the relative demise of the distinctive culture of the Irish Traveller.
The key findings of this work are the collection, documentation and analysis of the music of Irish Travellers who play the uilleann pipes. It examines the influence of key musicians in the Traveller community. It takes the concept of style in Irish music and offers a new perspective on this debate. Coppers and Brass also documents in visual form the musical performance, analysis and memories of members of the Irish Traveller community.
The Director will be available after the screening for a question and answer session.
Check out www.iurcinnfleadh.com for more information about the festival.
