The Otherworld: Music and Song from Irish Tradition is a collection of music, folklore, and photographs extracted from the National Folklore Collection by the editors, Rionach ui Ogain and Tom Sherlock. Selection of the materials was based upon content regarding the otherworld, which the editors define as “a domain relating to the preternatural, an alternative realm parallel to or sometimes beyond human earthly existence” (8). The volume provides two CDs consisting of a total of forty tracks. Seventeen tracks are of songs, with six in English and eleven in Irish. Another seventeen tracks are of tunes played on fiddle, wooden flute, penny whistle, uilleann pipes; five more are lilted by the human voice; and one is a whistled jig. The remaining six tracks are recordings of memorates and other tales. Materials for this volume were collected from the 1920s through the first decade of the twenty-first century, resulting in mixed track quality. Since the majority of material consists of field recordings rather than studio masters, a few of them have occasional background noise, such as the mutterings of others present or dogs barking; however, the lyrics and utterances on all tracks are clear enough to be understood.
The layout of the book corresponds to the arrangement of tracks on the CDs. Each section is separated with the title of the song, tune, or tale. All recorded utterances are transcribed with an occasional photograph of sheet music to accompany the tunes. Transcriptions typically open each section and are indicated in boldface, followed by an editor’s commentary that may discuss regional variation, information about the source or collector, date and location of the material’s collection and/or composition (if available), an analysis of the material’s content, and additional narratives. Supplementing songs and tunes with narratives echoes the experience of attending an Irish session in which music is bracketed with tales about its origin.
While the authors do not readily present a central argument, I believe that this volume makes a statement about the pivotal role of the supernatural in Irish society. In the introduction, Rionach ui Ogain and Tom Sherlock assert the following: “community, identity, and continuity are supported and celebrated in the singing of songs and the playing of tunes. In this sense, narrative lore and human interaction serve a critical role in sustaining and enriching the social process of music making” (7). If music serves the function of creating social cohesion and lore is essential to the transmission and presentation of the music, belief in the otherworld becomes a decisive pillar, if not a defining element, of Irish social identity. While the editors’ stance regarding the existence of the otherworld is unclear, the introduction flirts with latent functionalist interpretations of supernatural experiences, only to contradict these musings with a statement that cross-cultural accounts of supernatural activity may substantiate the existence of spirit realms (8-9).
Many other collectanea and textbooks of Irish folklore (e.g., A Hidden Ulster by Padraigin Ni Uallachain, 2003; Irish Folktales by Henry Glassie, 1985; Focus: Irish Traditional Music by Sean Williams, 2010) reserve the use of Irish exclusively for source material, such as song lyrics, names, tales, and reported speech. Significantly, this volume applies Irish gaeilge as an academic linguistic medium by including entire sections written in Irish that are subsequently translated into English. The inclusion of descriptions and analyses of material in the Irish language demonstrates that Irish is a living language that has real academic utility, opening up the intended audience to include native speakers of Irish; hence, it is not a text intended exclusively for English speakers.
The translations from Irish to English accurately communicate the text’s content with occasional minor alterations of phrasing (e.g., “he couldn’t play on the fiddle more than two songs” [my translation] versus “he could only play two tunes on the fiddle” [23]). The transcriptions and translation are reliable enough to use as primary source material for analysis by students of music, folklore, and the Irish language.
The photographs that accompany the texts heavily favor portraits of individuals and the locations of supernatural encounters. Portraits are frequently found in texts of Irish music (e.g.,The Stars of Ballymenone by Henry Glassie, 2006; A Hidden Ulster by Padraigin Ni Uallachain, 2003; On a Rock in the Middle of the Ocean by Lillis O Laoire, 2005; Bright Star of the West by Sean Williams and Lillis O Laoire, 2011), illustrating the importance of individuals in the transmission of Irish folklore. Indeed, multiple biographical passages of musicians and collectors are nestled beside songs and stories, making the songs and stories more accessible as source material for private research. Featured musicians include Roisin Elsafty, Neillidh Boyle, Mickey “Simey” Doherty, Citi Seain Ni Chuinneagain, Austin Flanagan, Stephen Murphy, Micho Russell, Saileog Ní Cheannabhain, Muiris O Dailaigh, Padraig Sheaisi O Cearnaigh, Maire Ni Bheirn, Ronan Galvin, Nora Dunlop, Tara Diamond, Ciaran O Con Cheanainn, Aine Furey, Patrick de Burca, Peait Sheain O Conaola, Maire Ni Choilm, Junior Crehan, Sarah Ghriallais, Robert Harvey, Nell Ni Chroinin, John Doherty, and Paddy Glackin.
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[Review length: 849 words • Review posted on September 13, 2016]