351. Celtic connections: Celticism in Scottish music.
- Author
-
Jenkins, Lisa Davenport
- Subjects
- Celtic, Celticism, Connections, Globalization, Music, Scottish
- Abstract
Celtic music has become extremely popular in the global music industry within the past two decades. The use of Celtic as a descriptive term at the turn of the twenty-first century is often dismissed with condescension but should instead be seen as a product of postmodernity. The postmodern understanding of Celtic is inseparable from the extensive historical ambiguity surrounding the Celtic people. Tracing the history of the Celtic people back to their origins creates a frame of reference for re-examining conventional wisdom about the Celts and Celticness. It is my assertion that Celtic is not merely a constructed identity or an invented tradition but is instead the product of an ongoing dialogic process involving symbolic appropriation and reification. With a focus on the Scottish brand of Celticism, I look at the larger issue of Celticism and Celticness. This dissertation examines the concept of Celtic in light of the history, music, musicians, industry, and festivals of this recent Celtic movement. An examination of the Scottish Celtic movement illuminates the dynamics of the larger Celtic movement that characterized the mid- to late-twentieth century. The music and ideology of this movement differ from any movements that preceded it, including the folk music revival. Celtic musicians have fused traditional music with rock, pop, and world music, creating a form of Celtic music with mass appeal. An imagined Celtic community has now developed that extends around the world. While recordings, magazines, and the internet make up the print capital of this community, festivals provide members with opportunities to gather in real community. The complex nature of the Celtic movement is viewed through the perspective of two theories: (1) the new aesthetic of the global imagination, first described by Veit Erlmann in his article The Politics and Aesthetics of Transnational Musics (1993), and (2) the redefinition of the local, described by Jocelyne Guilbault in her article On Redefining the 'Local' Through World Music (1993). Postmodern categories provide the conceptual tools to understand Celticness both in its modern and historical incarnations; therefore, an aesthetic of pastiche provides an adequate lens for evaluating and understanding the Celtic phenomenon.
- Published
- 2004