Ceili

Ceili, music session, highely different of a concert or any musical show. A ceili is strongly linked to the traditional music. Traditonal is a very deep word and we should not take it as something evident, it is for CD of World music. Traditional, Tradisiuntameans tradition, this word come from latin traditioitself from tradere "deliver, hand over" (Galeige as any other language took words from other languages, then from english, english took it from the old french tradicion). Then it's clearer that what is called traditional music is giving by someone who learned it by someone. It's very important to make this effort of explaination of this word. Nobody of course think about all those things when he use the word tradition.Indeed it's exactely the real heart of what is traditional music. It's not something that is possible to learn alone, to learn with a book, it's not something to understand (like for Classical music with notescales...) but this music is to feel. It's an instinctive comprehension, the technical ability comes from praticing, but the technical ability without personal implication is nothing. There's many qualities that a singer, a dancer, or a musician must have and that is impossible to explain (a breath, a look, a way to be...). He have to lost himself into the music, to be his music.

A second point important with the ceili, and that is a big difference with a show or a concert, is that there's no really difference betwen the audience and players, singers... Anybody can be singer and audience... Audience then player... There's not stage, most of time, people sing or play from their table or where they are, and the others listen.

Listening is as important and as deep than sing or play. It's an huge lack of respect to don't listen, to do something else, to don't take care of a message. There's always a meaning, it's like a speech.

The third point is that in Ceilis, all the culture, the way of life is oncentrate. The ceili can be done in a pub, a house, outside... Don't mind. In this special space created by music, it's important to share (drinks, cigarettes, seats...), it's a social communion. Exactly like at the Church, the host is the communion with the Holy spirit, then the music is an host, communion with the holy spirit of community. Of being together.

It's important to never considerate a ceili as a show, to never go like that, but to feel really like to have the honour to be for a time a part of something.

To read: A rock in the middle of the Ocean. See section : Books about Tory.

--Saskia Levy 05:21, 22 October 2008 (UTC)