by Brandi Naragon

Created on: November 25, 2008

"Once, as my heart remembers, all the stars were fallen embers. Once, when night seemed forever, I was with you." Lyrics such as these, featured in Fallen Embers by the artist Enya, have been set to the ethereal sounds of flutes, horns, and bagpipes to form what the American market regards as Celtic music. Other artistsClannad and Sinead O'Connor
among themhave used the popular style to gain fame and a following. What defines true Celtic music, however, is not so simple as a haunting melody and a distinct female singer. The true value and history of the genre goes much deeper than mood music or the top-40 charts.

The Celtic peoples have a wide and varied origin. The term "Celtic" has its roots in Latin ("Celtus"), as the Romans had many encounters with different groups of Celtic or Gaelic peoples in their conquest of Europe. These "barbarian" tribes were scattered throughout the continent, including several groups on the British Isles. The ferocity of the Celtic warriors was well known, prompting the emperor Hadrian to build a wall across Britannia to keep them at bay in A.D. 122. Over the following centuries, the Celtic peoples of the British Islesthe Scots, Irish, Welsh, and otherscontinued to fiercely defend their independence, and this quest for autonomy and traditionalism carried over into the music they played.

Of the various Celtic peoples, the Irish seem to have emerged as the musical representative. Some of the elements of traditional Irish style began in the early days of their civilization, but what is regarded as Celtic music today has its roots in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Much of the Celtic sound is derived from rural dancing musicjigs played with various pipes, fiddles, concertinas, and accordions. The Irish jig and double jig use 6/8 time, and the slip jig a 9/8 time. Because traditional songs lacked complicated instrumentation, the Celtic singers developed a style known as ornamentation, using their voices as an additional instrument to carry the song's melody. This use of ornamentation is continued by modern Celtic stars such as
Clannad and the Cranberries.

In the American musical market, these traditional rural tunes survive in a more commercialized form, but a form that has been a proven
success. Enya alone has sold more than 65 million copies of her albums throughout the world, and her music has been featured in films such as the popular Lord of the Rings series. Irish rock bands such as U2 and Coldplay have cited Celtic influences on their music as well. And while the modern forms of these traditional Irish tunes have deviated a great deal from their origins, they keep alive an institution and the people who created it.

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