When Alan Lomax visited Ireland in 1951, the country was about to open up to modern Western achievements. Until then, Ireland had been quite isolated, but rural culture would soon urbanize. Traditional Irish culture at the time was associated by the vast majority of the population mainly with poverty and deprivation. This, despite the fact that the Irish state was clearly trying to stimulate
… traditional culture. Lomax went in search of the traditional singing culture that had mainly fallen apart: Gaelic songs, English ballads from the 17th and 18th centuries, jigs, reels, lullabies, work songs and lamentations. This CD is a wonderful re-release of the LP of the time, including a new explanation in the CD booklet and extensive information for each track. (GO) _more