Music education and the quest for cultural identity in Ireland, 1831-1989.

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive, densely textured survey of the roots, development, and aesthetic foundations of Irish music education, 1831-1989. As each chronological period is treated, the cultural factors which influenced the quality of music education are identified. Part I establishes a philosophical and historical base for the study. It includes: (1) a historical survey of the term culture and the implications of its changing conceptions for music education, (2) an exploration of the ambience of various music learning contexts--enculturative and indoctrinatory, (3) an overview of the salient characteristics of Irish cultural identity, and (4) a prelude to Irish music education which focuses on the nature of subcultural diversity in musicoaesthetic systems. Part II describes the patterns of music education in Ireland, 1831-1989. In the nineteenth century, music served to propagate the values of "high culture" as dictated by Britain and as enshrined in Anglo-Irish society. It also assumed a significant role as religious socializer and this was intensified by the leadership of the Catholic Church in music education. In the twentieth century, a primary function of music education was to advance cultural ideologies rooted in Catholicism and nationalism. These twin marks of Irish identity dictated the nature of music as political socializer in the Irish Free State. Not until the contemporary era, 1961-1989, was music liberated from the various religious doctrines--the religion of Catholicism, of nationalism, and of linguistic ethnocentrism. Only then was Irish traditional music in all its forms introduced into the school system. Its social and academic journey from the back-waters of Irish society to its acceptance for use in the public schools charts one of the major quests in this study. Throughout the period, music education in Ireland survived and thrived more as a function of subcultural organizations than as a result of any national, democratic system of education. Part III explores the recurring, interrelated themes which determined the shape of Irish music education. They are identified as religion, language, national musical identity, and social values. The study is then synthesized by outlining the aesthetic foundations of Irish music education. Two perspectives are explored--music education as indoctrination and as enculturation.