Puirt a beul

Puirt a beul (Scottish Gaelic: puirt à beul, pronounced [pʰurˠʃtʲ a pialˠ̪], literally "tunes from a mouth") is a traditional form of song native to Scotland, Ireland, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

Name

The Scottish Gaelic for such a tune is port à beul: "a tune from a mouth—specifically a cheerful tune—which in the plural becomes puirt à beul.^[1][2] In mainland Britain they are usually referred to as puirt a beul but a variety of other spellings and mis-spellings also exist, for example port-a-beul, puirt a bheul, puirt a' bhéil etc. These are mostly due to the fact that a number of grammatical particles in Gaelic are very similar in nature, such as the definite article a', the prepositions "of" and to" which can both be a and the preposition á "from" which can appear without the acute accent.^[3]

Modern Irish dictionaries give port(aireacht) béil,^[4] translated as "mouth music" also referred to as lilting. Older dictionaries, such as Dinneen, only give portaiḋeaċt, portaireaċt or portonaċt.^[5]

Origin

Puirt a beul originates in Scotland and Northern Ireland where, the traditional cultures of the countries were repressed. All musical instruments were banned. Puirt a beul was invented as a substitute for instruments when music was required for entertainment - and especially for dancing.

Once this prohibition was lifted, and instruments were legalised, Puirt a beul still remained as a musical from in the Celtic regions and remains so until this day.

Characteristics

Usually, the genre involves a single performer singing lighthearted, often bawdy lyrics, although these are sometimes replaced with meaningless vocables.

In puirt a beul, the rhythm and sound of the song often have more importance than the depth or even sense of the lyrics. Puirt à beul in this way resembles other song forms like scat singing. Normally, puirt are sung to a 4/4 or 6/8 beat. Performances today may highlight the vocal dexterity by one or two singers, although four-person performances are sometimes made at mods.

Some elements of puirt a beul may have originated as memory aids or as alternatives to instrumental forms such as bagpipe music.^[6]

We also have puirt a beul or mouth music - songs in which the rhythm of the words is meant to replicate the rhythm of certain dance tunes. Some of these songs may have been composed to assist fiddlers, and occasionally pipers, in learning a tune. Others may have been composed as a means of remembering tunes when the playing of the bagpipes or fiddle were proscribed or frowned upon.^[7]

A well known example of puirt a beul is "Brochan Lom", which is sung in the film Whisky Galore!, and occurs as background music in the film The Bridal Path.[1]

Quadriga Consort has been the first ensemble to bring puirt a beul into the Early Music Movement.

Most recently, the Cocteau Twins from the 1980s to late 1990s utilized this technique with Elizabeth Fraser's colorful singing style.

Mouth music in the Americas

When they came across the ocean the ancestors of modern Scottish Americans brought their music with them, including mouth music, which was often incorporated into the lyrics of songs. It became an integral part of Appalachian music, roots music, and bluegrass, from where it spread into many forms of American music.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Lilting
• Waulking song
• Mouth Music (band)
• Scat singing
• Non-lexical vocables in music
• Crimping

References

1. ^ Watson, A. The Essential Gaelic - English Dictionary, Birlinn 2001
2. ^ Graham, Katie; Spadaro, Katherine M. (2001). Colloquial Scottish Gaelic: the complete course for beginners. New York: Routledge. p. 176. ISBN 0-415-20675-8. "'Puirt' is actually the plural of 'port'—a cheerful song." 
3. ^ Mark, C. The Gaelic English Dictionary (2004) Routledge ISBN 0-415-29761-3
4. ^ Ó Dónaill, N. Foclóir Gaeilge - Béarla, An Gúm 1992
5. ^ Dinneen, Patrick Foclóir Gaeḋlge agus Béarla Dublin: Irish Texts Society 1927
6. ^ Newton, Michael (Summer 1997). "Were the bagpipes ever banned in Scotland?". Am Bràighe (Mabou, BC). http://people.stfx.ca/mnewton/werebagpipesbanned.pdf. "mnemonic devices for encoding bagpipe and fiddle tunes, before the year 1746" 
7. ^ Am Baile (The Gaelic Village)

External links

• Information on traditional Gaelic music

• Elisabeth Kaplan of Quadriga performing three Puirt a beul