Irish Traditional Music in Germany

A tour de force. Through an incisive analysis of ethnographic voices, interrogation of historical discourses and sophisticated application of cultural theory, Morgenstern demonstrates how German musicians’ adoption of Irish traditional music allows them to bridge the shameful disjuncture caused by the Nazi appropriation of German folk music. Crucially, he demonstrates the advantage—both musical and in status and authority—of middle-class, relatively wealthy German musicians with the means to travel to Ireland, where they acquire social and cultural capital alongside musical expertise. He labels their connections with Irish musicians intercultural transactions, thereby introducing a new term and a new way of understanding the dynamics of non-nationals playing Irish traditional music.
Dr Helen O’Shea, Honorary Research Fellow in Ethnomusicology, The University of Melbourne, Australia