"Les Fruits de Loisir": Some European Conceptions and Misconceptions of Irish Music

Abstract

The reception history of Irish traditional music in Europe originates in its status as a mode of refuge from the claims of high seriousness embodied in art music. By examining Beethoven’s arrangements of Irish folksong by comparison with those of Thomas Moore, and by contrasting the present-day popularity of Irish traditional music in Europe (above all, in Germany) with the silent or non-reception of other modes of Irish music, we can argue that the perception of Irish music in Europe is incomplete at best, and at worst misconceived.