What is Celtic Music? Авторы: Николаева Ксения и Гурьянова Анна, ученицы 7 «А» класса МОУ «Вурнарская СОШ №2» Руководитель: Агилова М.Н., учитель английского языка МОУ «Вурнарская СОШ №2»

Introduction This year we’ve started reading texts on Home reading. They are stories about the first people living on the British Isles, the Celts. We attend music school and we study folk music. Once we’ve listened to the disk “Celtic music”. The music seemed to be very unusual, powerful with a lot of instruments and we enjoyed it. At the same time it was a little like our Chuvash music. We asked our music teachers if they knew something about Celtic music but they didn’t. We became interested in the Celts, their history, way of life and music.

What is the aim of the work? The aim of the work is to find out the core of the term “Celtic music”. The tasks: 1. Learning about ancient Celts. 2. Learning the music of the peoples living on the British Isles. 3. Speaking about the most popular music festivals. 4. Comparing old and modern musical instruments, and musical instruments of our nation.

From the History of the Celts During the period from the 6th to the 3rd century B.C the Celts inhabited the British Isles. They also spread across Europe from the east to the west. The Celts lived in villages, they worshipped Nature. Like all the ancient peoples the Celts had their own culture. Some of the earliest instruments that have been discovered were harps, rattles, scrapers, drums and other forms of percussion. These may have been used at first only to communicate with other people or as part of ceremonies. Musical instruments also had a military function. Drums and bagpipes have been used on battlefields to inspire soldiers to heroic deeds. Flutes made of bone and other types of wind instruments are also among the oldest forms. Romans described the Celtic instruments

Where Celtic music is played Irish music Irish traditional music currently has the largest and richest collection of music. There is richness of musical instruments in Irish music. Historically, most Irish music was played on the Irish harp.

Where Celtic music is played Scottish music The oldest forms of music in Scotland are Gaelic singing and harp playing. Later, the Great Highland Bagpipe appeared on the scene. The British army adopted piping and spread the idea of pipe bands throughout the British Empire.

Where Celtic music is played The Celtic Music of Wales Celtic music is also found in Wales. The Welsh people are of Celtic origin too. Wales has always been called a “Land of Song”. It is difficult to find a village without a choir. Music festivals are very popular and the towns of this small country are full of foreign visitors speaking many languages and all enjoying Welsh or Celtic music.

The well-known Music Festivals – Eisteddfod (Wales) and Celtic Connections (Scotland)

Modern Celtic musical instruments Banjo Flutes Fiddle

Speaking on folk music we want to mention our national music. Ancient Chuvash just like the Celts worshipped Nature. They imagined the sky, the sun, the moon, the earth and oak-trees, to be ruled by beings like themselves, but much more powerful. Like all the ancient peoples the Chuvash made up many legends and songs about their gods and heroes. Songs were devoted to family, parents, relatives, native land. As for the musical instruments, scientists found that the Chuvash people had a great deal of them (about 50). We find the identity between Celtic and our national instruments. Some of them sound similar. They are bagpipes, flutes, horns, trumps, rattles, bells. That is why, perhaps melody of this far-away country is so close to us. Celtic and Chuvash music

Chuvash musical instruments On the background you can see a drum with drum- sticks and wooden spoons, two shepherd’s horns, bells and whistles. Then come bagpipes with two pipes, numerous flutes and a war trumpet. On the front there is a flute, a horn, a rattle and a whip.

According to the results of our research we come to the conclusion that the term “Celtic music” is applied to the music of the people who share a common Celtic ancestry and a common musical heritage. The music of Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Brittany, Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias (Spain) and Portugal is considered to be Celtic music. To sum up, it is possible to say that the music is called Celtic because originally on the British Isles and some parts of Europe there lived the people called the Celts. And the British want to call their national music “Celtic music”. Conclusion

Music is the only language which is understandable to everybody. As for us, we like the kind of music where a lot of musical instruments are played: fiddle (violin), guitar, harp, mandolin, flute, bagpipe, accordion, bells, drums and many, many others. We want you to listen and enjoy it. Listening to music