The original compositions of Irish fiddler Patrick Mangan live at the crossroads of traditionalism and cosmopolitanism. A fourth-generation student in the prestigious Michael Coleman Sligo-style Irish fiddle gharana and a 21st-century... more
The original compositions of Irish fiddler Patrick Mangan live at the crossroads of traditionalism and cosmopolitanism. A fourth-generation student in the prestigious Michael Coleman Sligo-style Irish fiddle gharana and a 21st-century Riverdance celebrity, Mangan’s original fiddle music on his 2015 recording Departures illustrates the deeply-ingrained traditional melodic vocabulary set within a globally-inspired harmonic and rhythmic framework.
In this paper, I will analyze Mangan’s compositional language and show where and how he has received inspiration (evidenced through melodic quotation) from sources in the anonymous dance repertoire of Irish traditional music and from composer Bill Whelan’s original music for the international Riverdance tours.
I argue that despite exposure to multiple musical styles, genres, and structures, Mangan’s first musical language—that of Irish traditional dance music—tacitly dominates his compositional style and serves as a primary reference point for musical innovation.
