8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
drone on and on and on - please, December 10, 2004
This review is from: Drone On!: The High History of Celtic Music (Paperback)
This lady could have droned on forever, without losing my interest. The production values of the book suck (YOU try reading the back cover) but the book itself rocks. Despite the fact that she swings back and forth between centuries and millenia like some celtic whirling dirvish (mix of metaphors?), I've never read a more riveting history book in my life - or music book. Neither have I written a review online about a book before, and wouldn't bother if this one wasn't so outstanding.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Let's cover as many bases as possible, June 8, 2008
This review is from: Drone On!: The High History of Celtic Music (Paperback)
This is a very entertaining and readable over view of the history of Celtic music including the kitchen sink with pots and pans. Ms. Czulinski has obviously done a lot of research, but there's also a bit of stretching that goes with her trying to be clever, entertaining and humorous.
There is the occasional slip up and perhaps slipped typo. For example, the song called in the text "Suil a Ruin" misses an "i", which indicates that the writer may not know much about the languages. For the "s" to be an "sh" sound, it needs to have an "e" or "i" following the "s", in this case the word is "Siuil" or sometimes "Siul." I also don't understand what she means by "backwards hornpipe" in the case of the pibgorn, which is simply two modified cow horns, one as a mouthpiece, the other as an amplifier with a whistle tube with reed in between and within the mouthpiece. In another instance she incorrectly equates cynghanedd with penillion singing. The lyric may often be in cynghanedd or may not and the rules are pretty straightforward and not as anarchic as she makes the music seem. Penillion, or cerdd dant, as it is also called is simply two different melodies, one instrumental, which begins first, and the other, vocal in counterpoint, both of which have to end together.
She veers away from the subject somewhat in the latter half of the book by exploring the influence of Celtic music and the Celts in general on other genres, in classical music, movies, etc. and the influence of other musics on the various Celtic nations. (which is germain.)
In the case of influences, she mentions a little known Wagnerian piece: "Gesang auf Fingal" and neglects one of his masterworks: "Tristan und Isolde."
I realize I'm picking at nits here, but the book, while entertaining and occasionally a little "precious", does seem to have been written quickly in the rush of enthusiasm, and suffers a little from this. It wanted for a guiding hand and critic and someone pretty expert in the subject of the Celts.
Overall, however, I found in it a lot of information I didn't know, and I find it quite valuable. The bulk of the information which I am familiar with is generally spot on, save for the occasional off note, such as those mentioned above.
I recomend it highly to anyone who wants to know about the music of all Celtic nations and those with Celtic influence and have a good time reading about it. But I think it should be read in connection with a more in depth and serious work. As an introduction, it's pretty darn good.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not my style, March 10, 2009
This review is from: Drone On!: The High History of Celtic Music (Paperback)
I'll confess I only made it through the first 2 chapters, then I quit. The info seemed decent, but you really have to like this style of writing, which I don't. I'm guessing the author's 3 main objectives, in order of priority, were (1) be light 'n' breezy even if you say nothing (we learn that the bagpipes are "an instrument intended to make up for the country's ongoing lack of battle strategy"); (2) imitate David Barry; (3) say something about Celtic history. If you like that style (and it appears other reviewers do), then fine. If you don't, well I couldn't get past the 2nd chapter.
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