Preab Meadar - Preabmeadar (2014)

From Amergin to Ó Huiggín. A revolution in Irish rhythms based on ancient Irish meters.
Inspired by meters of Medieval Strict-Metre Gaelic poetry, Preabmeadar, a creation of Lorcán Mac Mathúna and Daire Bracken, brings brand new rhythms to Irish contemporary music.

Over four years in its composition, which involved extensive research into oral dance music and strict-meter compositional theory, this opus reveals unprecedented approaches to sung dance music and to the performance and arrangement of songs .
Owing its inception to early and medieval Celtic Literature, in particular to Gaelic strict-metre poetry of the medieval period 600AD - 1600AD, Preabmeadar reveals a hitherto undiscovered world of Celtic rhythms.

Furthermore; blending the seemingly incompatible realms of sean-nós and dance tunes, preabmeadar has produced strong, lively recordings of these new compositions using innovative techniques on fiddle and vocals only”
The stylistic core of this collection is in the style of Preabmeadarach.

What is Preabmeadarach?
To put it plainly, preabmeadarach is a metamorphosis from strict metre poetry into music. It is taking the complex metric rules of medieval Gaelic syllabic poetry and constructing compositional theory using the exact same meters.

Because strict metre poetry is syllabic, the result is a complex rhythmic tune with a perfect lyrical fit. Every single note division has a corresponding syllable.
Preab Meadarach is a complex alternative to reels and jigs. Its patterns are - similar to folk dance music- of strict repeating form.