SUMMER SCHOOL OF EARLY
IRISH HARP
PUBLIC CONCERTS
Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny
Wednesday 19th August 2009 8.00 p.m.
The Ancient Music of Ireland
A celebration of the 200th anniversary of Edward Bunting’s
landmark 1809 collection of early Irish harp music
Andrew Lawrence-King
Ann Heymann
Siobhán Armstrong
Early Irish Harps
John Elwes
Tenor
Malcolm Proud
19th century square piano
This concert celebrates the work of Edward Bunting, who collected the old Irish harp music from the last surviving harpers just before the demise of the tradition around 1800. Bunting's A General Collection of The Ancient Music of Ireland, first published 200 years ago this year, has become an inexhaustible source of inspiration for traditional Irish musicians who, over the last two centuries, have created a vast body of interpretations and arrangements of the tunes contained in it, familiar from Irish music sessions both in Ireland and abroad.
This concert offers two unique opportunities: Bunting's original Romantic arrangements of Irish songs and instrumental pieces from the collection presented by Grammy award nominated tenor, John Elwes, together with Ireland’s leading historical keyboard player, Malcolm Proud, playing a Clementi piano of the period. In addition, three of the world's leading historical harpists, Andrew Lawrence-King , Ann Heymann and Siobhán Armstrong will reconstruct the beautiful airs and lively planxties from Bunting's notebooks on rare, replica early Irish harps, strung in brass, silver and gold and played in the ancient manner with fingernails, as Bunting might have heard them himself.
Town Hall Theatre, Galway
Sunday 23rd August 2009 6.00 p.m.
“ ... the Sound so Melting ... ”
Harp Music of the
Old Gaelic World and Beyond
Ann Heymann
Siobhán Armstrong
Early Irish Harps
with guest
Jimmy O’Brien-Moran
Uilleann Pipes
The world’s foremost performer on early Irish harp, Ann Heymann (USA), together with Ireland’s leading historical harpist, Siobhán Armstrong, together present an evening of Ireland’s evocative and melting ly beautiful earliest harp music on rare replicas of the medieval Trinity College harp, strung in brass, silver and 18-carat gold strings. They will be joined by the historical uilleann piper, Jimmy O’Brien-Moran, whose haunting 19th century instrument compliments these harps perfectly.