Event Details
Dates
25/08/2016 – 25/08/2016
Music & Memoirs of an Irish Harper: On the bicentenary of Arthur Ó Néill, c. 1737-1816
Siobhán Armstrong & Ann Heymann (early Irish harps), Éamonn Ó Bróithe (traditional Irish sean-nós song & uilleann pipes)
The Historical Harp Society of Ireland Summer Concert Series 2016 features the beautiful bell-like sounds of Ireland’s iconic instrument, the brass-strung early Irish harp.
Siobhán Armstrong and Ann Heymann, two of the finest early Irish harpists in the world today, will be joined by well-known Galway-based sean-nós singer and piper, Éamonn Ó Bróithe in a celebration of the bicentenary of Arthur Ó Néill, one of the last of the travelling harpers, who died in 1816.
Arthur Ó Néill was one of the most important of the harpers who gathered in Belfast in 1792 for the famous Belfast Harpers’ Meeting, where Edward Bunting, a 19-year-old organist, wrote down the music and information on the unique harp that the Irish harpers played. Arthur had a wonderful memory and a rich fund of stories about his life as a traveling harper. He dictated his memoirs, which are a lively and often humorous series of anecdotes that give a wonderful glimpse of an 18th-century Irish harper’s life and the society that he played for.
The concert will feature stories from Arthur Ó Néill’s entertaining memoir, along with a wonderful programme of the music and songs collected from him by Edward Bunting.
This concert is part of the Historical Harp Society of Ireland’s 2016 Summer Concert Series. Further info: www.irishharp.org
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