'Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin is making one of the most important 21st-century contributions to Irish harp research and performance practice: meticulously researching, reconstructing and performing an entirely neglected genre of Irish music: 17th- and 18th-century harp songs.

 

These she repositions in their true context: sung in a vernacular style, self-accompanied on a copy of an early Irish harp, using historical Irish playing techniques and aesthetic. The results are exceptional. They bring us the closest we have yet come to the art of harpers such as Turlough Carolan, singing and playing to his patrons in the Great Irish Houses of the 18th century'. 

 

Siobhán Armstrong | Founding Director

The Historical Harp Society of Ireland