The King’s Harper: The Irish Harp at the 17th-century English Court
In 1605, King James I of England employed the first ‘royal’ Irish harper to work at the court in London: Cormac MacDermott. This gave rise to an extraordinary ensemble in which the melting sound of his early Irish harp’s brass-wire strings was woven together with the lute, Renaissance viols, and the human voice to produce an exquisite music for the king’s pleasure.
Concerts take place live in Kilkenny. A video of each concert will be available to ticket holders as soon as possible after each concert takes place. N.B. Concerts will not be live-streamed.
Location:
The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle
Artists:
The Irish Consort: Róisín O’Grady, soprano; Siobhán Armstrong, early Irish harp; Ryosuke Sakamoto, Renaissance lute; Sarah Groser, Reiko Ichise, Malachy Robinson, viols