Ceolta Cruit at MacAnna Theatre, Dundalk Tomorrow November 21st

Oriel window in Oriel (Photo credit: Lawrence OP)

Ceolta Cruit – The Melody of the Harp at Ceol Oirghialla
The gala concert at this year’s DkIT TradWeek focuses on the music of the harp and the great collections of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The concert, one of a series of events celebrating ten years of music at DkIT, takes place at 7pm on 21 November 2013 in the MacAnna Theatre on the DkIT campus and features the Ceol Oirghialla Traditional Music Ensemble with special guests Ann Heymann, Lisa Butler and Daoirí Farrell.
The Ceol Oirghialla Traditional Ensemble comprises over forty musicians drawn from the DkIT community, including undergraduates, postgraduates, graduates and staff. The Ensemble proudly represents the Institute at a variety of events, enriching the cultural life of the community and the North-East.
American based Ann Heymann is today’s first Gaelic harper to approach the cláirseach using rigorously applied historical and traditional standards. Recognised as a leading performer and scholar, Ann utilises a range of historical sources, including the Bunting, Robert ap Huw and piobaireachd manuscripts, to musically interpret ports, planxties, cumhas and other Irish harp compositions.
Fiddle player Lisa Butler is well known to traditional music audiences through her performances with Caladh Nua. In addition to her prowess on the fiddle, she has been acclaimed as the owner of one of the most lyrical voices in contemporary traditional music. Daoirí Farrell is this year’s winner of the Senior Men’s Singing competition at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. His debut album, The First Turn, marked him out as an outstanding exponent of traditional song, demonstrating influences from Andy Irvine, Christy Moore and Frank Harte amongst others. Both Lisa and Daoirí are graduates of the BA (Hons) Applied Music programme, Lisa being part of the very first cohort of students to graduate from Ceol Oirghialla.
The repertoire for the concert includes many tunes from the harp repertoire, including a number of compositions by the great harper composer Turlough O’Carolan that were composed in and around Dundalk. Other sources include Edward Bunting and George Petrie, principal collectors involved in the preservation of Irish traditional music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The study of traditional music is fundamental to the academic mission at Ceol Oirghialla and is an integral component of programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. To date, research undertaken by Ionad Taighde Ceoil, the Centre for Research in Music at DkIT, has focused on the music and poetry connected to the Oriel region. Recent concerts have celebrated the unique cultural heritage of Oriel, including Ó Riada sa Gaeity (2009), Radharc ó na Sléibhte (2012), Imirce an Cheoil (2012) and Ómós do Josephine Keegan (2013). Ceolta Cruit continues the successful integration of theory and practice and the celebration of the rich intangible cultural heritage of the Oriel region.
The concert takes place as part of the second DkIT TradWeek, which includes a series of events including workshops, sessions, masterclasses, and lectures. Admission to the concert is free but tickets are limited. For more information see www.dkit.ie/music or contact ann.coffey@dkit.ie.