Please enjoy this short fairy harp track, funded with thanks to Arts Council of Ireland.
“Right up to and including the 18th century the status of the harper, cruitire, in Irish society was second only to the file, poet. The greatest of these harpers were known as masters who’d acquired supreme knowledge: bards. Turlough O’Carolan was Ireland’s most prominent 18th century harper and is widely considered to be the last of this Bardic tradition in Ireland.
W.B. Yeats himself, regarded it as highly suspicious that Carolan could have written so many tunes. Surely, the only reasonable explanation was that Carolan must have fallen asleep on a fairy fort to have absorbed so much music. The connection between music and the magic of the fairies after all goes right back to the Daghda. So why wouldn’t Yeats assume some fairy antics?”
Tune: 🎵 Carolan’s Concerto. Turlough O’Carolan Arr. Aisling Ennis 🎵
“Right up to and including the 18th century the status of the harper, cruitire, in Irish society was second only to the file, poet. The greatest of these harpers were known as masters who’d acquired supreme knowledge: bards. Turlough O’Carolan was Ireland’s most prominent 18th century harper and is widely considered to be the last of this Bardic tradition in Ireland.
W.B. Yeats himself, regarded it as highly suspicious that Carolan could have written so many tunes. Surely, the only reasonable explanation was that Carolan must have fallen asleep on a fairy fort to have absorbed so much music. The connection between music and the magic of the fairies after all goes right back to the Daghda. So why wouldn’t Yeats assume some fairy antics?”
Tune: 🎵 Carolan’s Concerto. Turlough O’Carolan Arr. Aisling Ennis 🎵
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Fairy Harp QR Recital Project expands on artistry from her 2023 lecture-recital series 'Fairy Harp Ceol Sí' which was funded by Wicklow County Council. I hope that these short snippets of harp music and info elevate your experience of Russborough's beautiful fairy trail walk.
Copyright Aisling Ennis 2024
Copyright Aisling Ennis 2024