Friday 9 September 2016

Friends of Wighton - Saturday event

From Sheena Wellington :

Historical Gaelic harp come and try!

Saturday 10th September at 2pm :
 
Come and have a go at playing a medieval clarsach, in Dundee's Wighton Centre, upstairs in the Central Library. 

The old Gaelic harp of Scotland and Ireland is very different and much more ancient than the modern clarsach or Celtic harp you might be more familiar with.    The ancient clarsach was shared between Ireland and Scotland from medieval times down to the 18th century.

The best known examples are iconic museum exhibits: the famous Brian Boru harp displayed in Trinity College Dublin, and the beautiful Queen Mary harp in the National Museum in Edinburgh. The Brian Boru harp is shown on the Guinness label!

Historical Gaelic harps are rare, and are hardly ever heard nowadays. Simon Chadwick (pictured above) is a historical musician and a leading authority in the old Scottish and Irish harp traditions, and he will bring beautiful historic replicas of the ancient harps into Dundee for this come-and-try session.

Simon, an inspiring teacher,  leads a regular harp class in the Wighton Centre in Dundee, and there are now spaces for new participants and harps available to rent. So come along on Saturday 10th to explore the oldest strands of Scottish and Irish music.