MORE than 50 harpists from Ireland and France played to a full house at St Mary’s Cathedral last week in a collaborative concert between young musicians from the Irish Harp Centre in Castleconnell and the Conservatoire of Agen/Bordeaux in France.
The dulcet tones of 52 harps marked this historic occasion and made it an evening to remember for those who took part in or witnessed the concert.
After individual performances from either troupe, the two groups combined later in the concert for a mixture of powerful and magical harp sounds and the evening was finished off with an encapsulating performance of Harbison’s composition ‘Carillon’.
The concert marked a visit by 26 French harpists from Agen and Bordeaux who were hosted by local families and the Irish Harp Centre musicians will make a return trip to the south of France in October.
The French group also plans a return to Ireland next year for the Brian Boru Millennium International Harp Festival in summer 2014.
