Edward Bunting: The Man & His Legacy

Celebrate Ireland’s rich harping heritage with award-winning harper, composer and PhD researcher Gráinne Meyer,  who presents her lecture entitled, “Lost in Transcription: Reading Between the Lines of Bunting's Account of the Belfast Harp Festival”.

Much of what survives of the old Irish harp repertoire comes from the notebooks Edward Bunting filled at the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival. Over three days ten Irish harpers gathered, and Bunting, a classically trained organist was tasked to transcribe their music. The transcriptions he produced are our main source for what the old harpers played;  they have shaped how the tradition has been interpreted and understood ever since. But how faithful were they, and how should we read them? Any notation that fixes pitch and rhythm discards the nuance and the flexibility of a music not conceived in this manner.

A harp recital follows led by Laoise Kelly TG4 Gradam Ceoil Musician of the Year 2020.  Laoise tells the story of 18th century Mayo harper Hugh Higgins, who performed at the 1792 festival and plays some of his music. The Cruit Éireann|Harp Ireland All-Island Harp Ensemble presents Michael Rooney’s Anáil Ársa na Seanmhaoine, a contemporary reimagining of some of the music from Bunting’s 1796 collection.