Music for a King - an Irish harper at the court of Christian IV
Part of Scoil na gCláirseach - Festival of Early Irish Harp
The Irish Consort: Siobhán Armstrong, early Irish harp; Anne Freitag, Renaissance flute; Reiko Ichise, viols; Ryosuke Sakamoto, Renaissance lute
King Christian IV of Denmark (1577–1648), employed not one but two Irish harpers during his reign. One of them, Darby Scott, was painted in a court portrait of four royal musicians, with a bass viol player, a lutenist, and a flautist. This concert recreates that vivid painting, reimagining delicious 16th- and 17th-century music from Scandinavia, England, Ireland and Italy, that Darby and his colleagues may have played for the king’s enjoyment.
In person: Concerts take place live in Kilkenny.
Online: A video of each concert will be available to ticket holders, on this page, as soon as possible after each concert takes place. N.B. Concerts will not be live-streamed.