From The Irish Time - 19 aprile 2014
Harpists have had mixed fortunes
since their early medieval heyday. Now Cormac de Barra is helping to
restore the instrument’s status. As part of his efforts, he tries
teaching it to an ‘Irish Times’ journalist
Once
upon a time, says Cormac de Barra, the harpist was given pride of
place in Irish society. De Barra is collaborating with Moya Brennan
on Ten14 , a musical Brian Boru-themed show for all the
family, which debuts today in the Ark in Dublin’s Temple Bar, and
he’s offered to teach me how to play a tune on the harp.
“In
those days the taoiseach got the best cut of meat,” he says. “The
poet got the second best cut and the harpist got the third. And so it
went, all the way down to the professional farters who got the
giblets and guts.”
“Professional
farting?” I say. “Was that a thing?”
“Yes,”
says de Barra.
“Can
you teach me that too?”
