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Are you craving a bit of the Irish this weekend? I'll be playing harp at Bistro Maison, a lovely French restaurant on 3rd Street in McMinnville "St Patrick's day is this Saturday. Come visit our many shades of Green & experience a new understanding of what proper corned beef is about. Thick slabs of Carlton Farm's Finest - 503-474-1888 for reservations"
I'll offer tunes from and about Ireland for both Lunch & Dinner this Saturday, March 17th.
It's a popular event, so make your reservations! This is a lovely setting with great food, & harp - what's not to like?
And for my Gluten Free Friends, this French Bistro prepares much of it's food 'naturally gluten free' by simmering the sauce down rather than adding flour to thicken - just let your server know your special dietary needs!
My harp, Rowan Luchair, is modeled on a lowhead Irish harp , in her luthier Rick Kemper's words: "Top players from Ireland & Scotland seem to prefer small harps with lighter tension that can respond to the blazing ornamentation they put into their music. Luchair (Gaelic for 'joy' or 'delight') incorporates the best features of these harps."
Do make a reservation, if you wish to come down & enjoy a fabulous meal & a bit of Celtic harp music!
March has come, & again I'll be playing harp at Bistro Maison, a lovely French restaurant on 3rd Street in McMinnville - or, as the Wiki entry states: The precise Gaelic term for the' harp of the Gael' is clàrsach Ghàidhealach (Sc.)/cláirseach Ghaelach (Ir.), meaning Gaelic harp)
I'll be there for both Lunch & Dinner on Saint Patrick's Day lunch, Thursday March 17th. I've done this several years running, it's a popular event, so make your reservations! This is a lovely setting with great food, & harp - what's not to like?Most of the tunes will be Irish, with a smattering of other Celtic pieces. & my harp, Rowan Luchair, is modeled on a lowhead Irish harp , in her luthier Rick Kemper's words: "Top players from Ireland & Scotland seem to prefer small harps with lighter tension that can respond to the blazing ornamentation they put into their music. Luchair (Gaelic for 'joy' or 'delight') incorporates the best features of these harps."
A young dancing friend is working on learing the Gaelic, & asks me 'how are you' - Conas tá; tú? (co-nas tah tu) . . . . to which I can reply 'Tá mé go hiontach" (tah-may go hee-un-tachk) - I'm wonderful! or "Tá mé go maith" (tah may go mah) - I'm well!
So - Ar mhaith leat lón? (air why lyat lahn) - 'would you like lunch?' Come to Bistro Maison!
Last weekend I played a 'wallpaper gig' for a fundraiser; & have been invited back to Bistro Maison, a lovely French restaurant in McMinnville, to play harp (or, as the Wiki entry states: The precise Gaelic term for the' harp of the Gael' is clàrsach Ghàidhealach (Sc.)/cláirseach Ghaelach (Ir.), meaning Gaelic harp) for Saint Patrick's Day lunch, Wed. March 17. This will be the third time I've played cláirseach for St Pat's at the Bistro - always a popular event. This is a lovely setting with great food, & harp - what's not to like?
So if you're thinking of going to lunch, & would like to hear some Celtic music, played on an Irish style Celtic harp, Bistro Maison is the place! Most of the tunes will be Irish, with a smattering of other Celtic pieces. & my harp, Rowan Luchair, is modeled on a lowhead Irish harp , in her luthier Rick Kemper's words: "Top players from Ireland & Scotland seem to prefer small harps with lighter tension that can respond to the blazing ornamentation they put into their music. Luchair (Gaelic for 'joy' or 'delight') incorporates the best features of these harps."
A young dancing friend is working on learing the Gaelic, & asks me 'how are you' - Conas tá; tú? (co-nas tah tu) . . . . to which I can reply 'Tá mé go hiontach" (tah-may go hee-un-tachk) - I'm wonderful! or "Tá mé go maith" (tah may go mah) - I'm well!
Over the last few weeks I've received several calls from brides & grooms, interested in booking a harp 'or other stringed instrument' for weddings. A few have requested sound clips on my website- so I'm looking into recording a bit of my harping! This evening I played a bit 'on speaker-phone' for one couple!
So - Ar mhaith leat lón? (air why lyat lahn) - 'would you like lunch?' Come to Bistro Maison!
Sonas ort! (Happiness be on you)
The wedding (my daughter's) was lovely :) We all had a grand time, the harping went well, she was a beautiful bride, etc! The music all came together, & things are returning to what passes for normal.
Deborah from Bistro Maison, a lovely French restaurant in McMinnville, called to invite me to play harp for Saint Patrick's Day dinner, Tue March 17. A few years ago I played for this dinner, & it was very popular - a full house in a lovely setting with great food, & harp - what's not to like?
So if you're thinking of going out for the evening, & would like to hear some Celtic music, played on an Irish style Celtic harp, Bistro Maison is the place!
Most of the tunes will be Irish, with a smattering of other Celtic pieces.
Of course, any harper might have some mixed feelings about Patrick himself ( ~ 400 AD) - who drove the 'snakes' (or druids?) out of Ireland. Harpers, who held the traditional stories & songs in their heads, were often persecuted by those wanting to spread the 'new religion.' From Alison Vardy's website: "The period starting from the 1600s during English rule in Ireland was difficult for Irish harpers as the harp as a folk and court instrument was suppressed to prevent a resurgence of nationalism. Harps were burnt and harpers executed. The tragic extinction of this harping tradition at the end of the eighteenth century had a number of causes: the Angloization of the Irish (and Scottish) cultures, the increased popularity of step-dancing and the fiddle, and the inability of the harp to play the musical accidentals required for classical music, which started coming in to vogue in Dublin and Edinburgh during the then Baroque era. Only in Wales was the Folk harp tradition unbroken."
In the late 18th century, Edward Bunting began collecting traditional tunes, including many by Turlough Carolan (1670-1738), the blind Irish folk harpist. My set will include a number of these, & other Irish & Celtic pieces, including some from Wales & from Brittany & Celtic Spain!
Some of 'Patrick's Breastplate' comes from an old Gaelic blessing:
I bind to myself today:
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,the brightness of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The flash of lightening,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea
The stability of Earth,
& the compactness of Rocks.
In a workshop with a Gaelic woman raised as a Druid, I learned a dance (similar to TaiChi) that accompanies this blessing. Harps have become the national instrument of Ireland, & I've collected a few harp items from Ireland & England this winter, including these two bells.
Are you craving a bit of the Irish this weekend? I'll be playing harp at Bistro Maison, a lovely French restaurant on 3rd Street in McMinnville "St Patrick's day is this Saturday. Come visit our many shades of Green & experience a new understanding of what proper corned beef is about. Thick slabs of Carlton Farm's Finest - 503-474-1888 for reservations"
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