Harp Traditions of Ireland

Edward Bunting

By the end of the 18th century, musical styles had changed and the centuries-old harping tradition was waning. In an attempt to reverse this trend, the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival aimed to preserve and promote the ancient harp music of Ireland. At this time of musical transition in Ireland, the repertoire of the Belfast Harp Festival incorporated features of both art music and folk music. The compositions of blind harper Turlough Carolan (1670-1738), featured in many of the performances, illustrate this variety of influences, drawing from Italian art composers, ancient Gaelic harp repertoire and traditional songs and dance tunes.

Title page of an early printing of Bunting’s General Collection of Ancient Irish Music

Bunting, General Collection of Ancient Irish Music M1744 .B95 1796 Irish

The more elaborate title page and frontis-piece from the 1809 edition

Bunting, General Collection of Ancient Irish Music M1744 .G46 1809 Irish

What set the Belfast Festival apart from earlier festivals, such as the Granard Balls of the 1780s, is that its organizers planned for the transcription of the harpers’ music. To this end, a classically-trained musician, 19-year-old organist Edward Bunting (1773-1843), was hired to notate the music exactly as played, without alteration.

Title page of Bunting’s later collection The Ancient Music of Ireland (1840)

Bunting, The Ancient Music of Ireland M1744 .B942 Oversize

Bunting’s first published collection, A General Collection of Ancient Irish Music (1796), was based on his transcriptions of the July 1792 festival. As the first known attempt to notate Ireland’s harp music directly from performers, Bunting’s transcription work took place just as the ancient harping tradition was about to pass away entirely. Even though Bunting is thought to have omitted some of the harpers’ bass lines, his published collection of 66 airs is still of major historical and musical significance.
Early Harps
Thomas Moore