Beara CD Album

Beara pairs contemporary compositions inspired by the Beara Peninsula on the South West of Ireland with tunes collected and written on the peninsula since the 18th century. It also draws inspiration from the legend of Princess Beara, daughter of the King of Castile, who it is said sailed to Ireland to marry Owen Mór, King of Ireland, around 120 AD. Through the music, we aim to capture the rugged terrain and spirit of the landscape named by Owen Mór in honour of his wife. Tara's compositions are largely inspired by the natural beauty of her homeplace of Lauragh and touch on the universal themes of homecoming and belonging as well as being influenced by local folklore. The dance music composed by the Dwyer family of Caolrua, further down the peninsula between Eyeries and Ardgroom are a crucial addition to the album and we greatly enjoyed arranging these tunes. Further folk tales published in the Beara Book of Wonders inspired a set of slip jigs and a jig, 'The Humours of Ardgroom', notated in the eponymous town between 1861-1866 by James Goodman is also included. 'O'Sullivan's March', which is widely believed to depict the epic march of Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare and his followers from Beara to Leitrim at the beginning of the 17th century completes the selection. The space in which a record is made is integral to the feel of the album: in bringing this record to fruition, it was important to us to record Beara on location where the music is informed by and infused with the spirit of the place. We retreated to Dawros Church on All Hallow's Eve where the natural reverb echoes the wide open spaces of the peninsula. At times, the rain can be heard pelting the rafters above us; sometimes the birds join in the distance. When travelling between Dawros and Lauragh in the evening, we encountered a wild stag jumping out from the woods to greet us; he features on the cover art where Beara is beautifully depicted by Tara's father Claudio Viscardi. We consider ourselves fortunate to work with Laoise O'Brien and Ben Rawlins to record this album in a place where flora, fauna, faith and folklore converge. The end result, we think, is something special. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording this music. 

 

Credits

Tara Viscardi: Harp
Robert Harvey: Flute
Laoise O'Brien: Producer
Ben Rawlins: Engineer, Mixing, Mastering
Claudio Viscardi: Cover art and Photography
Kieran O'Sullivan: Graphic Design

Tracks 1,2,5,7,8,11 composed by Tara Viscardi, Track 3 (trad./Michael Dwyer), Track 4 (Trad.), Track 6 (John Dwyer), Track 9 (Tara Viscardi/Robert Harvey), Track 10 (Richard Dwyer).

Supported by Kerry County Council Arts, Wales International Harp Festival and Small Investments Ltd.

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