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Galway Early Music Festival

Which came first, words or music? A 'chicken and the egg' question that will be considered from many angles in the 2013 Galway Early Music Festival. Telling stories, expressing emotions and embodying the sacred, both vocal and instrumental music play a part. This interplay of words and music is the basis for our programme, 'Word Play'. Some areas to be highlighted include Bardic poetry and early Irish Harp; the baroque compositions of 17th century Rome featuring the unique instrument, the Lirone; music, art, and the dark side of fairy tales; trouvere songs; and more. Along with dramatically staged concerts by international and national ensembles such as Erin Headley with Atalante (international), Laoise O'Brien (Ireland), Siobhan Armstrong (Ireland), Ann and Charlie Heymann (USA) and many more, visitors can learn some renaissance dances, try their hand at the early Irish harp and learn about the music that might have been heard in Medieval Galway with a Smartphone/GPS 'time-travel' event. The festival includes many family-friendly events, as well. A foot-tapping weekend of songs and melody in the liveliest medieval town in Europe!

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