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SIOBHÁN ARMSTRONG
Siobhán
Armstrong is one of a small number of harpists worldwide who play
harps from earlier centuries and who research historical playing
techniques and repertoire appropriate to these instruments. She has
an extensive collection of copies of instruments from the Middle
Ages, the Renaissance and the baroque eras, including chromatic
multi-row harps: an Italian arpa
doppia and a Spanish
arpa de dos ordenes .
With eclectic interests, she is equally at home playing 17th century
Italian opera, performing as a soloist on Hollywood film soundtracks
and gigging at the world's biggest traditional music festivals.
Being Irish, Siobhán is particularly interested in encouraging the revival of the early Irish harp, which was strung in brass and sometimes silver and perhaps even gold wires. Played in Ireland from at least 1000 and made famous by harpers such as Ó Catháin and Carolan, it died out in the early 19th century. To this end, she founded and chairs the Historical Harp Society of Ireland and is the director of the Society's annual Scoil na gCláirseach–Summer School of Early Irish Harp which is held each August in Ireland. She plays a copy of the medieval Trinity College harp–the national emblem of Ireland–strung in brass and 18-carat gold. Her solo recording on this instrument , Cláirseach na hÉireann: The Harp of Ireland, was released in 2004:
...Siobhán
Armstrong's solo debut is a cavernous joy to behold ... This harp
is an animal of enthralling demeanour, its wire strings creating a
space that'll lure the most neophyte of listeners in ...
The Irish Times
Another of her primary interests is the art of continuo playing i.e. the art of improvising vocal or instrumental accompaniment from a bass line; a style of playing found in Baroque music. She regularly does this in period instrument productions of 17th century operas by Monteverdi, Rossi and Cavalli among others in the main opera houses in Europe and the U.S.A.
Siobhán Armstrong performs with some of the most prestigious soloists, period-instrument ensembles, and conductors in the field of early music such as William Christie and Les Arts Florissants; Jeffrey Skidmore and Ex Cathedra; and Paul McCreesh and The Gabrieli Consort. With these ensembles, she records with Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, Teldec, Virgin Classics, Erato and Dorian. Playing her arpa doppia, she is also a soloist on the soundtrack of MGM's recent film, The Merchant of Venice , on Decca.
Siobhán was born in Dublin and, from an early age, studied modern harps, piano and voice, singing with choral groups and cathedral choirs. While reading Music at Trinity College Dublin, she directed Trinity College Singers, the university's chamber choir. In 1987 – her year of graduation – Siobhán was invited to Germany to establish a harp class at the Schule für Musik, Theater und Tanz in Stuttgart-Sindelfingen.
Siobhán now works as a freelance performer, lecturer and teacher, mainly in Europe. She has served on the faculty, taught, lectured or led workshops at Amherst College, USA; the Akademie für Alte Musik, Bremen; Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology as well as early music events and harp festivals internationally including The World Harp Congress, Edinburgh International Harp Festival, the Süddeutsches Harfentreffen, Germany and the Panceltic Festival, Ireland.
Siobhán Armstrong has performed and broadcast throughout Europe, North America and Japan and has appeared as a soloist or ensemble player at venues including the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Opéra Comique in Paris, the Zankel Hall at Carnegie, NY, and Izumi Hall in Osaka. She has also been a participant at the main early music festivals including Boston, Utrecht, Chaise-Dieu and Vienna and at traditional music festivals such as the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, Brittany.
In addition to talking the hind leg off a donkey in English, Siobhán speaks Irish, German and French.
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