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Celebrating ‘the Blind Bard of Belfast’, Carl Hardebeck
- Date:
- By: Ulster Orchestra
Hardebeck is an important but overlooked figure in Irish music.
On 10 March we held a special event in the Foyle Foundation Hall at Ulster Orchestra at Townsend to celebrate the life and work of composer and organist Carl Hardebeck.
Hardebeck is one of the most important figures in Irish music: he collected songs from various Gaeltacht areas, publishing them in three influential volumes titled Seóda Ceoil (‘Gems of Melody’). Affectionately known as ‘the blind bard of Belfast’, Hardebeck was the first person to adapt Braille for the Irish language, and his system is still used today. Nevertheless, his work has been frequently overlooked.
During his life he lived on the Limestone Road and lower Falls Road, close to the Ulster Orchestra’s home on Towsend Street in west Belfast, and the event fulfilled a long-standing aim of the Orchestra and our neighbours at Raidió Fáilte to collaborate on a celebration of Hardebeck.
The event, made possible with funding from Foras na Gaelige and programmed as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Language Week), featured the Orchestra performing a number of Hardebeck’s works: Seoitín Seó, a lullaby; and three folk songs, Éamonn an Chnuic, Och, Och Eirie Ligis Oh, Sal Óg Ruadh and Úna Bhán, sung by Gráinne Holland and orchestrated by Paul Campbell, who also conducted. The performance concluded with Hardebeck’s arrangement of The Lark in the Clear Air. Between the music, Raidió Fáilte’s Séamus Mac Aindreasa told the story of Hardebeck’s life in both Irish and English.
“The performance carried a sense of quiet reverence, as though we were not merely listening to music, but participating in a living conversation with the past. […] It was not simply a concert, it was an act of remembrance, a celebration of resilience, and a testament to the enduring power of artistic passion.”
Frank Liddy, Andersonstown News
“The supremely talented orchestra musicians made possible the first salute to Hardebeck, a giant of the Irish music scene and one-time Divis Street denizen, since 1970. In the process, the orchestra underscored its ongoing commitment to enhanced engagement with its neighbours.”
Anthony Neeson, Andersonstown News
