Patrick Ball

Presented By: Caltech Folk Music Society

Patrick Ball, multi-talented harpist and storyteller, presents his new show, Celtic Harp and Story, which once again combines compelling stories with incredible harp music.

Whether in the stronghold of a Galway chieftain in the years before history began or yesterday in the snug corner of a pub in Dublin, the Irish have always delighted in storytelling. Their passion for eloquence and wordplay, their deep devotion to their mythical past, their ability to find joy and humor in a dark world, and their belief that the supernatural world could appear between one breath and the next made their stories and the telling of them unrivaled in the world of the oral tradition. And always, amidst the storytelling, there was music. Jigs, reels, and haunting airs graced the spaces between the tales. And first among Irish instruments, and the most honored, was the legendary Celtic harp. With its crystalline, bell-like voice and lavish resonance, it would soothe its listeners and lead them deeper into the realms of the imagination. In Celtic Harp and Story, Patrick Ball rekindles the fire and wonder of an evening of Irish storytelling. For in telling the marvelous old tales of wit and enchantment, and in playing the ancient, brass-strung harp of Ireland, he not only carries on two of the richest traditions of Celtic culture, but blends them in concert to create "a warm and magical performance."