From Barack to Baroque

On November 5th the eyes of the world will be on the results of the US elections. As the race heads into the crucial last three weeks the odds seem to be favouring Barack Obama as his lead over John McCain starts to widen with every opinion poll. November may well be "Barack time" in Washington but here in Ireland it is Baroque that everyone will be talking about as the fifth annual Ardee Baroque Festival takes place from November 14th to 16th in historic venues throughout Ardee and Collon.

The festival has become a much anticipated date on the Irish musical calendar and this year’s programme looks like being the most ambitious yet. The Irish Baroque Orchestra will open the event with a performance on the Friday night in St. Mary’s Church of Ireland while Saturday will feature an organ recital by Mark Duley, the co-founder of the Irish Baroque Orchestra. Saturday will also see New York Polyphony make their European debut. The event will close with a concert by the Irish Baroque Orchestra on Sunday evening.

As usual there will be a varied array of fun events and educational workshops with the Classic Buskers leading the way. Historic talks by local historians John Rountree and Fr Michael Murtagh are sure to complement the music and give a historic perspective on the Baroque period. More details are available on Create Louth, the Louth County Council’s Arts website.

Smarmore Castle will be giving away a special two night stay over the weekend of the festival to some listeners of RTE Lyric FM. The lucky winners of the competition could be in for a treat as some of the performers in the festival are due to stay at the castle that weekend as well.