Award winning harpist to play at Smarmore Castle

The castle will host a recital by award winning harpist Anne-marie O'Farrel on Saturday November 13th. The performance will take place in the Blue room at 3pm and form part of Ardee's Baroque festival. Anne-marie will perform a programme of music that would have been performed in the 18th Century Great Houses or Castles of Ireland.

Recital

Saturday's recital by Redmond O Toole was a great success here at the castle. The event was a sell-out and described by many as one of the highlights of the Baroque Festival. The appreciative audience of 40 people were enchanted by Redmond's guitar playing. Many had not encountered the instrument in this type of setting or playing Baroque music before.

The event started at 2.30pm as the audience gathered in the castle's dining room for a drinks reception. Shortly after 3 pm everyone moved to the Blue Room where Redmond kept them entertained for the following 60 minutes or so. The audience were seated in a semi-circle around Redmond with no one being more than 10 feet away from him. Redmond brought the whole audience into the world of baroque music by explaining the history of the guitar and its association with this type of music.

We were delighted to be asked to host the recital and hope that everyone who attended had an enjoyable time.

We would like to thank Brian, Mary and the whole team from Louth County Council for putting the event together. We would also like to thank Niamh, Eileen, Karina and Maggie for running the drinks and food reception so smoothly, and Peter and Lorna for keeping the car parking flowing smoothly.

Special rate for Baroque Festival

To celebrate our association with Ardee Baroque we are pleased to announce some special accommodation rates this weekend.

One night - €50 per person
Two nights - €90 per person

The rate includes, accommodation, full Irish breakfast and use of our leisure club.

Redmond O Toole recital

Redmond O Toole’s recital in the Blue Room here at Smarmore Castle on Saturday 14th is one of the most anticipated events of the festival as Redmond is one of the most innovative and exciting young guitarists in Europe.

He plays an 8-string “Brahms Guitar” in the cello position, connected to a special resonating box. Recent engagements have seen Redmond tour Spain as a special guest with the Chieftains, a BBC recording as soloist with the BBC Ulster Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Montgomery and a performance with the acclaimed Dutch soprano Charlotte Riedjik at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Bantry.

He performs regularly with the Chieftains and in duo with violinist Elizabeth Cooney.

His programme will be made up of
Bach: Sonata No1 in G minor for unaccompanied violin BWV1001
Bach: Prelude Fugue and Allegro BWV 998
Scarlatti: Sonata in E major K380
Scarlatti:Sonata in D minor K213
Scarlatti:Sonata in A major K322

Festival Accommodation and Breakfast rate
Two nights = € 99 per adult, € 45 per child (sharing same room)

Redmond O Toole to perform at Smarmore Castle

On Saturday November 14th Irish classical guitarist, Redmond O’ Toole will be performing at Smarmore Castle. The concert is part of the annual Ardee Baroque Music Festival. The concert will take place in the castle’s decorative Blue room and is limited to an audience of forty. O’ Toole is renowned for playing the unusual 8 string Brahm’s Guitar so this will be the first time that this instrument has featured in the festival programme.

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.