Album inspired by Beara beauty to launch in London

HARPIST Tara Viscardi will launch her debut album, which has been influenced by her native Beara, in London next Thursday April 11th.

The album Beara will be launched in London’s Irish Centre, and Tara is joined by flautist Robert Harvey in a project that pairs contemporary, original compositions inspired by the Beara Peninsula with tunes collected and written on the peninsula since the 18th century.

The album also draws inspiration from tales of Princess Beara, the Spanish princess who it is said married Irish king Owen Mór, in 120 AD and who reputedly gave the area its name.

The album was recorded on location in Dawros Church in Kenmare on the Beara peninsula by producer Laoise O’Brien and engineer Ben Rawlins and is funded by Kerry County Council Arts and the Wales International Harp Festival.

A multiple prize winner, Tara has performed and recorded at venues including Wigmore Hall, Abbey Road Studios, the National Concert Hall Dublin, Áras an Uachtaráin, the Mansion House and the Irish Embassy in London.

She is joined on the album, and at the London launch by Robert Harvey, a seven-times All-Ireland champion, who released his own acclaimed solo flute album Feochán in 2020.