About 75 people attended the Perry Fine Arts concert Sunday afternoon, featuring the Irish music of Cláirseach. This season’s concerts are dedicated to the memory of Alice Schumacher of Perry, a dedicated member and supporter of Fine Arts and loved music of all kinds.
Cláirseach is composed of Ann and Charlie Heymann of Winthrop, Minn. They are past masters of “ancient Celtic chant, ceol mor and planxties,” according to their website, but they also indulge in danceable reels, jigs, popular dance music and ballads, with an emotional range running from humorous drinking songs to keen laments.
Ann has been described as “the world’s foremost performer on the wire-strung traditional Irish-Scottish harp that disappeared 200 years ago.” Primarily a harpist, Ann also takes turns on the flute, whistle and bodhran, a kind of Celtic drum or tambour.
Charlie sings in both Gaelic and English and also plays traditional instruments, such as the cittern, guitar, Irish button accordion, bodhran and bones.
The next concert in the Perry Fine Arts series will be the 41st annual William Bell Memorial Tuba and Euphonium Day clinic and concert Saturday, Nov. 2 at the First United Methodist Church at 1100 Third St. in Perry. The church is handicapped accessible.
