French harpist, Cecile Corbel performs with Patrice Fisher & N.O.Celtic Harp
Host: New Orleans Chapter of American Harp Society
Type: Music/Arts - Concert

Date: Sunday, April 19, 2009
Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: Trinity Artists Series
Street: 1329 Jackson Ave.
Phone: 5044828827
Cécile Corbel
"In Celtic cosmogony, the power of a dream is as real as a footprint"
Hugo Pratt – Corto Maltese
- les celtiques –
"Imagine a red haired Celt from Brittany, just out of a Broceliande tale, with a voice that hovers somewhere between the high registers of Kate Bush, the purity of Sinead O Connor and the mysticism of Enya and you’ll have a good idea what this remarkable young harpist, arranger of traditional songs and original songwriter sounds like.”

Singer and Harpist Cecile Corbel was born in Brittany, in the Finistère, at the very west of Europe…
As a child, she travels all over Brittany with her parents, who were puppeteers.
In her teens, after learning the guitar, she discovered the Celtic harp.
Aged 18, she then moves to Paris to study archeology, still dreaming of Music…
After a few years performing in Parisian streets, pubs and cafés, and on the roads of her native region Brittany, she self-produces her first album, distributed by the Celtic label Keltia Musique.

The young Breton composer and singer now shares her « pop folk Celtic » music with her musicians in France and abroad… From Estonia to Burma, from Australia to Germany, but also in Belgium, Switzerland, Italia, Netherlands, Czech republic, Poland, USA, Cecile’s harp and voice have already bewitched thousands of people…
Eternal vibrations, powerful culture, charismatic personality, Cecile sometimes becomes a storyteller, her harp transforms into a magician, for a trip out-of-time. This is beautiful, accessible, cutting-edge folk music.
Her second album “SongBook1” was released in 2006.
She also shared some great moments on stage with Celtic artists such as Altan, Alan Stivell, Carlos Nunez, or Dan ar Braz (…)
2008 is the start of new projects and collaborations for the young harpist–traveler: tour in Australia and in the USA, residence in Burma with local musicians, more than one hundred concerts across Europe…
Cecile is working on a new album to be released fall 2008.
She will also appear as the heroine in Alan Simon’s (Excalibur) new show entitled “Anne de Bretagne” in 2009.

"The new princess of Celtic harp" -review in "Muska" magazine march/April 2008 Slovenia
“Corbel belongs to this new generation of European folkies, - In the sense that she is happy to take crusty old folk standards and reinvent them for the 21st-century audience”. - Sydney morning Herald – February 2007

"C.C. mirrors her singing, limpid, fragile, but confident. She draws her inspiration from the Breton tradition, from Breton laments and magic tales". - Liberation – dec 14 2006

"Cecile is a citizen of the world, and her voice flows as she tells about exile, rough seas, lovers parted by life, migrations"..... CHORUS – les cahiers de la chanson N° 54 hiver 2005-06
"Cécile draws her inspiration from traditional melodies she renews with hints of « pop » and folk music (...) She sings with an exquisite grace" - World MD

"Cécile Corbel sings like a nightingale" Liberation – Nov 18 2006

"She imposes an enchanting universe with a clever mix of traditional Irish songs and Breton tunes". 20 minutes – Nov 2. 2006

"Sometimes an artist comes along with such a terrific style that they not only bring new life to a tradition and a new way of hearing or looking but leave an indelible mark that is deeper than the superficially skilled. - Celtic beat review – Dec 2007
You can get more information, including pictures, about Cecile at www.cecilecorbel.com.

The NEW ORLEANS CELTIC HARP ENSEMBLE is a group of Louisiana harpists
who are dedicated to the promotion of the harp, as well as Celtic
culture in Louisiana. The Ensemble was formed in January, 2001.
The goals of the New Orleans Celtic Harp Ensemble are: To provide
a nonthreatening group performance experience for professional
harpists & harp students in Louisiana, to promote the Celtic culture,
which is part of New Orleans's heritage & to inspire a new generation
of students to study the harp.
The Ensemble includes: Director Patrice Fisher and Harpists:
Maeve Lawless, Caroline Lawless, Laurie McConnell and Michaela
Morrissey.
PATRICE FISHER is a professional Louisiana harpist & composer of
Celtic ancestry. She is a graduate in music from Tulane University.
She has studied Celtic music with Grainne Hambly, soloist with and
Janet Harbison, director of the Belfast Harp Orchestra, with Scottish
harpist, Billy Jackson & in Ireland with harpist, Maire Ni Chathasaigh
of the Cairde Na Cruite Irish Harp Society. Patrice is the founder of
the New Orleans Celtic Harp Ensemble.
These harpists will only play in New Orleans
(MAEVE AND CAROLINE LAWLESS are sister harp students of Celtic
ancestry, who have studied the harp since 2001.
LAURIE MCCONNELL is a harp student of Scottish ancestry. She has
played the harp since early 2004.
MICHAELA MORRISSEY is a professional vocalist and harp student.
BARBARA MARTIN is a semi-professional harpist, who specializes in Welsh music.)
These performers will only play in Lafayette:
(The BAYOU HARP CIRCLE is a harp ensemble, based in Lafayette, LA.)
BHC members, Kathy Winn and Alice Wallace, will perform in the Lafayette concert on April 17.)