Celtic music comes to the shores of Lake Constance

The festival is the brainchild of Kora Wuthier. Celtic Days Festival

A Swiss convert to the Celtic Harp is getting ready to present another edition of the Celtic Days Festival. Kora Wuthier is the driving force behind the festival on the shores of Lake Constance, which runs from June 1 to 4 in the town of Rorschach.

Now in its eighth year, the popularity of the event is evidence of a growing interest in Celtic culture in Switzerland.

The festival is a mix of concerts, workshops and exhibitions and usually draws musicians and fans of Celtic music from across Europe.

Over the four days, harp makers will present their instruments, workshops will be given on Breton and Scottish music, and visitors can sign up for courses on the Tin Whistle and Bodhran.

There will be a mass on the Sunday with sacred music from Celtic lands. The festival will draw to a close on the following day with traditional dances.

The Swiss musician, Kora Wuthier, is the driving force behind the festival. Inspired after attending a concert by the Irish group, Clannad, Wuthier took up the Celtic Harp and is now a teacher of the instrument at music schools in northeastern Switzerland.

She has also published Swiss music for the harp. Wuthier says there is “a huge renaissance of the Celtic Harp and not only in Celtic countries…”.

She says the repertoire for the instrument includes medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary music.

swissinfo