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In March I broke out my Celtic lever harp—especially in the days leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, when I brought out all the Irish favorites. From lively jig sets to beloved lullabies and hymns and love songs, it was fun to explore the roots of tradition and some toe tapping melodies.

Whether you heard one of these programs live or you’re discovering this music for the first time, I’m so glad you’re here. Which of these tunes do you recognize? Which would you love to hear again? And what did you play or listen to in the month of March??

I just released an hour of instrumental Easter Hymns on YouTube. After loving curating collection, I then improvised, arranged, and performed them on my gorgeous natural maple wood pedal harp, right in the heart of my living room. Surrounded by soft spring sunshine, it feels like a glimpse of resurrection joy.

These songs cover a range of traditions! They include melodies I learned from my Lutheran and Baptist grandparents, American folk hymns I learned in choir, Anglican choruses from my favorite composers like Handel and Bach and Methodist staples of tender sentiment. I LOVE these meditations–perfect for prayer, rest, bible study, or simply letting your heart breathe during Holy Week.

Some of the hymns like What Wondrous Love Is This and I Come to the Garden, are also available as sheet music arrangements for lever or pedal harp f you’d like to play them yourself.

Whether this music accompanies your Easter devotion, fills your home in the background, or simply gives you a moment of peace—I’m so glad you’re here.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Enjoy Durrow, the traditional tune from the town Durrow in Limerick.

Already this month, I: released sheet music for one of my FAVORITE Irish songs Durrow, filmed a long form video of ambient Celtic music (now up on YouTube,) heard Alexander Boldechev in person, and played 17 Irish music events on my Celtic harp!

And it’s only the 17th… If you need to relax in this crazy month, take a moment to listen to my video of 50 minutes of instrumental harp!

Patrick gets the name recognition but I want to give a shout out to St. Columba, a man who found God’s peace and who’s beautiful poem is often sung to Durrow as “Oh God Thou Art the Father”

This tune snatched my heart when I was just a child–it featured on a History of Christian Hymns CD that I would use to fall asleep. But it was the haunting harmonies that hooked me and had me playing repeat on my portable cd player.

The tune is called Durrow, a traditional Irish melody originally associated with “Captain Thomson,” a sea song from Limerick. Later, it became paired with the hymn text by St. Columba, “O God, Thou Art the Father.” Like many Celtic melodies, it carries that sorrowful intense longing.

For my St. Patrick’s Day project, I’ve created this arrangement in two versions (basic and advanced) for Celtic lever harp or 26-string lap harp, designed to feel easy, simple and natural under the fingers while preserving the haunting character of the tune.

I had the opportunity to record Durrow and a lot of other favorites at the gorgeous local venue The Carriage Barn in Goshen Indiana–relax to instrumental Celtic music!