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Website: www.ceciledelage.com
Bandcamp: ceciledelage.bandcamp.com
There are few instruments as closely associated with Ireland as the harp. It is the national emblem of the country, appearing on the coat of arms and the Presidential Seal (not to mention on every bottle, can and pint glass of Guinness beer!) The song of the harp was revered by kings and chieftains, and the instrument found its way into Irish mythology.
Less than a dozen Celtic harps survive from the medieval period. The oldest is the one on which the national emblem of Ireland is based: the Trinity College Harp. Also known as the Brian Boru or O'Neill harp, this 15th century Irish harp is on display in the Long Room of Trinity College, Dublin.
Cécile Delage is from Toulouse, France. She has been playing classical and Celtic music for many years. After completing a bachelor's degree in musicology and a master's degree in harp performance at the University of Montréal, in 2017, she started dedicating herself to learning the Celtic harp. As the harp is less well-known in Quebec than in France, her mission is to promote it and raise its profile among a variety of activities. She founded her own harp school, Aziliz, through which she took her student group, Borealys, to a harp festival in France in 2023.
In the summer of 2010, Cécile discovered the complexity of Irish music while participating in the International University Music Festival in Belfort, France. She then participated in a Celtic harp workshop in Limerick, Ireland, with the renowned composer and performer Janet Harbison. With her classical musical background, she accompanies choirs and orchestras on the concert harp, but her main artistic pursuit remains Celtic music and its development. Her first album, Éclats, was released in July 2025, and she won third place at the Camac Harp Trophy (France) in August 2025. She performs traditional music from Ireland, Brittany, and Quebec with her collaborator François-Xavier Dueymes, as well as with her balfolk trio, Malvenn.