Black Syren
A 1750 advertisement for a concert in Dublin’s Crow Street Theatre claimed that the concert’s performers aimed to convince their audience that the “power of music is not confined to colour”. Top of the billing is singer Rachel Baptiste described as “a real black woman, a native of this country”. Black and Irish is sometimes considered a new identity. For some it might begin with Paul McGrath or Phil Lynott but this is a story that goes back to the theatres and pleasure gardens of Georgian Ireland where Baptiste sang a mix of Handel arias and popular Irish tunes like Eileen Aroon to her well-heeled audiences. Black Syren pieces together the story of Rachel Baptiste from the fragmentary accounts provided in reviews and newspaper adverts of the time. It’s a story not just about music but about Ireland’s place in the Atlantic slave trade and in a colonial era which was defined by racial hierarchies.
Shortlisted for the IMRO awards 2025.
Featuring music as Rachel might have sung it from the Irish Baroque Orchestra’s recent release ‘Ireland’s Black Syren’ and original recordings from TUD Conservatoire musicians Clíodhna O’Regan (voice) and Dylan Donegan (harpsichord).
Presented by Saibh Downes
Sound Supervision by Ciaran Cullen
Produced by Saibh Downes and Eoin O Kelly
Additional research by Michael Lee.
(First broadcast – 11th May 2025)
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 26th October, 6pm-7pm
