THE CELTIC HARP By
Eliseo Mauas Pinto © 2012 Eliseo Mauas Pinto All rights rights reserved by the author author
Smashwords Edition Cover Design: Eliseo Mauas Pinto (ft a photomanipulation of David Kortier's Queen Mary Harp embelished with the Pyroengraving and colours colours by Charlotte Charlotte Hallett, for Jay Witcher's Witcher's Trinity Harp) Harp)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 “Celtic Harp” or “Non-Pedal Harp”? Why is the Celtic Harp called Celtic? The “Harpe Celtique” Parts of the Lever Harp Harp
Chapter 2 A Brief History
Chapter 3 Giraldus Cambrensis, The Medieval Chronicler The “Topographica Hibernica” The “Itinerarium Cambriae”
Chapter 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 “Celtic Harp” or “Non-Pedal Harp”? Why is the Celtic Harp called Celtic? The “Harpe Celtique” Parts of the Lever Harp Harp
Chapter 2 A Brief History
Chapter 3 Giraldus Cambrensis, The Medieval Chronicler The “Topographica Hibernica” The “Itinerarium Cambriae”
Chapter 4
The Surviving Renaissance Harps – Part 1 Why the "Trinity Harp" is also known as the "Brian Boru" Harp? Related Ownerships Ownerships Related Harps Harps The "Brian Boru" Harp
Chapter 5 The Surviving Renaissance Harps – Part 2 Why the "Queen Mary" Harp is called “Queen Mary”? Technical Information Related Ownerships Ownerships Replicas
Chapter 6 The Surviving Renaissance Harps – Part 3 The Lamont Harp Technical Information Related Ownerships Ownerships Replicas
Chapter 7 The Wire Strung Harp in Scotland: Some Brief Brief Quotations Quotations
Chapter 8 Profile and Stages of the Irish Harp Why the Irish Harp is so distinctive? How about harpers? Early Construction Methods and Materials Why the harp rested on the left shoulder?
Chapter 9 The Revival of the Cláirseach in Ireland
Chapter 10 Cáirde na Cruite and the Arrival of the Lever Harp
Chapter 11 The Rising of The Harp in Brittany
Chapter 12 The Celtic Harp in Galicia and Asturias
Chapter 13 The Celtic Harp Symbolism
Chapter 14
Suggested Celtic Harpists
About The Author
End Notes
Three men of equal rank A king, a harper, a bard Three essentials of song To write verse, to play harp, to recite history Old Welsh Englyn
Dedicated to those able to sense the crystal sounds retained on the magical strings of our dearest Celtic Harp Eliseo Mauas Pinto
The "High Bard" (welsh: Bardd y Brenin) is a monochrome engraving which has always allured me in such a way from the very first time I saw it. To celebrate it’s inclusion on this present work I decided to colour it just a bit to bring it back to life. It is the frontispiece to Edward Jones's work: "Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards" ; which depicts a bard standing on the side of a
cliff at right playing harp, his cloak, beard and hair blown by the wind,. Etching and engraving date from 1784, in possession of the British Museum since 1917. The Print was made by John Hall - Inscription Content: Lettered below image with eight lines of verse from Thomas Gray's poem 'The Bard', and production detail: "Drawn by Loutherbourg", "The figures, engraved by Hall, and the landscape by Middiman". This engraving was also featured by the welsh folk band "Ar Log" as cover art for their album "Pedwar". Regarding the depicted harp I guess that Loutherbourg used as a source for his inspiration some “High Headed” Irish harp designs like those of Hollybrook, Malahide,or Clonalis, though these harps minimum range was of 35 strings, and curiously this one is only strung with 16 and large spaces in between the strings, which is not accurate at all for these kind of models.
Chapter 1 “Celtic Harp” or “Non-Pedal Harp”? Why is the “Celtic Harp” called “Celtic”?
This is a fascinating topic which I will treat more extensively further on, but let us just state that those Celtic Countries prominent in the development of harps like Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany, have their own types of harps… and basically these harps are considered “folk”, “non-pedal”, or “lever” harps, which means that they don’t have any “pedals” like the ones employed on Symphonic Orchestras. Levers are thus designed to play in more than one key and to add sharps and flats while playing. Curiously on wired strung harps they are called blades, and they rotate to touch the string rather than flipping up. Basically those harps considered as “Folk” are nylon strung, lever harps, which some name as “Neo-Celtic” since they employ nylon instead of gut strings. Anyway it is no very common to have many chromatic changes while performing a single Celtic traditional tune. Harp tunings are mostly diatonic and with some chromaticism only at the octave, eg the F# being sounded only an octave below F. As I mentioned before we can define four types of wide spread harp families:
1.-The Folk harp (nylon strung, with levers) 2.-Clàrsach or Cláirseach (depending on Scottish Gaelic or Irish spellings ) and Gaelic harp ( gut or wire strung) 3.-The Lap harp, ( are smaller in size, - they have about twenty two to twenty six strings- and they fit in the lap. They can be wire or nylon strunged ) 4.-The Welsh harp (which is a triple course harp, with three parallel rows of strings) Regarding the term “Celtic Harp”, it was first employed for the first time by a Welshman, Thomas ap Tomas, in a history of the harp he published in 1859 in New York. Later on during an exposition of harps in Brussels on 1498 the term was employed by a luthier of the Martin House to distinguish on the catalogue the Breton design from the Irish ones. Later on, the Breton Jorj Cochevelou who is considered as responsible of the resurgence of the harp in Brittany, thought it was necessary to develop an instrument proper of a Celtic Renaissance. For the first prototype, in 1953, Jorj employed the term “Celtic Harp”, doubting about the term "Breizh Harpe" (Breton Harp) but his son, the later renowned harpist Alan Stivell, inclined the scale towards the term "Celtic Harp". In 1962 is published the "Méthode élémentaire of harpe celtique" , by the Breton harpist and teacher Denise Mégevand, who began to teach Alan when he was a little boy as request of his father. Anyway, even when the “Celtic Harp” as a unique type of instrument doesn’t exists, I have always been moved to employ this term in reference to the harps of each Celtic country, since I consider it very comprehensive, and quite much related to this ancient and common culture.
The “Harpe Celtique” The following review was written by the Asturian harpist and folklorist Daniel Garcia de la Cuesta and previously posted under his kind permission on my “ Celtic Sprite” blog.
It was the same Alan Stivell who explained to him in detail, and provided the data about the origin of this “ Celtic “ label. On which approximate date can we document the presence of the term Celtic Harp?. According to Stivell, the name "harpe celtique" was employed for the first time by a Welshman, Thomas ap Tomas, in a history of the harp he published in 1859 in New
York. In the 20th Century, this name was used occasionally for the bardic harp of Scotland. Before 1940, the instrument-maker Martin, had imported Morley harps, sold to the harpist Lili Laskine, and known as Irish harp, also employed by Denise Mégevand, at least at the beginning. Denise, was Alan’s teacher. Later, the proposal of Jorj and Alan was the most accepted one. Jorj intention was to design an instrument in order to symbolize a Celtic Renaissance, almost a National Instrument. For his first prototype, in 1953, Jorj used it, doubting about the term "Breizh harpe", but Alan inclined the scale toward "Celtic harp". In 1962 is published the "Méthode élémentaire of harpe celtique" , of the teacher Denise Mégevand. I am thankful to Alan Stivell and Daniel Garcia de la Cuesta for the wellproportioned information, which I believe is handled by very few people, and necessary to diffuse in order to know more about the history of the renaissance of this instrument and to gain recognition for the people that made it possible. You may find a special reference to Daniel on Chapter 11: The Celtic Harp on Galicia and Asturias.
Parts of the Lever Harp I am thankful to harpist Sharon Thormahlen from Thormahlen Harps for allowing me to share with you this gorgeous diagram featuring their harps and corresponding parts of it. ("This picture is not to be re-posted or copied without permission of the author. All rights reserved by Thormahlen Harps")
Chapter 2 A Brief History
It is easy to find engravings of angled types of harps. They had no pillar and were played upside-down in the Egyptian Mesopotamia, and also in several towns such as Greece, China, Asiria, Persia, Siberia; whose harps although they have not directly influenced on the Irish, gave the Asirian harp more acceptance amongst
the bards of the XVI Century., for being small and light weighted, extending thus a tradition that goes back to pre Christian Ireland and to the primitive civilizations and further back to the Bronze Age. The word "harp" is believed to be an Anglo-Saxon word which means "to pluck". “Harp” or "harpa" was used to describe the triangular-shaped stringed instruments during the 13th century. Through legends we can track the Celtic harp hundreds of years ago, but one of the earliest representations of it is one on a Scottish cross of the VIII Century. Around the year 1000 A.C., early models of the Celtic harp were spread in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. After years of repelling and absorbing Viking, Roman, and Norman invations, the English began to appear like a problem for the Irish town and its culture. The Gaelic triangular, wire-strung harp has always been known by the feminine term “cruit”. (There is evidence that the term may have originally been used to describe a different stringed instrument once common throughout the British Isles, and still extant and known in Wales as a “Crwth”. ) The origins of the Gaelic triangular harp go back at least to the first millennium. There are several stone carvings of triangular harps from the 10th century, many of which have simple triangular shapes, generally with straight pillars, straight string arms or necks, and sound boxes. There is stone carving evidence that the lyre and/ or perhaps a non-triangular harp were present in Ireland during the first millennium. Evidence of the triangular harp on Pictish Scotland dates from the IX century. ( For more information about the harp in stone and sculpture visit this sitemap from the The Wire Branch of the Clarsach Society).
The harpist on the Monifeith Pictish stone, Scotland, 700 - 900 AD
The English warlike power not only looking for just the Irish submission. The English insisted on the idea that the Irish were "barbarians" who should have to eliminate the custom of which kings and gentlemen shared the table with juglars, harpists and crew members; custom that according to the registries, the Irish finished eradicating (but only when there were no English present...). The Edinburgh University Library owns a copy of John Derrick's Image of Ireland (1581). which provide important illustrations of Irish costume and custom and of English military gear of the late 16th century.
It depicts an Irish bard praising the harpist (who plays a not very well drawn harp and certainly not Irish!) while the host and chieftain of the Mac Sweynes seated at dinner. With the gradual weakness of the kings in their sovereign power, the fall of the leadership of the bards and the harpists began by the end of the XVI Century. Thus, the harp finds refuge in Scotland, where many noble were dedicated to it’s performance, even kings like James IV. Between 1494 and 1503, extensive were the companies of harpists who settled on the Highlands. Thus the Harp tended to become the national instrument of Scotland. Each clan had its harpist, but after several years of feudal expansion and fights for the power, the importance of the harp decayed by the end of the XVII Century and gradually it was replaced by the Scottish bagpipe (Highland Bagpipe). Ironically, while the Irish bards and harpists were persecuted and executed and their harps destroyed, Isabel I delighted with harpists at her court, who used to play jigs, strathspeys and hornpipes for her. Times passed by turning even harder. According to the Scottish musician Robin Williamson "The Irish and Highland harpers seem to have played mainly a wire strung instrument called clarsach from the root word ciar, meaning a board. As early as 1505 distinction is drawn between harpers and 'clairschochars' in payments made at the Scottish court, these two kinds of harps being described in 'Certayne Matters Concerning the Realme of Scotland': "the strings of the clairshoes are made of brasse wire and the strings of the harps of sinews, which strings they strike either with their nayles growing long, or else with an instrument appointed for that use." In a 17th cent. the harp traditional to the Scottish Lowlands is likely to have been of the Welsh type, strung with sinew (anciently horse-hair) rather than the wire-strung clarsach. Harping, slowly but inexorably declined after the 16th cent., though Scottish music, which included many of the old harp tunes, became extremely popular in England from the 17th cent, onwards, and this in spite of the none too popular Stuart monarchy, the Civil War, the Jacobite rebellions and whatnot. By the end of the 18th cent., the harp as a traditional instrument was nearing extinction." (“Legacy of the Scottish Harpers -Vol 1” – sleeve notes)
Between 1650 and 1660 Oliver Cromwell orders to destroy harps and organs either in catholic or protestant circles. Five hundred harps were confiscated and burned in the city of Dublin only, in another opportunity a number of 2000 in all Eire. Like the Highland Bagpipe, the harp began to gain the status of a “forbidden instrument” and origin of revolt against the Crown. Throughout the XVII and XVIII centuries the poetry and music of the bards decayed as a result of innumerable exiles and fears. This deliberate destruction and persecution finished with Oliver Cromwell; soon the Enclosure Laws in Scotland and the extreme hunger in Ireland, would again force these gaelic people to emigrate. Anyway the harp since the 9th century in Ireland , up to the Baroque era, represented the instrument of the upper classes in the Celtic countries, and maybe this is the main reason why some units survived till modern times. During the seventeenth century many musicians were outlawed and even required a magistrate's permission to travel. However, the new settlers in Ireland were devote to the harp and its music. As a result, traditional harpers became itinerant musicians, who wandered the whole county travelling from one patron's house to another to earn their living. We may find in the famous composer and blind harpist Turlough O’Carolan , an example of this roving musicians. By the end of the XVIII a sudden resurgence of interest on the harp begins in Ireland for this long denied tradition. By then harpists were short in number and only few of them performed pieces in the traditional way. In 1790 the Belfast Meeting is organized, intending to promote the music of traditional roots, being the competition between harpists awarded with an important sum of money. Only ten harpists between 15 and 97 years appeared. The elder, Dennis Hempson, was the unique one who performed on the old way with plectres for each finger, all the others only touched with the yolks, possibly influenced by the Pedal Harp with Gut Strings. Edward Bunting, copyist of the event, hardly intended to transcribe these unusual ways of performance in staff, and the opportunity to preserve the tradition was lost with time. No traditional harps of metal strings were constructed. Little was the demand due to the hard life of the harpist and the political issues. Some struggles began in Dublin and Belfast to teach young blind the art of the harp, but they failed shortly after the 1800. Between 1890 and the beginning of the 1900 small harps began to be constructed in Ireland, but they sounded far from the ancient Irish ones. Between 1950 and 1960 new studies allowed to construct harps with metal chords as in the old ways. The harp of gut strings and the Folk or Lever Harp (nylon strung) as well , began to expand both in Scotland or Ireland. Thus it was as Eire adopts the harp as national instrument in the XVII Century, Wales did the same with the triple strung harp (three rows of strings) developed by the Italians unlike the doubled strung harp of the Hispanics. We might say that the historical circle is closed nowadays. That Bardic Order created by the Irish king Brian Boru in the X Century , actually extended its inheritance and tradition over
500 years, from Ireland till the West Coast of the United States, where a large number of Celtic harp constructors are settled. Harpist Societies, Web Sites and even Facebook Pages are dedicated exclusively to it developing of an everlasting tradition that will echo from now onwards...
Chapter 3 Gerald of Wales, The Medieval Chronicler
Medieval musicians had oral learning, so as their repertoire which was transmited from one to another, hence the music a large amount of the music played by Irish harpers of the twelfth century have passed away without record, Anyway, whatever those arts were. they must have been as attractive to the conquering Norman invaders as many other aspects of the Gaelic culture, and thanks to Gerald of Wales, some recountings of that age were saved for the future. Gerald of Wales (c. 1146 – c. 1223), also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval welshnorman clergyman and chronicler of his times. Gerald became a royal clerk and chaplain to King Henry II of England in 1184, first acting mediator between the crown and Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd. He was chosen to accompany one of the king's sons, John, in 1185 on an expedition to Ireland. Gerald was proud to be related to some of the Norman invaders of Ireland, such as his maternal uncle Robert Fitz-Stephen and Raymond FitzGerald, and his influential account, which portrays the Irish as barbarians, gives important insight into Anglo-Norman views of Ireland and the history of the invasion.
The “Topographica Hibernica”
As I previously mentioned, Irish were regarded as barbarians by the English for what they considered to be their lack of industry, their poor husbandry and disinterest in city life, their flowing beardis and odd clothes, their love of leisure and liberty. Curiously, even when Giraldus denoted their “barbarian” way of life, (“ ...as these people inhabit a country so remote from the rest of the world and lying at its furthest extremity, forming is it were, another world, and are thus
excluded from civilised nations, they learn nothing and practice nothing, but the barbarism in which they are born and bred and which sticks to them like a second nature .Whatever natural gifts they possess are excellent, in whatever requires industry they are worthless" ), he exalted their splendor of physique and
superlative skill in the practice of instrumental music. Whatever music Giraldus heard in Ireland, it did not sound to him barbarous at all; he described it specifically as better executed and more agreeable than that certainly heard in England. Hereby I quote a passage from the “Topographica Hibernica” , Part Three -"The incomparable skill of people in musical instruments"
” I find among these people commendable diligence only on musical instruments, on which they are incomparably more skilled than any nation I have seen. Their style is not, as on the British instruments to which we are accustomed, deliberate and solem but quick and lively; nevertheless the sound is smooth and pleasant.” “It is remarkable that, with such rapid fingerwork, the musical rhythm is maintained and that, by unfailingly disciplined art, the integrity of the tune is fully preserved throughout the ornate rhythms and the profusely intricate polyphony—and with such smooth rapidity, such 'unequal equality', such 'discordant concord'. Whether the strings strike together a fourth or a fifth, [the players] nevertheless always start from B flat and return to the same, so that everything is rounded off in a pleasant general sonority. They introduce and leave rhythmic motifs so subtly, they play the tinkling sounds on the thinner strings above the sustained sound of the thicker string so freely, they take such secret delight and caress [the strings] so sensuously, that the greatest part of their art seems to lie in veiling it, as if 'That which is concealed is bettered—art revealed is art shamed'. “Thus it happens that those things which bring private and ineffable delight to people of subtle appreciation and sharp discernment, burden rather than delight the ears of those who, in spite of looking do not see and in spite of hearing do not understand; to unwilling listeners, fastidious things appear tedious and have a confused and disordered sound.” “One must note that both Scotland and Wales, the latter by virtue of extension, the former by affinity and intercourse, depend on teaching to imitate and rival Ireland in musical practice. Ireland uses and delights in two instruments only, the cithara and the tympanum. Scotland uses three, the cithara, the tympanum and the chorus. Wales uses the cithara, tibiae and chorus. Also, they use strings made of brass not of leather.
However, in the opinion of many, Scotland today not only equals Ireland, her mistress, but also by far outdoes and surpasses her in musical skill. Hence many people already look there as though to the source of the art.” According to Joan Rimmer ( Joan Rimmer, an expert in this field and author of a magnificent book "The Irish Harp" issued by Mercier Press, Cork, in 1969)the Cithara was a harp. Tympanum possibly meant a bowed or beaten lyre, perhaps
adopted from the Norsemen, for some forms of these still survive in Scandinavia. Tibiae were pipes, though Giraldus did not specify what kind. The description of musical performance obviously refers to harp-playing; on a lyre, whether plucked or bowed, there is no possibility of such intricacy.
As we can notice, he describes the playing of delicate compositions with precise rhythm, proportion and clarity. Curiously these were the same qualities that Edward Bunting praised, six hundred years later, in Denis Hempson, who was one of the last harpists to perform with fingernails in the traditional style. Thanks to Giraldus chronicles we can infer their incomparably skilled in contriving and playing two-part music with a complex and brilliant upper part, being his descriptions quite programmatic when he refers to the “tinkling” of the high strings over the heavier sound of the bass strings. The “fourths and fifths” are exactly those intervals which generally occur at structural points between tenor and added upper part in written polyphony dating from the twelfth century. The “starting and ending with B flat”, however, is imprecise. It could refer to the use of B-flat in an octave-species based on F or G, avoiding the tritone; Guido d'Arezzo introduced around 1130, the theory of the "soft" hexachord (as f-d') is distinguished by its use of Bb rather than B-. Regarding this point Joan Rimmer on her cited work that what Giraldus may have been trying to say is that the actual tune material used by the Irish harpers began and ended with a flat seveneh-note-of-the-scale in close proximity to the tonic note. Though we have no written record of Irish tunes from so early a date, me melodic formulae of some old Irish tunes which were first written down in the eighteenth century suggests that this may indeed have been the case.
The “Itinerarium Cambriae”
Having thus demonstrated his usefulness, Gerald was selected to accompany the Archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin of Forde, on a tour of Wales in 1188, the object being a recruitment campaign for the Third Crusade. His account of that journey, the “Itinerarium Cambriae” (1191) was followed by the “Descriptio Cambriae” in 1194. His two works on Wales remain incredibly valuable historical documents, significant for their descriptions — however untrustworthy and inflected by ideology, whimsy, and his unique style — of Welsh and Norman culture.
Hereby I quote a passage from the Descriptio Cambriae , Chapter XII "Of their Quickness and Sharpness of Understanding" , which praises the harp-playing tradition of Wales while connecting it to that of Ireland : "Their musical instruments charm and delight the ear with their sweetness, are borne along by such celerity and delicacy of modulation, producing such a consonance from the rapidity of seemingly discordant touches, that I shall briefly repeat what is set forth in our Irish Topography on the subject of the musical instruments of the three nations. It is astonishing that in so complex and rapid a movement of the fingers, the musical proportions can be preserved, and that throughout the difficult modulations on their various instruments, the harmony is completed with such a sweet velocity, so unequal an equality, so discordant a concord, as if the chords sounded together fourths or fifths. They always begin from B fíat, and return to the same, that the whole may be completed under the sweetness of a pleasing sound. They enter ínto a movement, and conclude it in so delicate a manner, and play the little notes so sportively under the blunter sounds of the base strings, enlivening with wanton levity, or communicating a deeper internal sensation of pleasure, so that the perfection of their art appears in the concealment of it: " Si lateat, prosit;ferat ars deprensa pudorem."" Art profits when concealed, Disgraces when revealed." From this cause, those very strains which afford deep and unspeakable mental delight to those who have skilfully penetrated into the mysteríes of the art, fatigue rather than gratify the ears of others, who seeing, do not per-ceive, and hearing, do not understand; and by whom the finest music is esteemed no better than a confused and disorderly noise, and will be heard with unwillingness and disgust. They make use of three instruments, the harp, the pipe, and the crwth or crowd (chorus).1 1 This instrument is generally supposed to have been the origin of the violin, which was not commonly known in England till the reign of Charles I. Before this time the crwth was not probably confined to the Principality, from the ñame of Crowdero in Hudibras; as also from a fiddler being still called a crowder in some parts of England, though he now plays on a violin instead of a crwth. They omit no part of natural rhetoric in the management of civil actions, in quickness of invention, disposition, refutation, and confírmation. Tn their rhymed songs and set speeches they are so subtile and ingenious, that they produce, in their natíve tongue, ornaments of wonderful and exquisite invention both in the words and sentences. Hence arise those poets whom they cali Bards, of whom you will find many in this nation, en-dowed with the above faculty, according to the poet's observation: " Plurima concreti fuderunt carmina Bardi." But they make use of alliteration (anominationé) in preference to all other ornaments of rhetoric, and that particular kind which joins by consonancy the first letters or syllables of words. So rnuch do the English and Welsh nations employ this ornament of words in all
exquisite composition, that no sentence ís esteemed to be elegantly spoken, no oration to be otherwise than uncouth and unrefined, unless it be fully polished with the file of this figure. Thus in the British tongue: " Digawn Duw da i unic." " Wrth bob crybwyll rhald pwyll parawd." ( These Welsh lines quoted by Giraldus are selected from two different stanzas of moral verses, called Eglynion y Clywed, the composition of some anonymous bard; or probably the work of several: " A glyweisti a gant Dywyneg, Milwr doeth detholedig; Digawn Duw da i unig? " Hast thou heard what was sung by Dywynic? A wise and chosen warrior; God will effect solace to the orplian. " A glyweisti a gant Anarawd? Milwr doniawg did lawd; Rhaid wrth añmhwyll pwyll parawd. " Hast thou heard what was sung by Anarawd ? A warrior endowed with many gifts; With want of sense ready wit is necessary.")"
Chapter 4 The Surviving Renaissance Harps – Part 1
Fortunately three of the four oldest authentic harps to survive are of Gaelic provenance: the Trinity College Harp preserved in Trinity College Dublin, and the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. All three are dated approximately to the 15th century and are considered to have been made in Argyll in South-West Scotland. T-shaped reinforcement along its outside edge was employed to support substantial tension, which let us conclude in fact used highly tensioned metal strings. There is historical evidence that the types of wire used in these harps are iron, brass, silver, and gold.
Why the "Trinity Harp" is also known as the "Brian Boru" Harp?
I questioned myself oftenly since the very first time I saw this delightful surviving instrument, Why the "Trinity Harp" is also known as the "Brian Boru" Harp"?. Certainly the so called "Brian Boru" Harp now in Trinity College Dublin, does not date from the time neither belonged to the Irish king "Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig", (c. 941–23 April 1014), High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014; but was made in 1220 for "Donnchadh Cairbre O'Brien", King of Thomond. Therefore, I do firmly believe that the main reason for why it is called so, is for being constructed for the O'Brien's clan sake. Let us recall regarding this point, that the descendants of Brian Boru were known as the "Ui Briain" (O'Brien) clan, hence the surnames Ó Briain, O'Brien, O'Brian etc. "O" was originally Ó which in turn came from Ua, which means "grandson", or "descendant" (of a named person). The prefix is often anglicised to O', using an apostrophe instead of the Irish síneadh fada: The O'Briens subsequently ranked as one of the chief dynastic families of Ireland. It bears the coat of arms of the O'Neills but although there are many theories about its ownership through the centuries, none can be substantiated, with no verifiable evidence remaining to indicate the harp's original owner, or subsequent owners over the next two to three hundred years until it passed to Henry McMahon, of Co. Clare, and finally to The Rt. Hon. William Conyngham, who presented it to Trinity College in Dublin in 1760. Throughout its history the harp was in the possession of many people some of which were kings.
Related Ownerships
In 1221 it was sent to Scotland to pay a pledge for the return of Muiredach O'Daly of Lissadil, County Sligo a noted bard of the time. O'Daly had fled Ireland to
Scotland after killing Finn O' Bradley, a stewart of Donal mor O'Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell, apparently O'Daly took exception to an insult O' Bradley made against the bardic profession. O'Daly was pardoned in his absence. O'Brien tried unsuccessfully to buy back his harp from Scotland in 1229, little was heard of the harp for over three hundred years, it was in 1543 that Henry VIII of England appointed Ulick MacWilliam de Burgo Earl of Clanrickarde and presented him with the Brian Boru harp, it seems the harp had been seized by the English many years earlier. MacWilliam only kept the harp a short period of time and sold it to a Lady Huxley, the next owner was to be a Henry MacMahon of Clenagh, Co. Clare. The next owner was a Councilor at Law named MacNamara from Limerick who received it in a will, MacNamara was for many years the recorder for Limerick city. It is recorded that the famous harper Arthur ONeill played the Brian Boru harp through the streets of Limerick in 1760. Next the Brian Boru Harp became the property of one Ralph Ouseley of Limerick in 1778, three years later in 1781 he passed it on to a Colonel Conyngham, the next year Conyngham presented it to Trinity College where it remain to this day. Other state it passed to Henry McMahon, of Co. Clare, and finally to The Rt. Hon. William Conyngham, who presented it to Trinity College in Dublin in 1760.
Related Harps
The Trinity College harp is currently displayed in a long room at Trinity College Dublin. It is an early Irish harp or wire strung cláirseach. It is dated to the 14th or 15th century and as I quoted before, along with the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp, is one of the only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps. It is a “low headed” Celtic harp, about 33 inches high; with brass pins for 29 strings, the longest being c.62 cm. One extra bass pin was added at some point in its playing life, the sound box is carved from a single piece of willow, with a fore pillar of oak, and strung with thirty brass strings. It is about 80 cm (32 inches) high, and the harp was plucked. In 1961 the harp was exhibited in London, and it was dismantled and reconstructed by the British Museum into the wider shape it has nowadays, being the playable medieval form. The earlier heraldic and trade mark designs that were modelled on it were based on a thinner form that was the result of a bad restoration in the 1830s. Visitors are therefore often surprised at how wide the real harp is, compared to the harp on Irish coins.
Related to the Trinity College Harp, as I previously mentioned, there are two greatest medieval harps of Scotland, the "Queen Mary" and the "Lamont" harps, (both kept in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh). Both “low headed” Celtic harps date from the 15th Century, and each is from a single piece of wood, possibly hornbeam, hollowed out from the back. The Lamont harp, which is unadorned, is the larger harp at 37 ½ “, with 32 wire strings. The Queen Mary is ornately carved with intricate designs, including griffins, a lion, a dragon and a unicorn, almost 31” high, with 30 wire strings. The Lamont is the more worn, probably more used, of the two. It is uncertain who commissioned the Trinity College harp, although structural evidence suggests it was made in the 15th century. It is similar in construction and design to the Queen Mary in Scotland. It is likely, however, that the harp was made for a member of an important family, for it is skillfully constructed and intricately ornamented. The Trinity College harp is the national symbol of Ireland, being depicted on national heraldry, Euro coins and Irish currency. A left-facing image of this instrument was used as the national symbol of Ireland from 1922, and was specifically granted to the State by the Chief Herald of Ireland in 1945. A right-facing image was registered as a trade mark for Guinness in 1862 (see Chapter 1) All three surviving Gaelic harps (the others are the Lamont Harp and the Queen Mary Harp) are considered to have been made in Argyll in South-West Scotland sometime in the 14th-15th century.
The "Brian Boru" Harp It was in the nineties when I first get acquainted of the magnificent playing of Grainne Yeats, while looking after ancient irish harp tunes. Thanks to the suggestion of my friend harpist Sylvia Woods, I purchased through her the only recording by Grainne, a double vinyl album entitled "Grainne Yeats: Belfast Harp Festival," issued by the irish Gael Linn label , on 1994. It came along with an interesting research book regarding this historical gathering. On this work Grainne has done an extensive research on the Irish harpers, and has recorded some 40 of their songs and harp solos using both wire and gut harps.
Besides, she wrote and researched the history and music of the Clársach (wirestrung harp), and she was one of the first professional musicians to revive and record this ancient traditional instrument, with a particular interest in the wirestrung harp, and has written extensively about its history and music. Hereby I share with you an interesting article of her previously posted on The Wire Branch of the Clarsach Society, which throws new light on the "Trinity College Harp" aka the "Brian Boru" Harp © Gráinne Yeats 2003. All rights reserved by the author.
The Brian Boru, or Trinity College harp is probably the oldest intact wire-strung frame harp in existence. It is the national symbol of Ireland, and is depicted on coins, passports and all Government documents. Thought to date from about 1400 A.D., it is difficult to determine its early history with any accuracy; facts tend to be obscured by a mist of romantic tradition. It is not possible to say where it was made, or by whom, or even for whom. One thing at least is certain: the instrument could not have belonged to High King Brian Boru, for whom it is named, because he died in the year 1014, some 400 years before it was made. It is likely, however, that the harp was made for a member of an important family, for it is skilfully constructed and intricately ornamented. According to a persistent tradition it passed from Ireland to Rome, where it was preserved by the Popes until it was presented to King Charles II. It was then sent back to Ireland, and after various obscure transactions it is said to have been sold to a Lady Henley "for twenty lambs and as many ewes." It passed from her to her son-in-law, Henry McMahon, of Co.Clare, and finally to the Rt. Hon. William Conyngham, who presented it to Trinity College in Dublin around 1760. One hundred years later some rather clumsy repairs were made which helped to preserve the instrument, but changed its shape somewhat. Finally, in the late 1950s, the harp was displayed at an exhibition in London, after which Trinity College sent it to the British Museum for assessment and repair. There the instrument was photographed, and then x-rayed in order to identify stray screws or nails. It was then dismantled and examined. It was found that the earlier repairs had not been well done; putty used to repair cracks had obscured some of the ornamentation, while at some stage the forepillar had been extended, thus altering the symmetry of the harp. Much of the wood was decayed or worm eaten, while many pegs or shoes were missing. The Museum restored the forepillar to its probable original form, and replaced decayed and missing parts. All parts were cleaned and polished, and the instrument put together again. At this point Joan Rimmer, an expert in this field (Joan Rimmer, an expert in this field and author of a magnificent book "The Irish Harp" issued by Mercier Press, Cork, in 1969), was called in to restring the harp, after which it was tuned, and then Mary Rowland - who occasionally played her gut-strung harp with nails - was
invited to play it. She gave much thought to the question of how the harp should be
positioned. There are wear marks on both sides of the soundbox, and she found that she could only match these while playing, by sitting on a low stool, leaning the harp on her chest, and holding it with one knee and both wrists - a somewhat cramping position for the hands, though she found it comfortable enough. She said play playin ingg the the inst instru rume ment nt was was "int "intox oxic icat atin ing, g, desp despit itee its its condi conditi tion on." ." This This is a remarkable compliment, considering the harp's age, and that it had been silent for 200 years before this. Joan Rimmer described the sound as bell-like, with some characteristics of the guitar and harpsichord. These descriptions are much as the Irish harp has been described throughout many centuries. After the harp had been played for some time, a crack appeared in the soundbox. This was repaired, and some strings were replaced by thinner ones tuned to the lowest lowest practi practicab cable le tensio tension. n. When When played played again again the tone tone was smalle smaller, r, but still still retained its unique quality. Eventually it was decided that the harp was too fragile to be kept up to pitch, so the strings were slackened and this unique occasion was over. This last playing of the Brian Boru harp was recorded by the BBC. On the recording Mary Rowland can be heard playing “Is umbo agus éiriú” from the Bunting Collection, and “Jolivete”, a French dance arranged by Joan Rimmer. She also played some harmonics, and in general tried out the capabilities of the harp. There has been one last adventure in the long history of the Brian Boru harp. Some years after it had returned to Trinity College, the harp was stolen, and a ransom was demanded for its return. The College authorities, however, refused to pay, and after some months a senior Professor turned detective, and tracked the instrument down to where it had been buried in a heap of sand. It was then sent back to the British Museum, where it was confirmed that miraculously it had suffered little damage. The Brian Boru harp now leads a quiet life in the Library of Trinity College.
Chapter 5 The Surviving Renaissance Harps – Part 2
I often wondered about this delightful surviving instrument from the first time I saw it, Why the "Queen "Queen Mary" Mary" Harp is called called “Queen Mary”? Mary”? Let us recall that Queen Mary Stuart, traditionally has been associated with the harp. At this point we cannot consider she perhaps played this instrument , now restored and preserved at the National Museum of Scotland, since it is dated to the 14th or 15th
century and along with the Lamont Harp and the "Trinity Harp" aka the "Brian Boru" , is one of the only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps. The "Queen Mary" Harp is an early Irish harp or wire strung cláirseach. A "Small Low Headed" design; 29 strings, longest 61cm, one extra bass string added later. According to the National Museum of Scotland, “The Queen Mary clarsach, or West Highland harp, is one of the objects that defines Scotland.”
Why the "Queen Mary" Harp is called “Queen Mary”?
The Queen Mary Clàrsach na Banrìgh Màiri or Lude Harp, is believed to to have originated in Argyll, in South-West Scotland, and certainly owned by the Queen herself.- The Queen Mary harp is a very rare and valuable survivor, About 15 more survive from between 1500 and 1800 AD. Harp music was important in the Highlands in the Medieval Period, with great lords retaining their own harpers. The hereditary harpers of the Lords of the Isles were the MacIlschenochs, based in Kintyre. Mary Stuart (1542-1587), Queen of Scots, daughter of James V Stuart and Marie de Guise Lorraine, at the age of six arrived in France with her ladies-in-waiting: Mary Seton, Mary Beaton, Mary Livingstone, and Mary Fleming (the four Mary's). She received an excellent education at the French Court of Henri II de Valois. With Elisabeth, her companion, (a daughter of Henry II and Catherine de'Medici, later known as Isabel Felipe, Queen Consort of Philip II, King of Spain), Mary Stuart learnt to play the harp, lute, zithern and virginal, to write poetry, to knit in wools and sew in silk, and what she loved most, to embroider. She was taught the new Italian style of handwriting and she signed her name in French as Marie Stuart, instead of Mary Stewart in Scottish. Related Ownerships Ownerships
At this point we may supposed consider she undoubtedly played this instrument , which was presented by her in an excursion to the Highlands in the year 1563 to
Miss Beatrix Gardyn (of the Gardyns of Banchory) who was married into the family of Robertson of Lude., curiously the same family to which the Lamont harp was presented to. Let’s comment that both of them were presented in 1805 by General Robertson to the “Highland Society of Scotland” Scotland” in Edinburgh, where they were exhibited. exhibited. John Gunn who was commissioned to write a book with a history and description of the harps, harps, which which he published published in 1807, presume presumess by the way, that for her foreign foreign education education Queen Queen Mary and her well known taste taste for the Italian School of Music, Music, the total inaptitude for the harp to variety of modulation and the temporary change of key, key, was was negl neglec ecte ted d in Fran France ce,, wher wheree virg virgin inal alss and and lute lutess were were the the only only instrum instrument entss in fashio fashion. n. From these these uncert uncertain ain basis basis he conjec conjectur tures es that that Mary Mary unable to play it for herself she sh e gave it as a reward to Miss Beatrix Gardyn, of whose skillful performance she was very delighted. The book commissioned by the Highland Society of Scotland to J.Gunn was printed by their desire in 1807 as “ An historical enquiry enquiry respecting respecting the performance performance on the harp harp in the the high highla land ndss of Scot Scotla land nd from from the the earl earlie iest st time timess unti untill it was was discontinued, about the year 1734. To which is prefixed an account of a very ancient Calendonian harp, and of the harp of Queen Mary ... Drawn up by desire of the Highland Society of Scotland, and published under its patronage.” Published 1807 by Printed by J. Ballantyne, Ballantyne, for A. Constable in Edinburgh .
Tobias Tobias George Smollett Smollett on his work “The Critical review, review, or, Annals of literature” literature” (1803), quotes that while the Queen Mary harp was supposed to be constructed in France, the Lamont was made in Ireland.
According to the The Edinburgh encyclopaedia, Volumen 10 , it was formerly ornamented with the Queen’s portrait , and the Scottish arms executed in gold, of which and other jewels it was despoiled during the rebellion of 1745. The harp is now restored and preserved at at the National Museum of Scotland, since it is dated to the 14th or 15th century and along with the "Lamont Harp" and the "Trinity Harp" Harp" aka the "Brian Boru" , is one of the only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps.
Technical Information
The Queen Mary harp is noted for being the most complete and best-preserved of all the old harps. It is covered in original and intricate carving, The forepillar or (Lamhchrann) is elaborately carved with a double-headed fish and the instrument retains, clear traces of it’s original painting.
A grave-slab in the chapel at Keills in Knapdale has a carving of a clársach similar to the Queen Mary Harp. The Queen Mary harp is noted for being the most complete and best-preserved of all the old harps. It is covered in original and intricate carving, The forepillar or (Lamhchrann) is elaborately carved with a double-headed fish and the instrument retains, clear traces of its original paint. The decoration includes a number of pieces of Christian symbolism suggesting that the harp may have been made as a commission for a church or monastery. The vine-scrolls and the particular shape of the "split palmette" leaves have clear parallels with 15th century West Highland grave slabs from the Argyll area, suggesting that this is the time and place that the harp originated.
Replicas
Replicas of both the Lamont and Queen Mary Harps with gold and silver wire strings are played by harpists and built by David Kortier, based on his measurements from the original to reproduce its idiosyncratic string spacing, angles and overall ergonomics. Student replicas are available from the Historical Harp Society of Ireland. The most accurate replica was made by Roscommon sculptor Davy Patton and is played by Simon Chadwick; it can be heard on his CD Clàrsach na Bànrighe . A complete detail information can be found on Simon Chadwick Official Site For those interested feel free to join the Queen Mary Harp Community on Facebook
The Queen Mary Harp fore-pillar design from R.B. Armstrong,"The Irish and Highland Harps", Edinburgh, 1904.
Chapter 6 The Surviving Renaissance Harps – Part 3 The Lamont Harp
On previews Chapters I quoted that the Lamont Harp is along with the Trinity College harp and the Queen Mary harp, one of the only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps, dated to the 14th or 15th century . As harpist and researcher Simon Chadwick comments on his information prepared by the Wire Branch of the Clarsach Society for their website , that this harp was made in the West of Scotland about 500 years ago, and preserved in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.ç Curiously Tobias George Smollett on his work “The Critical review, or, Annals of literature” (1803), quotes that while the Queen Mary harp was supposed to be constructed in France, the Lamont was made in Ireland. It had 32 brass strings, and is 37 1/2 inches (95 cm) high. But unlike the other two it is quite plain, with little decorative carving. It does however boast fine metal fittings. Soon after it was made it twisted out of shape due to the tension of the wire strings. It can be difficult today, looking at its stooping form, to envisage how its maker intended it to be. By studying the wear patterns we know that the 'Lamont' was held on the left shoulder with the left hand playing the shorter strings. Related Ownerships
The Lamont harp started its life probably in the West Highlands in the mid to late fifteenth century. According to traditions in the Robertson family of Lude, the harp was brought there from Argyll by Lilias Lamont, when she married Charles Robertson of Lude (or of Clune) in 1460 or 1464.
The harp was handed down in the Robertson family and remained at Lude. It bears an inscription in late 18th century hand reading Al. Stewart of Clunie his harp 1650. In 1805 it was sent to Edinburgh along with the Queen Mary harp (which was also kept at Lude), where both harps were exhibited to the Highland Society of Scotland. John Gunn was commissiond to write a book with a history and description of the harps, which he published in 1807. John Gunn refers to it as the “Caledonian Harp” In 1880 both of the harps were deposited by John Stewart of Dalguise in the National Museum, Edinburgh (now the Museum of Scotland), where they have remained since. References •
•
Robert Bruce Armstrong, "The Irish and Highland harps". Edinburgh 1904. John Gunn, "An Historical Enquiry respecting the Performance on the harp in the Highlands of Scotland".Edinburgh 1807. Technical Information
The Lamont harp, like most Gaelic harps, is made of four pieces of wood fitted together with mortice-and-tenon joints. The wood is often identified as hornbeam, though English Walnut has also been suggested. At 37 1/2 inches (95 cm) high and 16 3/4 inches (42 1/2 cm) wide it is noticeably larger than the other two surviving medieval Gaelic harps (the Queen Mary and Trinity College harps). Its shape and design is also quite different, with a wider box and flatter neck. Its decoration is restrained, with only a few carved features. The"salmon lips" that feature so prominently on the pillars of the other two are present only in vestigial form on the Lamont harp. In fact, though it has never been suggested that it was made outside of Scotland, its nearest parallel is the stone carving at Jerpoint Abbey, Ireland. The Lamont harp boasts fine metal fittings; the two vertical metal pieces reinfocing the joint between pillar and neck are stylised foxes, the metal cap at the head of the harp is beaten out to imitate a gem setting and the square drives of the tuning-pins are filed to resemble cloves or rosebuds. The string shoes are of two designs; those illustrated in Figure 1 are very elaborate castings, and may be later replacements. The harp survives in reasonable condition with the glaring exception of the multiple fracture of the forepillar and the subsequent twisting of the neck, so that the whole harp now seems hunched and distorted.
Replicas
Replicas of both the Lamont and Queen Mary Harps with gold and silver wire strings are played by harpists and built by David Kortier, based on his measurements from the original to reproduce its idiosyncratic string spacing, angles and overall ergonomics. Student replicas are available from the Historical Harp Society of Ireland. The most accurate replica was made by Roscommon sculptor Davy Patton and is played by Simon Chadwick; it can be heard on his CD Clàrsach na Bànrighe . A complete detail information can be found on Simon Chadwick Official Site
Any modern replica of the Lamont harp has to deal with what is perhaps its most notable feature, the broken fore-pillar and subsequent twisting of the whole frame. This seems to have happened very soon after the harp was made, and is probably due to an error of judgement on the part of the harpmaker. The T-shaped center section of the forepillar, a feature of most Gaelic harps, is present on the Lamont harp, but it is very short and only covers the central section of the pillar. It is not big enough to strengthen the pillar against the tension of the strings. n these two Lamont replicas you can see two different approaches to the problem. Javier Sáinz’s harp, by Guy Flockhart (below left) has been made as a faithful copy of the original, but Alison Kinnaird’s instrument, by Bob Evans (below right) perhaps represents what the maker of the Lamont harp should have done, by including a significantly longer and stronger T-section reinforcing the forepillar.
Chapter 7
The Wire Strung Harp in Scotland: Some Brief Quotations Harpe and fethill both they fande, Getterne and als so the swatrye; Lutte, and rybybe, both gangande, And all manner of mynstralsye.Thomas of Ercyldoune
(1219-99)
...to heare the sweet and delicate voice of cunning singers, intermedled with the melodious sound of lutes, cirters, clairshoes, or the other quiet instruments of that kind. ( Alexander Hume (1556-1609))
These two quotations tell us much about the lute and clársach in Scotland. Firstly, and to some surprisingly, the lute has been known in Scotland since the 13th century. Whether arriving via returned crusaders or visiting continental noblemen, it was instantly accepted and became an integral part of the Scottish chamber ensemble for a further 400 years. Secondly, when the lute is mentioned, the harp or clársach is never far away: From the household accounts of the Lord High Treasurers of Scotland we find the following, typical of many such accounts documenting payments to Musicians: 1507, Jan. 1. Item, that day giffen to divers minstrales schawmeris, trumpetis taubroneris, fitheralis, luteris, harparis, clarsacharis, piparis, extending to lxix persons ... x.li.xi.s
On previous Chapters I wrote about three surviving harps from this period: The "Queen Mary " harp (let us recall that Queen Mary Stuart, traditionally has been associated with the harp), at this point we cannot consider she perhaps played this instrument , now restored and preserved at the National Museum of Scotland, since it is dated to the 14th or 15th century and along with the "Lamont Harp" and the "Trinity Harp" aka the "Brian Boru" , is one of the only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps. Here we should note the distinction between 'harparis' and 'clarsacharis'. Too often in our own time the one implies the other. In 1507 the harp referred to was probably the Lowland gut-strung harp; the clarsach was used in the Highlands and Ireland and was strung with brass wire. They were clearly two different instruments, the gut strings being played with finger pads and finger nails being required to pluck the brass strings. However, they obviously existed side by side, and with the lute and 'other quiet instruments of that kind', joined in a mixed consort decribed by Gawain Douglass (d. 1522) in the "Palics of Honour" as a sound of 'soft releschings in dulce deliverning'. The earliest descriptions of a European triangular framed harp i.e. harps with a fore pillar are found on carved 8th century Pictish stones, like the harper on the Monifeith Pictish stone, Scotland, 700-900 AD. Pictish harps were strung from horsehair. The instruments apparently spread south to the Anglo Saxons who
commonly used gut strings and then west to the Gaels of the Highlands and to Ireland. Exactly thirteen depictions of any triangular chordophone instrument from pre11th century Europe exist and twelve of them come from Scotland. Moreover, the earliest Irish word for a harp is in fact 'cruit', a word which strongly suggests a Pictish provenance for the instrument. Only two quadrangular instruments occur within the Irish context on the west coast of Scotland and both carvings instruments date two hundred years after the Pictish carvings. The first true representations of the Irish triangular harp do not appear till the late eleventh century in reliquary and the twelfth century on stone and the earliest harps used in Ireland were quadrangular lyres as ecclesiastical instruments. One study suggests Pictish stone carvings may be copied from the Utrecht Psalter, the only other source outside Pictish Scotland to display a Triangular Chordophone instrument. The Utrecht Psalter was penned between 816-835 AD.While Pictish Triangular Chordophone carvings found on the Nigg Stone dates from 790-799 AD. and predates the document by up to thirty-five to forty years. Other Pictish sculptures predate the Utrecht Psalter, namely the harper on the Dupplin Cross c. 800 AD. Stone carvings in the East of Scotland support the theory that the harp was present in Scotland well before the 9th century and may have been the original ancestor of the modern European harp and even formed the basis for Scottish pibroch, the folk bagpipe tradition. Barring illustrations of harps in the 9th century Utrecht psalter, only thirteen depictions exist in Europe of any triangular chordophone harp pre-11 th century, and all thirteen of them come from Scotland. Pictish harps were strung from horsehair. The instruments apparently spread south to the Anglo-Saxons, who commonly used gut strings, and then west to the Gaels of the Highlands and to Ireland. Perhaps earliest is the example carved on a monument known as Aberlemno No. 3, a red sandstone slab over nine feet in height, standing beside the narrow road leading from the town of Forfar to the village of Aberlemno (Angus). Originally this monument must has looked like a much-enlarged version of an illuminated page from a precious religious book, as a decorated wheel cross surrounded with angels, zoomorphic interlace and other patterns, is carved in relief on the slab front which faces the road. The back of the slab, divided into three sections, includes carvings of Pictish symbols (designs of an earlier era whose true meanings have yet to be discovered), a hunting scene and a carving of David Rending the Jaws of a Lion. Above and to the right of David two of his iconographic symbols, a sheep and a harp, are carved. The appearance of the harp alone provides a sort of 'shorthand' interprestation of the David and Harp motif; the harp itself thus becomes an important iconographic symbols for David's association with music, and all that this implied to the
medieval mind. The same theme appears on a second Angus monument, the Aldbar cross-slab, and also on the most northern of the Pict area monuments, the Nigg cross-slab. A harp, proportioned and rounded in appearance like the Tenison Psalter harp, appears several times on tiles, made c. 1270, for the English Abbey of Chertsey (a once great establishment some ten miles from Windsor Castle), where the romance of Tristan and Iseult is again recorded pictorially. In individual scenes done in white clay on the dark red tiles, Tristan plays the instrument for King Mark, plays it while floating alone in a small boat, and gives the lovely Iseult a harp lesson. The activity of each scene might have had its counterpart in contemporary secular life. On the island of Iona, at St. Oran's chapel, the representation of another harp player seated in a small boat is carved on a much-weathered stone slab. The boating figure has been identified as a harpist [sic] of the clan MacLean; whether or not this is true, a secular figure probably inspired this carving. From this era and later, Celtic names for the triangular frame harp appears in manuscripts. The Irish, in addition to cruit , had clairsech, the Scots, clarsach, and the Welsh, telyn. (Also: the Manx, claasagh, the Cornish, telein, and the Breton, telen.) Early evidence of the harp in Wales is lacking, and no extant harps predate the seventeenth century, but telyn is mentioned in a late twelfth-century manuscript of the so-called Laws of Wales. According to the Laws (codified c. 945), a telyn, cloak and chessboard were indispensable to a gentleman, while a virtuous wife, his cushion for his chair, and his harp in tune, were prerequisites for his home. The instrument rests between the knees of the harpist and along their right shoulder. The Welsh triple harp and early Irish and Scottish harps, however, are traditionally placed on the left shoulder. By studying the wear patterns we know that the 'Lamont' was held on the left shoulder with the left hand playing the shorter strings. Although it was the king's minstrels who were at the Battle of the Standard (1138), it is not until the following century that we get definite information concerning them. When Alexander III (d. 1286) was in London paying homage to Edward I in 1278, his court minstrels were with him, since we know of payments being made to Elyas the "King of Scotland's harper," two of his trumpeters, and two of his minstrels, as well as to four other Scottish minstrels. In this same year a menestrallo Regis Scociae is fouund at Durham Priory. When this king married Yolande Countess de Montfort in 1285, Fordun mentions multi modis organis musicis at the ceremony. Elyas le Harpur, above mentioned, comes in greater prominence in 1296, at the close of the regal career of John Balliol. Seemingly, Elyas had been deprived of his lands by Edward I, who was then in a conquering mood in Scotland, but in this year the English king issued a write to the sheriffs of Perth and Fife which restored to this harper the lands previously
held by him. This is one of the many instances of the survival of the old Celtic custom of gifting land to court musicians. "Scotland, because of her affinity and intercourse [with Ireland], tries to imitate Ireland in music and strives in emulation. Ireland uses and delights in two instruments only, the harp namely, and the tympanum. Scotland uses three, the harp, the tympanum and the crowd. In the opinion, however, of many, Scotland has by now not only caught up on Ireland, her instructor, but already far outdistances her and excels her in musical skill. Therefore, [Irish] people now look to that country as the fountain of the art. " Geraldus Cambrensis (c. 1146 – c. 1223)
Let us keep on rendering more quotes about this particular harp model. The precise Gaelic term for the harp of the Gael is clàrsach Ghàidhealach (Sc.)/cláirseach Ghaelach (Ir.), meaning Gaelic harp. Clàrsach or Cláirseach (depending on Scottish Gaelic or Irish spellings), is the generic Gaelic word for 'a harp', as derived from Middle Irish. In English, the word is used to refer specifically to a variety of small Irish and Scottish harps, 'clár' (board) and 'soileach' (willow), because their soundbox was usually carved on a single willow wood. is an excellent book describing these ancient harps. There is historical evidence that the types of wire used in these harps are iron, brass, silver, and gold. As I have already posted there are three pre-15th century surviving harps nowadays; the "Brian Boru" Harp in Trinity College aka the "Trinity Harp", Dublin, and the "Queen Mary " and Lamont Harps, both in Scotland In medieval Ireland and Scotland, harp music was the highest status art form along with learned poetry. In the 16th century, Elizabethan English noblemen employed Irish harpers and commissioned Gaelic harps for their households. In the 17th century, Irish harpers could be found playing in royal courts across Europe. But by the 18th century, its modal and diatonic music had fallen from fashion; its place as the national instrument of Ireland and Scotland, and its names cruit and clàrsach were taken in the 19th century by the newly-invented gut-strung lever harp. And what was there to be heard of Scotland's own music, the old Celtic art? Just as we have seen in Anglo-Norman times, Irish musicians were still finding a welcome in the Highlands and were even received at court. That the native music of the two countries was still considered as one and the same art, finds frequent expression. In the Annals of the Four Masters we read that about 1451, when Margaret the wife of O'Conor of Offaly gave a banquet of honour, she invited the poets and musicians of Ireland and Scotland. We are told in the Buke of the Howlate (c. 1450) of a "bard owt of Irland" who knew about the "schenachy" and the "clarschach," whilst we read in the Book of Lismore (1512-26) that "Cas Corach, the son of Caincinde, ... [was] the best musician of Erinn or Alba," which once more illustrates the one type of musical culture in these lands.
Many a Highland and Irish harper (clarsair) played at court in those days, especially when James IV sat on the throne, for he was possibly the last of Scotland's rulers to speak Gaelic. Here we see the "ersch clarschar" (1492) or "Ireland clarscha" (1502) "clawing" his strings, evidently to everyone's delight. In imitation of the ways of the court, and also with a view maintaining some of the old feudal dignity and clan independence, the nobility had their minstrels. We read of the Thane of Calder's harper (1502), the Countess of Crawford's harper (1503), Lord Semphill's harper (1504), and the Laird of Balnagownis' harper (1512). As in the previous centuries, the great barons who were among the pares, as well as the lesser fry, and the higher clergy, possessed minstrels, generally one or two. We read of the clarsair to the Earl of Argyll (1503,1506), the Laird of Balnagownis' harper (1502), the Thane of Calder's harper (1502), the Countess of Crawford's harper (1503) and lutar (1505), Lord Semphill's harper (1504), the Lord of Ruthven's lutar (1505), "Maklanis [Maclaine's] clarscha" (1506), Lord Fleming's tabronar, Lord Hamilton's tabronar (1506-7). Nor were the clergy backward in this respect since there are entries of the Bishop of Ross' harper (1502), the Bishop of Caithness' harper (1503), and his lutar (1502), the Bishop of Moray's lutar (1505), who also had a tabronar (1506), and the "Ald Prior of Quhitherne's" clarsair (1507). At the court of James IV, harpers were particularly encouraged, James Mylsoun (1496-1502), an "Inglis harper" (1502), Sowles the harpere, Alexander, as well as Henry Philp and Bragman (1506). Naturally the Highland clarsech appealed to the Gaelic-speaking king and in consequence we read of Martin Clareshaw and another "erche clareschaw" in 1490, Pate hapar, clarscha (1503), "Odenlis (Ireland man) harper" (1512), and others. John Major, the Scottish historian, in his Annals of Scotland published in 1521, says (also in Latin) that 'for instrumental music and the accompaniment of the voice they make use of the Harp, which instead of strings made of the intestines of animals, they strung with brass wire, and on which they perform most sweetly'. Even the King, James I, was a performer on the harp, and indeed the historian Fordun, according to his continuator Bower, said that he touched it 'like another Orpheus', while Major comments that, 'on the harp he excelled the Irish or the Highland Scots, who are esteemed the best performers on that instrument.' A few years later, in 1565, we have an informative account of the instrument by George Buchanan, in his History of Scotland . Writing of the people and customs of the Western Isles, he says, 'They delight very much in music, especially in harps of their own sort, of which some are strung with brass wire, others with intestines of animals. They play on them either with their nails grown long or a plectrum. Their only ambition seems to be to ornament their harps with silver and precious stones. The lower ranks, instead of gems, deck theirs with crystal.'
Perhaps, however, as has been suggested, the music which 'some hundreds of Scots harpers' composed in the years the instrument flourished in Scotland, instead of being totally lost, was appropriated by other musicians, including the pipers, when the bagpipes supplanted the harp in favour. Various records indicate that some Highland chiefs retained their harpers well into the eighteenth century, and place names, such as Harper's Pass (Madhm na Tiompan) and Harper's Field (Fanmore nan Clairsairean) are still noted on the island of Mull, while Duntullim [sic] castle on the Isle of Skye retains its Harper's Window, and Castlelachlan in Argyll has its Harper's Gallery. The names remain to remind us of the one-time importance of the harp in these areas, and this seems especially appropriate when it is recalled that the earliest representations of the triangular frame harp, in this part of Europe, are provided by the ninth-century stone carvings of Scotland. Nor can we forget the harp, although this national instrument had already been pushed aside by the lute, mandore, gittern, and viol. It was however, still cherished in the Highlands, as William Kirk tells us in his Secret Commonwealth, wherein we read of "our northern Scottish and Athol men" being "much addicted to and delighted with harps." That was in 1691. A letter to Robert Wodrow in 1700 also mentions that the music of the people about Inverlochy and Inverness-shire included playing on the clarsech or Highland harp. Among the "Upper Ten" a harper was still attached to a household as part of feudal dignity, in precisely the same way as in Ireland, as Barnaby Rich shows ( New Description of Ireland , 1610). Indeed, harpers from Ireland were frequent in Scotland. Rory dall O'Cahan spent most of his life there (1601-50), and left his imprint in the many puirts (ports), notably Rory dall's port in the Straloch MS (1627-29) which Burns used later for Ae fond kiss. With those who went south to the "Promised Land" with James VI in 1603 and after, the clarsach still found acceptance, since in the inventory of the belongings of Robert Ker or Carr, afterwards Earl of Somerset under the accolade of James, we find "two Irish harps." These were doubtless Scottish harps, but they still carried the name of their original provenance—"ersch clarsechis." ... John Gunn (An Historical Enquiry) tells of a Roderick Morison, "one of the last native Highland harpers," who composed the port called Suipar chuirn na Leod "about 1650," and a certain John Garve Maclean, "an excellent performer on the harp," who flourished even earlier. He was in the service of the Macleans of Coll. Save perhaps in the Highlands, the old clarsech or harp was becoming neglected. John Gunn ( Historical Enquiry) gives 1734 as the approximate date of disuse. He says the Murdoch Macdonald "appears to have been the last native harper of the Highlands of Scotland." It is claimed that he was a pupil of Rory dall , but this could not have been Rory dall O'Cahan. He then entered the service of the Macleans of Coll as their clarsair, and was functioning as such in 1734. He retired to Mull, where he died. Still, the most famous Irish harpers were welcomed even in the
Lowlands, just as Rory dall O'Cahan had been fêted there in the previous century. Both Denis Hempson (1696-1807) and Ecklin O'Cahan (fl. 1773) performed in Scotland, which shows that ears there were still attuned to the clarsech's delightfully quiescent tones. The former played before the Pretender in Edinburgh, and the latter is alluded to by Boswell in his Tour in the Hebrides. The Gaelic harp tradition died out in the 19th century. Harps played in Scotland and Ireland since then have almost all been of a modern European design with only a superficial nod towards the old tradition. The most common harp tradition in Ireland and Scotland today is the neo-Irish harp or neo-clarsach, also called Irish harp, clarsach, lever harp, gut-strung harp, nylon-strung harp, folk harp, Celtic harp, or small harp. The wire-strung harp, also known as wire-strung clarsach or wire harp, is a curious hybrid tradition between the strict historical early Gaelic harp tradition and the modern neo-clarsach tradition. With antecedents going back to the late 19th century, and with people such as Arnold Dolmetsch (1930s) and Alan Stivell (1970s) working on it, the wire-strung harp has become relatively popular in Scotland especially in the last decade or so. Much of the work on this tradition is done under the aegis of the Wire Branch of the Clarsach Society . Related Sources • •
• • • •
Henry George Farmer, "Music in Medieval Scotland",London, 1930 Francis Collinson,"The Bagpipe, Fiddle and Harp,from Traditional and National Music of Scotland",Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966,reprinted by Lang Syne Publishers Ltd., 1983 Roslyn Rensch,"Harps and Harpists", Indiana University Press, 1989 "The Irish and Highland Harps" by Robert Bruce Armstrong Simon Chadwick's Early Gaelic Harp Site Roslyn Rensch, "Harps and Harpists", Indiana University Press, 1989Henry George Farmer, "A History of Music in Scotland", London, 1947Robert Phillips, William Taylor, Notes to "The Rowallan Concert, Notes of Noy, Notes of Joy"
Chapter 8 Profile and Stages of the Irish Harp
Why the Irish Harp is so distinctive?
The Irish is perhaps the most renown Celtic Harp, but why is it so distinctive amongst others? Irish certainly developed such a kind of harp and a unique technique which made the harpers from Ireland highly considered during medieval times. Legends relate to us about magical golden harps like the one from Dagda, but we know very little of its evolution on earlier periods. As you may find on Chapter 3 there is a very interesting recounting on styles and performance registered on the legacy of the chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis . Some curious stone carvings and engravings date from this period, but regarding its shape, there is a cute drawing on the " Syntagma Musicum" , treatise by the German composer, organist, and writer Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) which appeared in three volumes (with appendix) between 1614 and 1620 , depicting a low headed Irish harp which we can consider very accurate. Of this instrument he quoted: “ The Irish Harp…is beyond measure in sweet tone”.
The Irish harp illustration from the “Syntagma Musicum” Vol. II, Praetorius, 1619.
Definetely, the harp that was introduce in Ireland before the 10 th Century was the triangular European harp which had the forepillar addition, instead of the square and bowed shape.
The Irish made this design of their own and introduced some modifications on it. They built models more heavier and strong, strung with brass, even gold or silver wires, which they used to play with long finger nails. The bell-like jingling sound produced was quite different from the formers, which were lighter and gut strung.
How about harpers?
They imprinted another character to the harp for sure. As a counterpart to the European ones, Irish harpers pertained to a special status in society. Being mostly trained since they were seven years old, they had their patrons and retained the means and incentives to work daily on their instruments. This fact helped them to develop the special technique required to play a wire strung harp since it is not quite easy because of the long lasting resonance of each string. They learned how to stop the sound of one or more strings, at the time of plucking a few more; if not doing so a confusing succession of notes literally would begin to spoil the melody. These skills made them superb musicians who were not engaged with rural works or craftings, and able to keep high performing standards and even their long nails!. A miscellaneous but important detail, because when harpers began to loose their social status on the XVII Century, only a few harpers plucked strings with finger nails as in ancient moods, and mostly everyone began to play with their fingertips. They were relegated to accompany the recitation of verses by the filí or modern bards who took the most part of the compliments. Unluckily, things didn’t improved, and by the following decades, harpers became traveling musicians with no relationships either with poets, nor chiefs nor patrons, being only a few ones who managed to find positions as harpers to the landed gentry. Some of these surviving harpers with their melodies and techniques were the ones to attend to the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival, and thanks to Edward Bunting all the music was written down on staff. Though the only one to perform with finger nails was Denis Hempson, the only traditional one left who played a large repertoire of old Irish music not even played by others. According to E. Bunting: “ His fingers lay over the strings in such a manner, that when he struck them with one finger, the other was instantly ready to stop the vibration… the tinkling of the small wires under the deep notes of the bass was particularly thrilling”.
He is described as a true traditionalist but he was 97 years old, and in his own words nobody understood that “old music”. This shows how musical tastes had changed so as the shapes of the harps, which were made bigger and more suitable
for chromatic compositions. An ancient music which by the end of the XVIII Century became almost forgotten. For further information, a cute collection of manuscripts, notebooks and photographs associated with Edward Bunting (1773-1843) and the Belfast Harpers Festival of 1792 can be found at this “Queen's University Belfast” link .
Early Construction Methods and Materials
According to Joan Rimmer ( Joan Rimmer, an expert in this field and author of a magnificent book "The Irish Harp" issued by Mercier Press, Cork, in 1969) a
number of characteristic features distinguished the Irish harp
In general, it was very solidly and robustly constructed. Most fundamental were the size and nature of the soundbox. Until the eighteenth century it was always made from one solid piece of willow, hollowed to form a deep box whose walls were up to half an inch thick. The open back was covered by a separate piece of different wood. Because of its unusual combination of strength and resilience, willow was perfect for the soundboxes of the great Irish harps. The forepillar or “bow” was thick: it curved outwards and was generally T-shaped in section, with the stem of the T on the inner side and the broad part facing forwards. The neck was deep and heavy and was reinforced with metal bands on both sides. Metal pins set low ¡n the neck through the reinforcing bands, carried the strings on the left side. The lower ends of the strings were twisted round wooden toggles inside the box. A horse-shoe-shaped metal loop was riveted to the box round the upper half of each string hole. Hereby some cute horse-shoe illustrations from R.B. Armstrong, "The Irish and Highland Harps", Edinburgh, 1904.
The strings were of thick brass, and they were plucked with long fingernails, not with the flesh of the fingertips. The strings were tied to short pieces of wood in order not to slip through the string holes. The harp was held on the left shoulder, the left hand playing in the upper register and the right hand in the bass. All surviving Irish harps carry clear wear-marks from this playing position, which was also that of old Welsh harps but is not used for any other harps.
Why the harp rested on the left shoulder?
The reason seems clear from the nature of the early Irish harp. A modern harp neck is “cut away at one side” of the treble end so that the strings may run as nearly as possible in the same plane throughout the harp. The medieval Irish harp's neck is set “centrally” on the box; the highest strings, which are very short, are not only right out of plane but are also out of parallel with each other and are splayed into a fan shape. They are perfectly manageable with the left hand if the harp rests on the left shoulder. If it rests on the right, they are extremely awkward for the left hand and impossible for the right. which must reach across the considerable width of the neck in order to get to them at all. This position, though no longer physically necessary on an instrument as large as the Irish harp eventually became, was in fact used to the very end.
Stages of the Irish Harp
The research done by Joan Rimmer helped her to classify the Irish harps into three kinds, each one of them curiously related to an Irish political period. The Low Headed Harps
That of the fourteenth, fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, ( the rich Norman Irish period ) and perhaps of the thirteenth also, though we have no concrete evidence about this. was about two feet four inches (70 cm.) high. The forepillar was mortised into the heavy neck which overhung it, the soundbox was of the same depth all through and there were about thirty strings. The featured illustration belong to Queen Mary harp.29 strings, longest 61cm, one extra bass string added later. It has carved and incised decoration. Forepillar, neck and one piece soundbox made of hornbeam: 4 soundholes; 29 string-holes with brass shoes above and brass strips below all but the highest 6; wooden pegs added, probably in the ninetieenth century.; 29 pin-holes in neck; 29 pins, some brass some iron, additional string hole below metal band in neck and iron loop set in bottom of forepillar not original. Displayed on the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. According to the National Museum of Scotland, “The Queen Mary clarsach, or West Highland harp, is one of the objects that defines Scotland.” Picture and dimensions from R.B. Armstrong,"The Irish and Highland Harps", Edinburgh, 1904. The Large Low Headed Harps
Typical instrument of the late sixteenth and of the seventeenth ccntury, (the tragic period of the English oppression and incursions under Elizabeth I and Oliver Cromwell). It was essentially the same instrument in bigger size with more strings
and a soundbox which increased in depth as it narrowed in width towards the treble. They were strung with about 30-36 strings.
The featured illustration belongs to the Otway harp. Date unknown, may be 16th, 17th or 18th Century. This Harp was in possession of the Otway Family. Approx. 34 strings, longest approx. 77cm.
It has carved and incised decorations. One-piece soundbox with four hexafoil pierced soundholes. 35 string holes; shoes missing; originally 34 pin-holes in neck; 9 surviving brass pins. The harp is in storage at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and is not on display . Illustration and dimensions, and quotes, from R.B. Armstrong,"The Irish and Highland Harps", Edinburgh, 1904. The High Headed Irish Harps
Final form made in the eighteenth century, (the period of decay and dissolution of the old Irish society and the rising of the Anglo-Irish society). In this, the forepillar was almost straight and much taller than in the large low-headed harps, though the instruments were not always bigger otherwise. The neck swept upwards sharply to meet the top of the forepillar, thus forming the “high head”, and the bass strings were longer in relation to the others than was the case in the earlier harps. Individual "shoes of the strings' were replaced by a single perforated metal strip down the middle of the belly. They were strung with about 33-38 strings. The featured illustration belongs to the O'Neill harp. Dated to the 17th or 18th Century, also known as the Carolan harp, Kept at the Belfast Museum. 36 strings, longest 118cm. One piece soundbox with narrow brass strip along centre with 39 perforations for strings; 36 brass pins. There is no evidence that it belonged to harpist Arthur O'Neill. Picture and dimensions from R.B. Armstrong, "The Irish and Highland Harps", Edinburgh, 1904.
From the time when the Gaelic harp was made and played in a living tradition remains a large number of surviving instruments. Simon Chadwick has done an interesting investigation and traced 18 of them with data available on his valuable site. Click on a harp's name to see a picture and find out more about each one, or use the complete illustrated list.
(c.1400-1700) Trinity College Queen Mary Lamont Ballinderry Cloyne 1621 Otway O'Fogarty (c.1650-1800 ) Kildare 1672 Sirr Mullaghmast Rose Mooney O'Neill Downhill 1702 Bunworth 1734 Hollybrook Malahide 1 Malahide 2 Clonalis (c. 1800-1850) Other harps
Chapter 9 The Revival of the Cláirseach in Ireland
After the great famine in Ireland and a decade of emigration there was a resurgence of cultural nationalism. Thus the Gaelic League was created on 1893 , known as Conradh na Gaeilge in Gaelic, is still active nowadays as a governmental organisation that promotes the Irish language in Ireland and abroad. It developed from Ulick Bourke's earlier Gaelic Union and became the leading institution promoting the Gaelic Revival, carrying on efforts like the publishing of the Gaelic Journal. The League's first newspaper was An Claidheamh Soluis (The Sword of Light) and its most noted editor was Padraig Pearse. The motto of the League was “Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin” (Ourselves, Ourselves alone). In collaboration with the Folk Society created in 1903, some interesting researches regarding the Irish Harp were published: •
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The Story of the Harp by William Henry Grattan Flood ( hosted by www.archive.org ) Published in 1905 Annals of the Irish Harpers by Charlotte Milligan Fox ( hosted by www.archive.org ) Published in 1912 The Irish and the Highland Harps by Robert Bruce Armstrong ( hosted by www.archive.org ) Published in 1904 it remains to this day as the greatest study on the subject.
The Gaelic League established in 1897 the Annual Championship Competitions known as Oireachtas (Irish Dance) featuring irish pipes and harp and is recorded that only 4 harps solos were held by only one female and one male harpist. In the same year Dr. Annie Patterson and Edward Martyn established in Dublin the Feis Ceoil (English: Festival of Music), an Irish music society which has an annual cultural festival of music and dance. With the aim of stimulating musical studies in Ireland and encouraging native performers and composers. It was a result of the general Gaelicising Programme of the Gaelic League. It consisted of competitions for performance and composition and was supported by all musicians of the day, both national and classical. There was a predominance of female harpists performing gut strung harps in those days, as a counterpart to the wire strung ones performed by male harpists. These first harps they began to accompany with were made by the Dublin harper John Egan, and his nephew and successor Franck Hewson. They were of two kinds and curiously neither of them were like the old Irish harp. They were lightly constructed; with their soundboxes designed quite similar to those of the pedal harp, with thin bellies and separate, rounded backs; the strings were fixed in the bellies with pegs and the necks were cut away as in the pedal harp. The strings were of thin brass, with a few of steel in the highest register. They produced a weak tone, and the sound was quite long-lasting unless it was damped.
The second kind, which Egan marketed in about 1819 as a 'Portable Harp' was about three feet (92 cm.) high, same shape and soundboard as in his preceding one, but it was gut-strung and had a mechanism, based on that of the pedal harp, for changing the string lengths to give chromatic notes. These were the very first levers ever set to a fore-pillar to be actioned with one hand while playing the tune. John Egan was active in Dublin between about 1804 and 1841 and advertised himself in 1822 as 'Portable Harp maker to the King'. It is recounted that almost 37 harps were made. Although the Egan portable harp didn't succeed quite much, since they were more suitable for songs than for instrumental music, it was a comparable kind of instrument which eventually became known as the Irish harp in the twentieth century.
An Egan Harp ca. 1820 Japanned wood, with painted gold decoration as they used to have. Picture from the Gallery of the " Victoria and Albert Museum" official website, UK
Since the first festival in 1897, the Feis Ceoil has grown, thanks to the everincreasing number of talented young musicians who perform at the event. Nowadays ESB Feis Ceoil continues to provide that all-important first platform for those young musicians who wish to become performers and for all those who simply wish to show their love for the music which they have been studying. After the Easter Rising in 1916 and the Anglo-Irish treaty led awful results on traditional music, finding the harp in the 20’s a safe home in Catholic Convent Schools which began to increase a great interest in Irish Culture as an opposite to the Protestant view. According to Oona Linnett on her interesting essay “The Irish Harp” (hosted by Scribd) the most important of these were Sion Hill Convent and Loreto Abbey, both in Dublin, where the Irish and Pedal harps were taught. They were basically instructed on Irish songs and melodies from anthology collections such as those from Petrie and Moore, “primarily singers who accompanied themselves in a
simple cordal style”. We can trace some renowned names amongst their pupils like the late Derek Bell , Mary O’Hara, and Gráinne Hambly . She also quotes a paragraph by the celebrated Grainne Yeats which portraits the image by those performers : “were beautiful young girls singing sweet folksongs, playing little chords, and they weren’t really playing the instrument. They were usingt it solely as an embellishment of the song… Mary( O’Hara) was the best, and she sang beautifully, but you had a lot of terribly inefficient ones.”
During the 50’s and 60`s new ways were brought into tradition, many musicians began to appear on scene singing ballads accompanied with guitar, and from England the Pub Sessions were imported. Luckily in 1952 the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (meaning "Society of the Musicians of Ireland") was established as the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. Brendan Breathanch doesn’t include a single harp tune on his book Folk Music and Dances of Ireland published in 1971, neither the composer Sean O’Riada who replaced it with a harpsichord. Thus, sadly by those days they didn’t considered the harp and almost ignored highly motivated by the poor image of female singers and harpists… lack of recognition confirmed by the belief that the instrument died by the middle of the nineteenth century with the last of the wire strung harpists, a very old and beautiful tradition that nothing had to do with sweet ladies singing along gut strung harps.
Chapter 10 Cáirde na Cruite and the Arrival of the Lever Harp
As we can learn from their Official Site, the Cáirde na Cruite ( Friends of the Harp) established in 1960, has played since then a central role in the revival and development of interest in the Irish harp. On it’s creation one of the basic aims was to regain the Irish Harp as an ancient cultural symbol, recover it’s place of honour and displace the image it was having at the time. But which harp was to be regained and employed? The Wire or the Gut Strung harp? They definitely were inclined for the Gut one… since it was already established and had levers, and moreover no harpers were available by those days in Ireland, but
according to Grainne Yeats, Daniel Quinn was the only harper available, had a two years waiting list and he wasn’t even capable to build a wire strung one. Moreover his harps weren’t suited to play instrumental music, they were fragile and almost proper for simple vocal accompaniments. Kathleen Loughnane, former tutor of Cáirde na Cruite and member of the renowned folk traditional band “Dordan” comments that the spaces in between the strings was uncomfortably small, and that string tension was too light, going out of tune, and constantly breaking.
Harp made by Dublin harp maker Daniel Quinn
The revival pretended by Cairde na Cruite was to displace the classically-influenced arrangements and begin to experiment with traditional dance tunes and new ornamentations, thus the desire for a new kind of harp was a must by those days. Luckily the Aoyama Harps Company developed during the 60’s a new small harp designs based on the works of the late London Harp maker John Morley. Hereby a link to the Aoyama Model available from Morley Harps. They not only increased the range of strings to 34, but also replaced gut strings with nylon ones and designed new semitone levers. Later on the up and down lever design by the famous harp makers Lyon and Healy was added too. After a promotional visit to the Sion Hill they soon become available in Dublin, and the Folk Harp or Lever Harp was finally adopted. While the original objectives of Cáirde na Cruite espoused the provision of expert tuition and the publication of music for the Irish harp, its mission has evolved considerably over the last 50 years and the society has made a significant contribution to the development of a vibrant dynamic role for the Irish harp, and its positioning within Irish traditional music.
Chapter 11 The Rising of The Harp in Brittany
Unlike the Irish, Scottish and Welsh, we cannot trace any surviving harp model or any particular harp development in Brittany far from those recountings of the presence of priests who used to carry some along with them along the country. The evidence concerning the harp in Brittany is linguistic, historical and iconographic. The Breton word “telenn”, which curiously recalls the Welsh “telyn”, appeared in the 19th century in the writings of Hersart La Villemarqué. According to a 12th century Welsh manuscript, "every gentleman should have a cushion on his chair, a virtuous wife and a well-tuned harp." Likewise the old welsh englyn: "the three things that may not be seized by law: a book, a harp and a sword.”
Jord Cochevelou, considered as the “Father of the Renaissance of the Celtic Harp in Brittany”, quotes some interesting data regarding the harp in Brittany on the book in spanish“Alan Stivell” by Alvaro Feito, Júcar Editions, 1981: "Were the same missionaries who came mainly from Britain in the course of the Breton immigration the ones t o introduce the harp in Brittany. There are known numerous representations from the eleventh century. In 1079, a charter granted to Nantes takes the nomination of a certan Cadiou as official harpist of Duke Hoel. In 1189, Richard the Lionheart summoned some Breton harpists for his coronation.” “Having achieved great importance in Europe (compare the many stained glass, tapestries and paintings, where you can admire medieval harps derived from the Irish harp), the harp disappeared when the Bretons lost their independence, their language and culture was abandoned by an aristocracy fascinated by the French court. But this harp had not ceased resounding in the stately little courts and parties throughout the Middle Ages; remained very much alive in our memories, certainly with a more beautiful and evocative significance than a symbol of art, poetry , grace, purity, and enchantment. "
It is in the medieval romances we may find some references to Breton harpists, on which are frequently praised for their qualities, particularly in the accompaniment of “layes” . A “lay” consists on a short narrative poems written in ancient French language, commonly known in France and Germany between the late XIII and XIV
century. Originally this term designated a short poem which served as a conclusion to a story. Many Celtic legends took the form of “lay”, including “Tristan and Isolde”; according to legends,Tristan was in fact a skillful harpist. The word "lay" or "lai" seems to derive from Old High German or half German Leich, which means ' fun ',' melody 'or' song '. According to Jack Zipes, derives from the Irish “laid” (' song '). We may notice that as in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Breton harpists, had a very high social standing. Attributed to King David, the harp also belongs to Merlin and to Saint Hervé, patron of the bards and musicians of Brittany. The small diatonic harp of the Bretons, richly ornamented with zoomorphic symbols, comprised up to 30 metal strings, played, it seems, with the aid of a plectrum. Curiously Illuminated Manuscripts kept in Mont St Michel show some illustrations of harpists playing on the Irish style placing the harp on the left shoulder . We may certainly suppose they plucked the strings with their fingernails, but cannot assure if they were metal or gut strung.
Being religious works, the picture is supposed to be King David.
If Breton harpers look to Irish models to revive their lost tradition, these illustrations show that they may well be following in the footsteps of their ancestors. By the end of the Middle Ages it was almost extinct and wasn’t even adopted by popular circles. It was not until the 20th century that several Bretons became interested in the revival of the ancient harp, inspired by the Irish harp. According to the Breton “Camac Harps Blog” the revival was due to a cultural renaissance in the 19th century.
Scottish harpist’s Heloise Russell-Fergusson first visited to Brittany in 1934, sparked the manufacture of the first modern Breton harp. Fergusson helped Gildas Jaffrenou, a musical cabinet-maker interested in the harp, to build his own instrument. Jaffrenou later traveled to Wales, where he met the famous instrument-maker Arnold Dolmetsch. With Dolmetch's further aid, Jaffrenou eventually succeeded in producing his first fine harp, one of six hundred he made up until the ‘70s. Jaffrenou built the first harps made in Brittany, after patterns from Wales and Scotland. At the end of the 1940s, it was Georges (Jord) Cochevelou - father of Alain (aka Alan Stivell) - who conceived the idea of a harp with a fundamentally Breton identity . Hereby I share with you Jord’s own reflections regarding his project: "The idea to revive the Breton harp haunted me for a long time, but could not discern clearly how to do it since I had no specific knowledge of the instrument. The occasion occured during the last World Warr in a period I had to necessarily spend in Clermont-Ferrand. There I met a professor of harp, Breton also, J.-M. Hamonic, who gave me useful information about the concert harp, which I tried to transpose according to rules applicable to instruments that did not have more than graphic representations.” "In 1942 I began the construction of the harp, but I had to content with preliminary trials. It was not until well after the war, in Paris, when I re-take the work begun ten years earlier. I then realized that others had had the same thought as me. Hervé Ar Menn, Taldir, amongst others, but none as far as I knew had the chance to make it, with the exception of a Parisian house who had built a copy of an Irish harp.” "By those days, I had already begun building my first instrument according to personal designs and did not seem appropriate to modify them after what I noticed and listened to. It had taken more than a year of work, during which I devoted all my free time for my "prototype" in order to let it be heard for the first time in public on November 28, 1953 in the House of Brittany, in the hands of my son Alan. From the first instrument I built another dozen of them for friends and also some with metal string harps so called "bardic harps”." " Everyone recognizes it as part of a tradition, to the extent that they believe it has never ceased to exist. It is true that the popular songs they always talk about "... vinioü has me'glevan ar, ar an telennoü vombard hag ... " (" ... and I hear the 'biniou', the bombard and harps ")- Gwerz Kér-Ys. It is also true that some old harpers, but first-time players, prefer to increase their legend telling that they learned to play on the lap of thier fathers, continuing an unbroken line. “
Cochevelou did not actually finish his first harp until April 1953, with a care that Stivell attributes to an emotional, cultural bond with the Brittany of old:
"...he wanted that his first harp would be so surprising, in the full sense of the word, that a shockwave would emanate from its strings, with the precision and spirit of kyudo (the Zen arc). His harp would come to be the masterpiece and the climax of his life, and transcend it... a somewhat mystic journey, moreover, a sociable one: with Christian and Breton mysticism, the harp of the Psalms and of King David as well as the harpe of Merlin." ( Alan Stivell and Jean-Noël Verdier: " Telenn: La Harpe Bretonne" (Le Télégramme Editions, 2004)
Jord Cochevelou staring at the young Alan playing on his harp creation.
Denise Mégevand was invited by Cochevelou to test his harp. Mégevand (19172004), a pupil of Lilly Laskine, was classically trained, but nonetheless appreciated the lever harp in itself. She owned a lever harp and played Medieval music, Renaissance music, and some Irish music, in addition to her classical work. In Alain Cochevelou she encountered such a strong passion for the lever harp, that by its force she found herself more and more drawn into its world: "As soon as I gave him a piece to learn, I would have to come to him again so that he could play it to me. He had an intense desire to learn the harp. It was a passion! And he needed to learn core technique.” (Denise Mégevand interviewed in Harpe Celtique: Le Temps des Enchanteurs by Thierry Jigourel)
Mégevand found herself intensely in demand as a teacher of this lever harp that the Bretons were increasingly making their own. She wrote a forty-page lever harp method, and became the first teacher of Telenn Bleimor, a Paris-based ensemble of five Breton harps,which was performed up until 1972. Many of today's well-known Breton harpists began their careers in Telenn Bleimor: Madeleine Buffandeau, Brigitte Géraud (Baronnet), Mariannig Larc'hantec, Kristen Noguès, Françoise Johannel, and Rozenn Guilcher, to name but a few.
Mégevand's pupil Alain Cochevelou aka Alan Stivell went on to pursue an extraordinary international career. His stage name, "Stivell", means "fountain" or "spring" in Breton. This name refers both to the Breton celtic cultural renewal and to his surname "Cochevelou" (an evolution of kozh stivelloù, "the old fountains").His teacher recognized his passion for Celtic music, but never confined the lever harp to traditional music alone, and Stivell has also developed his early passion for traditional music into music that is absolutely modern. His music is the contemporary, popular, Celtic-flavoured and constantly-changing fusion sometimes called "Celtic Rock". It exploded in popularity in the early 1970s, and was to prove more than just a passing trend. Undoubtedly he has been the leader and active musician responsible of the Celtic Harp revival in Brittany. Alan's first recording came in 1960 ("Musique gaelique"), a single that was followed by the LP Telenn Geltiek in 1964. He already recorded solo harp and harp backing singers in 1959 with Breiz ma bro ("Brittany my country") and a Mouez Breiz EP ("Voice of Brittany") with the female singer Andrea Ar Gouilh. With a new harp with bronze strings, Stivell began to experiment with modernized styles of music known as Celtic rock . In 1966, Alan Stivell began to perform and record as a singer. The following year, he was signed by Philips (Universal). This was during the birth of the New Breton and Celtic music movement. In 1970, Stivell released his first hits, the single "Broceliande" and the album "Reflets", both on the Philips record label. He became closely associated with the burgeoning Breton roots revival, especially after the release of the purely instrumental 1971 album Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, which won one of the most famous awards in France, the prize of the Académie Charles Cros.
Alan Stivell at the Olympia in 1972 next to his father's harp (Photo by Ian Gwenic)
The music critic Bruce Elder wrote of the album Renaissance of the Celtic Harp: People who hear this record are never the same again. Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, one of the most beautiful and haunting records ever made by anybody, introduced the Celtic harp to many thousands of listeners around the world. To call this music gorgeous and ravishing would be the height of understatement—indeed, there aren't words in the English language to describe this record adequately. The opening work, ' Ys' , is a piece inspired by the legend of the fifth century capital of the kingdom of Cornwall, (most versions of the legend place the city in the Douarnenez Bay on the coast of Brittany), [said to have been] engulfed by a flood as punishment for its sins.. The reflective "Marv Pontkellec" is every bit as sublimely beautiful, but the highlight of this record is "Gaeltacht," a 19 minute musical journey by Stivell's harp across the Gaelic lands of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.
Some harpists - not just those from Telenn Bleimor - have turned their back on classical training. Violaine Mayor and the late Katrien Delavier play or played with the nails instead of the pads of the fingers, on wire-strung harps in the Irish tradition. Gwenola Ropars in Carhaix prefers an oral method, as does Dominig Bouchaud in Quimper. Bouchaud argues that by far the best way to learn
traditional music is orally, because not everything about traditional music can be written down. The famous neo-Breton bard Myrdhin also belongs to no French classical school: he is an autodidact, who since 1984 is the director of the Recontres Internationales de Harpe Celtique in Dinan. This is the biggest harp meeting in Brittany. It has three competitions (for composition, performance and improvisation), as well as being a major platform for all the most important Celtic artists in the world, and a centre for luthiers and ethno-musicologists. The Dinan committee have also published an interesting introduction to the "Celtic harp" across the world, complete with a CD: Anthologie de la harpe: La Harpe des Celtes. Brittany has come to be as much a lever harp centre as Wales, Scotland or Ireland, and, like all these countries, rewrites the past into an expression of modern identity. The new generation of Breton harpists are personalising their traditional heritage and taking it all over the world: Gwenaël Kerléo, Cécile Corbel, Elisa Velia, Christine Merienne, Soazig Müller, Tristan Le Govic, Anne Postic, and François Pernel, for instance. Nowadays the Celtic harp finds a great success in the conservatories and Festivals in France, being the “Camac Harps” makers renowned for their lever and electric models, moreover , Camac Harps had taken over from Japanese harps as the market leader in France.
Chapter 12 The Celtic Harp in Galicia and Asturias
Concerning the harp presence on these Celtic countries in Spain, it is difficult to assure the existence of a musical tradition dedicated to the Celtic harp, something so complex like to trace Celtic influences in the Galician and Asturian melodies which much external influence have received. But we can certainly trace a large repertoire of traditional tunes arranged for the lever harp, and original compositions as well. Anyway, what we do know is , that Celts still keep the children of their children settled down in Cantabria and Galicia, as the Irish still retain for themselves on their mythical “Book of the Conquests” the legend about the Galician bard Amergin and his harp; related often to the legend of Breoghan, and the Invasion of Milesians to Ireland.
During the late 70's and early 80's there was a rise of "Celtic folk" music in the northern Spanish peninsula. It was the time when musicians like Alan Stivell held a great number of concerts in Spain and some harpists began to appear also in the native Galician and Asturian folk groups . We can trace some musicians enlisted in this harp revival so much praised by the Galician poet Eduardo Pondal. It is not my intention to state a complete listing, but to refer some data I managed to gather and mention also those harpists who I personally know.
The Celtic Harp in Galicia
In Galicia the work of Emilio Cao stands out in first instance, being him the first Galician to record with a Celtic Harp compositions of his own and traditional tunes as well. In fact he was the first to recover the harp as an instrument in the folk music of Galicia (there is evidence of its use in the Middle Ages). According to the Galician harpist Rodrigo Romaní, Emilio Cao got an Aoyama harp in a music store in Santiago de Compostela with which he fell in love since the first time he saw it. Like many other musicians, such is the love he professes to that instrument, that he absolutely self-taught himself, and works for hours to hone their management and composing his own songs. He issued his first album in 1977: "Fonte do Araño", (Galician for “village fountain”) and began his relationship with other performers of that instrument, like Elsie Thomas of Swansea or the Breton musician Alan Stivell. Alan himself would write on the album’s sleeve notes: “I was asked to write an introduction to this album, which I obviously accepted considering it a great honor, which is even greater if you consider that my knowledge of Galician music is still few enough. However, I personally evaluate this gesture as hunging bridge above the Atlantic, expression of the ties that bind Galicia and Britain, two countries that are, although in a different degree, at the crossroads of Latin and Celtic cultures. I do not want to make any cultural colonialism by stating that the Celts of Britain, Ireland, and other lands, after being drowned in agony by the great oppressors States (France, England ...) but we feel satisfied to observe how the Galicians revalue part of its Celtic common heritage in order to defend much better their national character against Spain. I think that celticity is an essential factor that grants both to the people and the Galician country its distinctive character.
Moreover, the search for the Celtic roots can undoubtedly help to strengthen the struggle against the unhuman statist civilization, quite far from the spirit of Rome’s legacy; we should inspire ourselves on the European pre-Roman thought which parallel to the Eastern one, can not conceive happiness without harmony.”
"Fonte do Araño" is indeed a landmark album involving Xosé Ferreirós and Xosé Antón Seoane (who would later form the renowned Galician group "Milladoiro") as well as Xoan Piñon and Bernardo Martinez (founders of the Galician folk medieval group "Doa"). This album was a major shift for the music of Galicia and opened new paths followed later by numerous artists influenced by Celtic musical styles. Let me share with you these nice words from Consuelo Rejas, music journalist of the Spanish “Fusion Magazine": "The sound of Celtic harp keeps alive the link with the past. It's the sound of time, the ancestors, who slept the night in villages Celtic music drawing with the exploits of brave warriors. Emilio Cao was and remains a pioneer. When he began to introduce the harp in his records, there was none in Galicia or in any place in Spain, performing the harp in traditional music. "
Also in Galicia the figure of Rodrigo Romaní stands out, latter member of the folk band “Milladoiro”, whose spanning work has driven Galician melodies not only throughout Europe but till the United States, where it’s work was published " Galicia No Tempo" and " Castellum Honesti" , and in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while touring in 1991 and 1996. After his work in “Milladoiro” his career as Harpist continues as a soloist and harp teacher at the conservatory of traditional music in the Public University of Vigo, Pontevedra, and also directing the folk orchestra, Sondeseu, where the presence of Harps is important, featuring a set of 8 harpists. The Conservatory of Traditional Music of Vigo was founded in 1996. From the first day featured courses for Celtic harp. In 2008, the Conservatory changed to E-Trad, the Municipal School of Folk Music and Traditional. The courses of Celtic harp are taught in two cycles: basic in 2 years, and professional in 5 years. Every year the E-Trad welcomes students for the Celtic harp. E-Trad has developed its own methodology which has its base in the traditional repertoire for bagpipe and folk songs. The Galician musician, Xabier Gómez, entered on that decade the world of the harp, currently he is professor of harp at the Professional Conservatory of Music in Madrid, where he also teaches Celtic harp. Currently has students enrolled learning the Celtic harp, which has no official character, is divided into four courses of the elementary level. Sponsored by Rodrigo Romaní a singular female harp duet was formed in the year 2007 by the name of “Sete Saias” (Galician for “seven skirts”). Both students of Rodrigo Romani at the School of Traditional Arts and Crafts in Vigo, the Galician harpists Clara Pino and Marta Quintana lined up this singular duet ; their unique style and originality of songs, and vocal counterpoints of voices marked a delightul
legacy for all the lovers of Folk music. Unluckily the duet splitted early in July 2007, but left a beautiful album as a witness of their contribution. Their project included not only traditional music, which is the main source of inspiration for their work but also music of their own. Regarding the name of the duet , the number of skirts used represented within the Galician-Portuguese tradition, the hierarchy of women in the family and that we consider vital to their role within the family, and both Clara and Marta decided to claim their rightful recognition and remember that they are worthy of all our attention, our affection and our respect, especially mothers and grandmothers, who are the backbone of the family and society in general. The fact is that a larger number of skirts, denoted the highest rank within the family. Seven is the maximum and also the most magical. Their first and only album, “Sete Saias” was regarded by many as the best album of Galician Celtic music in 2006, and one of the best works of Galician Celtic harp of all time. Marta Quintana currently developed her soloist career with a first new album edited in 2011. On the other hand, Clara Pino lined up a new band called " Covalbú" which has a self-production, a common feature of Galician Folc scene, the album is called “Mai”, including some songs of her authorship and beside traditional pieces, features a piec created for them by Rodrigo Romani (ex-harpist Folc Galician group Milladoiro). The band splitted in 2010 and gave birth to a trio called “ Loaira” with the interest of developing music of their own with folk musical arrangements. They issued a debut album in 2011 that lead us to music and rhythms from different latitudes, quite linked to literature, with lyrics written in collaboration with the Galician poet Marina Perez. Regarding more female harpists, on the year 2007 other students from the School of Traditional Arts and Crafts in Vigo created a quartet of harpists called "Lulavai". The quartet is lined up by Josefa Fernandez, Paula Oanes, Elena Paz, and Lorena Reinaldo.
The Celtic Harp in Asturias
Concerning Asturias, seminal concerts were held in the ‘80s by Alan Stivell who would return to Asturias oftenly, in order to assist to concerts held at the cathedral square in Oviedo . Many Asturians folk fans began to appreciate the harp, in the hands of Emilio Cao who held some solo performances, and of Rodrigo Romani, since “Milladoiro” toured Asturias almost every year in this decade.
Thanks to the dynamism and influence that led Alan Stivell with his work on the Celtic harp, in the 1970s some companies , such as Japanese Aoyama or French Camac, began to launch their Harps, a fact that facilitated the acquisition of these instruments and makes them more accessible. By those days, it was organized the first “Celtic Night” of Corao, in Cangas de Onís, featuring the harp playing of the late Fernando Largo. He played harp as member of the folk group “Beleño”. As Emilio Cao from Galicia he used to play a lever harp model made by the Aoyama Harps Company. Fernando can be heard in the recordings of the extinct Asturian folk band “Beleño”, and other collaborations with Xuacu Amieva, (awarded Asturian piper of the Macallan Prize in Brittany) and next to the folk group " Llan de Cubell" whose piper, Flavio Rodriguez Benito used to visit us in Buenos Aires in the past. “Beleño”, combined acoustic instruments with songs on the harp. They recorded a couple of albums featuring traditional Asturian tunes along with some compositions of their own. And as always, as far as harps are concerned, we should not forget about a female musician... In this case the Asturian harpist and singer Herminia Alvarez, former member of the folk group “Trasgu”; whom I personally admire for her musical arrangements of original and traditional music. She was a pioneer in recovering the harp back in 1979. The group released in 1983 an album called "La Isla de Helice", on which Herminia recorded with her harp. In 1982. there was a seminal concert held in the Oviedo Cathedral where both Fernando and Herminia performed. The show was recorded on an historical album called “Celtic Harp”. This vinyl marked the start of the new folk groups in Asturias, recorded almost live in the Church of St. Isidore in Oviedo featuring Herminia Alvarez, Fernando Largo, the Breton harpist Anne Lle Signore and Asturians folk bands like “Beleño” and the prominent “Llan de Cubel” which was in fact for the latter their first recording ever. Moreover, between 1982 and 1984, by Christmas, there were two Celtic harp concerts held in Oviedo, in fact, the album “Celtic harp”, is the second recording of these shows. It was held also a harp exhibition on the Conde Toreno Palace, where different harp models throughout history were shown, from Egyptian to Celtic Harps. The "Celtic Harp Meeting II" was repeated in 1985 featuring once again Fernando Largo, Rodrigo Romaní, Emilio Cao, Herminia Alvarez ,Anne Le Signor (from Brittany) and others. Lastly I am glad to mention the presence of the Asturian harpist, musician and folklorist Daniel Garcia de la Cuesta who has not only been member of the previously mentioned “Beleño” folk band but also participated for over twenty-five years of several Ethnography and Folklore associations.
By the way, he was the one who translated into Asturian language my book "Celtic legends from Galicia and Asturias" edited in 1984 by the Asturian Celtic League, and now available in Spanish through Smaswords and Amazon. I had the chance to meet him when he visited Argentina for a series of concerts and workshops on the "Bandurria", instrument of which he is a devote musician and promoter. Daniel’s Celtic harp comes from the Border House, and acquired as a kit from the Early Music Shop, located in England. The assembly of the instrument was made by the Asturian artisan Chema Vicente Pastor. He also lined-up many important folk bands in Asturias such as “Guercu” , “Merlin”, “Zapica”, and “Lliberdón”. Currently works in different bands, and specially with “Zapica”. He studied music at the Conservatory of Xixón, and Oviedo in Asturias, and traditional bagpipe with Pepe Blanco. Learned violin as a student of Jean Luc Dominique at the Conservatory of Occitania. Celtic Harp with Myrdhin , the breton harpist, and with Rodrigo Romaní and Rodrigo Gallegos Xavier Gómez in Spain. As an active member of the Asturian folk band “Lliberdón”, his harp playing is featured on their third album. Daniel is the author of the quite interesting book “The Presence of the Harp in Asturias”. Issued in 2004, you may find two posts with a brief review of the book on my Celtic Sprite blog , hereby the links to both posts Part 1 / Part 2 Currently he keeps on performing with the Celtic harp as a soloist, accompanying recitations and with different musical line-ups, as can be found on his Official Site in Myspace. Presently he has established a duet called “Harpe Diem” on which he performs Celtic Harp and violin along with Pedro Sanjurjo on Hurdy Gurdy and whistles. We can say that 2003 is certainly the year of harp recovery in Asturias since by the end of July and in the Inter-Celtic Festival of Avilés, we had the opportunity to attend another harp course. In this case the charge of guiding the participants was on behalf of Galician harpist Xabier Gomez. This harpist, applied lessons in Asturias in 2003-07, the School of Traditional Music Quintana A, de Gijón, settling the presence of the instrument. Another very important event held in Asturias during the months of October, November and December in 2003 was an ongoing construction of antique harps, directed by Pedro Llopis Arenys. There are young musicians like Yago Prado, from the folk group Llangres, who plays a model of 34 strings of Cambrian House. Mento Hevia, from the folk group “Gueta Na Fonte” also plays the harp.
In Gijón lives another harpist. He owns a Troubadour model from Salvi and a Melusine, form the French House Camac, his name is José Jaime Rubial. Javier Dominguez, who lives in the city of LLuarca, acquired in 2000 a type of Celtic harp constructed by Galicians Luis Martinez and Lorraine Reinaldo. Jose Luis Santaeufemia is another young man settled in Tapia, owns a Korrigan model harp from Camac. Samuel Set González, from Avilés, acquired in 2002 a Celtic harp from the Border house , model Wye. In Oviedo, Xuacu Amieva, the renowned asturian Piper, has began to study harp, along with his daughter Paula. Another person related to the Celtic harp in Asturias is Dorothy Gillet, she has settled in the city of Ribesella and plays in do with John Allan, her husband, who deals with different wind instruments. Dorothy's harp, has 34 strings, built by Peter Brough, craftsman who lives in Devon, southern England.
Chapter 13 The Celtic Harp Symbolism
The harp arms have long been Ireland's heraldic emblem. References to them as being the arms of the king of Ireland can be found as early as the 13th century. Curiously, the harp as a cultural symbol and icon had such an influence, that on the year 1534, the English king Henry VIII had a crowned harp featured on the AngloIrish silver groat (or 4 pence) and half groat coins. These arms were finally adopted when he ended the period of Lordship of Ireland and declared Ireland to be a kingdom again in 1541.
The harp symbol was later adopted on a blue background and featured on various official royal occasions. A banner with a harp emblem was carried on Queen Elizabeth I's funeral in 1603. King James I incorporated the harp in the royal arms and standard of Britain in 1603 where it still remains.
It was The Society of United Irishmen who struggled for the development of the harp as a national symbol, particularly during the 1798 rebellion.
The Society's seal device shows an elaborate harp with two mottoes " It is new strung and shall be heard" and "Equality". The cap of liberty, replacing the imperial crown, recalls that given to freed Roman slaves , a recurring freedom motif in many classical artworks. Robert Emmet tried to continue the United Irishmen's revolution in 1803. He used a similar flag with the slogan "Erin go Bragh". The national flag, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, was known as the Green Flag and always showed a gold harp on a green background. The historical so called “Trinity College” Irish harp is the national symbol of Ireland and, as such, appears in stylised forms in the Coat of arms of Ireland, the flag of the President of Ireland as well as Irish Euro coins and official documents. It also appears on the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom, representing Ireland.
Curiously the original design for the first Irish coin was done by an English sculptor: Percy Metcalfe, due in response to a competition held by the state to design Irish coinage, which was to start circulation in December 1928.
This coin is a pattern shilling prepared by Publio Morbiducci for submission to the contest for the coinage of the Irish free state in 1927, but was never issued since he didn’t won the price. As you may observe, it featured a high headed Irish harp design.
You’ll find below the image of the harp registered as the Guinness trademark in 1862, based on a famous 14 th century Irish harp known as the “O’Neill”, or “Brian Boru” harp. A number of changes have been made to the design of the harp and with the introduction of the simplified harp in 1968, it began to appear in gold as well. (Published here by the kind permission of Guinness )
Chapter 14 Suggested Celtic Harpists
William Jackson is an internationally reknown harper and composer who has
been a major force in Scottish Music for many years. As a founding member of the band Ossian (1976-1989) he was part of the revival of traditional music in Scotland in the 70's and 80's, and became known as an innovative composer, using a mix of traditional and classical musicians in such acclaimed works as The Wellpark Suite (1985), A Scottish Island (1998) and Duan Albanach (2003). Touring extensively in Europe and North America he gained a reputation as a fine performer of traditional music featuring the Scottish harp, and also as a teacher. William is also a trained Music Therapist (Guildhall) and has worked in that area since 1993 in both Scotland and the USA. Apart from his Scottish background William has also been influenced by Irish music in his compositions, as both his paternal grandparents were from Co Donegal, Ireland, and he spent a great deal of his childhood there. His last album release along with Irish harpist Grainne Hambly in 2009 is the first collaborative recording of two of the finest musicians from Ireland and Scotland. Featuring Irish and Scottish harps, concertina, whistle and bouzouki.In conjuction with his concert work, lessons and workshops on Scottish music are offered, as well as presentations on his work in Music Therapy. William plays a Scotia harp, strung with carbon strings, made by Larry Fisher, Winnipeg. Other outstanding Scottish harpist is Alison Kinnaird, promoter of its resurgence and with an untiring dedication for the " cláirseach" . Alison is also one of the foremost exponents of Scottish harp music, playing both gut and wire-strung Scottish harps. She was the first player to make a recording of Scottish harp music, and co-wrote (with Keith Sanger) the history of harp in Scotland, as well as producing many other recordings and printed collections of music. She is much in demand, at home and abroad, as a performer, a lecturer, and teacher in both her fields. She has been researching the repertoire of the harp in Scotland for more than twenty-five years, written several books of harp music, and co-authored the first published history of the harp in Scotland " The Tree of Strings". Her album "The Harp Key - Crann nan Teud " was the first ever recording of Scottish harp music, still essential listening for people interested in the Scottish harp.
It is also highly valuable in Scotland the work done by Patsy Seddon (on electric harp and gut-strung harp), and Mary Macmaster ( on electric harp and metalstrung harp), the duet of harpists and female singers " Sileas". While at Patsyuniversity she began to experiment with ways to integrate the Clarsach in the rich traditional music scene which was particularly strong in Edinburgh at that time. She met her long term harp partner Mary Macmaster at University, and together they played in the group Sprangeen in which the harps took the rhythm role as well as leading the tune. Mary recalls of those days on the Camac Harp Blog: “When I bought my first harp, I found the cheapest one in the “Exchange and Mart” magazine and it happened to have metal strings, which were extremely rare in those days. I was disappointed at first but came to love the bell-like sound of the metal strings and when I got together with Patsy, the combination of the gut and metal strings made a really special sound, which people seemed to love.” Mary and Patsy
formed the harp duo Sileas, and after graduating decided to have some fun for a while, touring their harps across the world - ‘taking the harp to places it may not recover from!’. In 1985 they drove to France to pick up the first electro-harp produced by CAMAC harps, which was to transform their career, and that of the harp worldwide. The electric harp provided new deep bass notes to broaden their sound and also permitted louder line-ups. As Sileas they have released 4 CDs and have toured from York to New York, Tooting to Tokyo. They recorded various CDs combining their harp playing and traditional songs with arrangements of their own( Play on Light - Greentrax (1996) ,Harpbreakers - Lapwing ( 1990), Beating Harps - Green Linnet (1988) , Delighted With Harps - Lapwing (1986)). Mary MacMaster and Patsy Seddon also participated in the recordings of the album "Sail on" by Clan Alba - pseudonym under which he hid Dick Gaughan - (1996) and "The Highlands & Island Suite," an interesting project for Phil Cunningham had an orchestra of 73 musicians, whose premiere took place in Glasgow on January 15, 1997. Mary was also part of "Shine" - along Alyth McCormack (vocals) and Corrina Hewat (vocals and harp) - a group Celtic brief life he published only one album, "Sugarcane" (2002). Recently released the album "Love and Reason" (2009) as a duet with the percussionist Donald Hay, a brilliant drummer and percussionist from Edinburgh. A new musical project with room for experimentation, with a lot of samples of harp noises - like chords or the sound of the bow on the bass string of the electroharp that Donald triggers them while they play. The abundant production of Mary MacMaster is complemented by her work in recording sessions for Caledon, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, Daniel Lapp, La Boum!, Andy Thorburn, Kathryn Tickell and Sting, with whom she played in his album, "If on a winter's night ... "(2009).
In 1990 both Mary and Patsy formed a new band called “The Poozies” after working with Sally Barker (guitar and vocals) on her solo album. Together they decided that an all-women folk group was a good idea, and when Barker met Karen Tweed in Hong Kong she agreed to join the project. Fiddler Jenny Gardener was the original fifth member of the group but left before the band recorded their first album (on which she appears as a guest on the track 'Foggy Mountain Top'). In 1995 Patsy was asked to create the harp syllabus for a new degree course in Scottish Music at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow. Since 1996 she has been teaching on this innovative course, influencing many young players of Clarsach and other instruments. Recently Patsy left the band to line up her new trio and as the lead organizer of the Edinburgh Harp Festival. Patsy plays a 34-string Aziliz 'Harpe Celtique', made by Camac Harps, in Brittany, France. She also plays a 36-string Camac Electro-harp. She still has her much-loved Henry Briggs 30-string Clarsach, made in Glasgow in 1931. Also the Scottish musician , poet, and storyteller, Robin Williamson , has dedicated great part of his work to revitalize the Bardic tradition of the Gaelic harp. He has also has published two beautiful albums: “Legacy of the Scottish Harpists 1 and 2” in the 80’s and recently his " Celtic Harp, Airs And-Dance Tunes" where he recreates old compiled melodies of Scotland for the harp. ROBIN WILLIAMSON - founder in the 60's of the influential Incredible String Band and the Merry Band of the 70's, has been a key figure at the forefront of the storytelling revival in Europe and America since the 80's. He has authored a number of books including The Craneskin Bag (re-telling and re-versifications of Celtic lore) and Celtic Bards, Celtic Druids (co-authored with R.J. Stewart). Robin is Honorary Chief Bard of The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. After the breakup of the "Robin Williamson Merry Band" , Williamson returned to the UK and started to tour solo, offering sets dominated by traditional stories set to song. He begins to record along with a Folk Harp constructed by Chris Caswell, one of his latter musical mates. Releases of this period include "Songs of Love and Parting" (1981), and on 1986 he edits too interesting albums of solo harp playing "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers" and " Legacy of the Scottish Harpers Volume Two " including mostley tunes ascribed to the 17th cent. or earlier. On 1997 he issues another solo harp album "Celtic Harp Airs And Dance Tunes" , including scores from Wales, Scotland, Brittany, and Ireland. Curiously two of his former musicians along the “Robin Williamson Merry Band” : Sylvia Woods and Chris Caswell still maintain a great passionate work devoted to the Celtic Harp on the USA. Sylvia Woods is a renowned harpist, teacher, composer, and arranger who has
gained an international reputation as one of the foremost Celtic harp players in the world. Sylvia is the owner of the Sylvia Woods Harp Center, and has been playing the harp since 1969. She was trained on the pedal harp, but switched over to the lever harp in the 1970's.
I had the chance to contact her on the mid 80's, and she has been my support and inspiration since then. She led my first steps on the harp with her amazing tutorial "Teach yourself to play the folk harp". But let me comment to you in brief about her compromises with the Harp World Woods began selling and writing music for Celtic harps in the 1970s, when the instrument was not widely known in the United States, she owns and runs the "Sylvia Woods Harp Center" in Glendale, California, the largest harp store in the world, as well as a harp mail order catalog, Facebook page and website. Woods toured with the famous scottish poet and musician Robin Williamson and His Merry Band in the 1970s and was featured on the group's three albums. Celtic harps were not readily available at the time, so Woods was often approached after concerts by people who were intrigued by her instrument, which she had purchased in Ireland. In response to their multiple requests, Woods started selling harps and also began developing collaborative relationships with several instrument makers, encouraging them to build harps, and providing feedback on technical issues and user-friendly features. Noting a lack of repertoire and resources for the folk harp, Woods began writing and arranging music specifically for folk (or lever) harp in 1978. Woods’ first book, "Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp", is perhaps the best-known tutor for lever harp, and has been the introduction to harp playing for thousands of musicians. She has written and published over 35 books of harp arrangements, including the best-selling beginning harp book, “Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp.” In 1980 Sylvia won the prestigious All-Ireland Harp Championship in Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland. And in 2003 she appeared with the legendary Irish band, The Chieftains, on their California tour. In addition, Woods has performed on soundtracks for several PBS and commercial television shows. On the year 1982 she launches her first solo album: "The Harp of Brandiswhiere" , Sylvia Woods’ highly acclaimed “Suite for Celtic Harp.” Her beautiful compositions musically present the story of Brandiswhiere, a legendary magical harper written along with her husband. Sylvia plays both nylon-strung and wire-strung Celtic harps, and is accompanied by acoustic instruments such as trumpets, flutes, cimbalom, celeste, bass and percussion. The music is all instrumental, with no singing or narration, allowing the instruments to weave a fine and intricate aural tapestry to illustrate the legend. Sylvia Woods also has 2 CDs of Christmas music: "Three Harps for Christmas" Volumes 1 (1985) and 2 (1989) Chris Caswell is one of the finest performers and builders of the Celtic harp today
in America. Chris is a raconteur, knowledgeable historian, and musicologist. His performances cast a bright spell through the music and his obvious delight in
playing. His music is infused by his Welsh heritage, the world traditions of Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Growing up in the Scottish pipe band milieu, he began playing the harp in Scotland in 1971. In 1976, Chris was became the first person after Alan Stivell to record and tour with the ancient Celtic harp as part of Robin Williamson and His Merry Band. In 1980 he formed Caswell Carnahan with Danny Carnahan (Wake the Dead). He has since toured with Bonny Rideout's nationally acclaimed Scottish Christmas show andbeen a featured artist at Live from the National Geographic. He has recently been a guest performer with the Chieftains as well a number of regional folk festivals. In the early '70s he studied harp with Allison Kinnaird in Edinburgh, and worked with English folklorist Peter Kennedy. He was a music composition major in college and continued his studies with William Allaudin Mathieu. In the past thirtyfive years, Chris has built over 1000 harps for musicians around the world. Caswell Harps are considered among the finest available and are known for their blend of tradition, craftsmanship and innovative technical design. Between his own playing, touring and harp building, Chris has found time to teach. Currently he teaches privately in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as offering workshops as an entertaining and educational adjunct to his concert appearances. A natural and joyful teacher, he has held harp retreats throughout the country, and has taught for years at several major music camps including Lark Camp in Mendocino, the Golden Toad Camp in Sonoma County, and Alasdair Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Fiddling School. HOLY WOOD (2001) is Chris’ solo bronzestrung harp CD. The rare and hauntingly beautiful instrument is presented in a mix of music from The British Isles and France. CELTIC TIDINGS is his well-loved holiday CD. In addition, Chris is featured on more than thirty recordings including Bonnie Rideout’s multi-award winning GIMME ELBOW ROOM and Grammy nominated KINDRED SPIRITS. Kim Robertson is another remarkable American harpist, arranger, and
instructor. As a pioneer in the American folk harp she combines an improvisational spirit with a passionate sense of tradition, bringing a contemporary touch to a centuries-old instrument.
Born in Wisconsin, she is classically trained on piano and orchestral harp. In the mid-70's, Kim's discovery of the Celtic harp grew into a profound love for the instrument, setting her upon the path of exploration for which she is now widely known. Kim has traveled with her harp from concert halls to grass roots folk clubs, from luxury cruise ships to remote mountaintops; she has performed concerts by candlelight, delivered singing telegrams and played herself on an episode of "Beverly Hills 90210". She regularly tours the USA, Canada and Europe, and is still recognized as one of the most popular folk harpists performing today. Her work encompasses numerous
recording projects, published harp arrangements, and an international itinerary of workshops and retreats. Her last album “Shady Grove” features rich instrumental renditions of American folk songs, and English and Irish ballads that migrated to the Southern Appalachians. It is interesting to highlight that she has edited a companion songbook edited for each of her albums. Patrick Ball, is an American outstanding exponent of the ancient wire-strung
harp and also acaptivating storyteller in the Celtic tradition. He has recorded seven instrumental and three spoken word albums. His albums regarding Ireland's most celebrated and beloved musician, Turlough O'Carolan are quite magical and enjoyable. Anne Roos is other American female harpist required to. She began playing the
Celtic Harp in 1983. Her performance career started with Renaissance fairs, and she quickly became a favored soloist for many other types of events. and is considered at the top of her field as a Celtic harpist She is a many-faceted performer who excels in concert, with her years of experience and a wide range of choices from her music list. She is in great demand for corporate and private events and continues to be a favorite to play for weddings and receptions.
Anne is also a published author and considered a wedding music specialist with her book "The Musician's Guide to Brides", published by Hal Leonard Books as a howto manual for musicians who are interested in performing at weddings. She also counsels and mentors musicians and entrepreneurs to help them make a living by gigging. Anne has performed throughout the United States. She frequently plays for business openings and private parties, as well as literally hundreds of weddings both small and grand. Her public performances include appearances in venues both small and grand: from bookstores, private clubs, and café concert venues to resort hotels, cruise ships, Highland games, Celtic and Renaissance fairs, wineries, meditation retreats, and convention centers. Anne’s CD projects demonstrate quality musicianship and versatility. Anne’s albums are unique--Her recent releases are actually little books with CDs tucked neatly into the back page. She recognizes that her listeners enjoy reading about the background of the music on her CDs. “A Light in the Forest”, is her most technically beautiful recording to date. It was recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound, and is perhaps the first folk/world/Celtic CD to be available in this format. The disc contains music of the Celtic harp with a small ensemble performing music about the woods and woodland creatures (fairies, elves, trolls, nymphs, leprechauns, and more). It’s packaged in a 31-page hardcover book describing the folk history and legends of the tunes. Anne is always looking for new musical opportunities and experiences, and is available as an accompanist and for studio recordings. She welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with other musicians whenever possible, whether on
recordings or in live performance. Anne’s complete repertoire list, recorded music and CD samples, photos and videos, can all be accessed on her website , and Myspace profile. Ann Heymann has revived the ancient tradition and technique by playing the
instrument as well as studying Bunting's original manuscripts in the library of Queens University, Belfast. Under the name "Clairseach" (Irish for "Gaelic harp"), Ann and his husband Charlie perform a broad spectrum of repertoire--from traditional and historical to Ann's own compositions--throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. Their collaboration extends to giving presentations on their research in related areas such as Gaelic harp mythology and the performance of medieval bardic poetry. Among other outstanding researches and developments Ann authored the first tutor for the instrument, based upon the first tunes taught student harpers in the old tradition (Secrets of the Gaelic Harp and A Gaelic Harper's First Tunes) Canadian singer and harpist Loreena McKennitt,is also worth to mention, she is a gifted composer with a very particular creativity that weaves poetry, IndoEuropean folklore, and instrumental arrangements, combination which led her to be labeled as a " new celtic-new age harpist". She use to accompany herself with a Troubadour model made by Lyon & Healey Harpmakers. She performs the harp in all of her recordings which are available from her Official Site. In Wales we can emphasize the work carried out by the brothers Gwyndaf (knee harp and bass) and Dafydd Roberts (triple harp, flute ) of the folk band Ar Log. They perform both instrumental music and songs in Welsh since 1970 with an extended discography. In the Isle of Man we may find the music of Charles Guard. He reflects in a wonderful album " Avanging an Bright" the melodies from that place sheltered by Mannanan Mac Lir (Celtic sea god). Charles Guard was born and educated in the Isle of Man. He studied music at the Royal College of Music in London, and after a time living in Ireland playing the Irish Harp, he returned to the Isle of Man and took up a position at Manx Radio. Charles has composed music for television, made many videos, recorded and produced numerous CDs and DVDs. He is currently working as the Administrator of the Manx Heritage Foundation, an organization dedicated to the support and promotion of Manx culture. In Ireland Grainne Yeats reassumes, as I do believe, the masters and technique of the old harpists, their songs in gaelic and their musical performance, she plays on harps constructed according to models of the XVII and XIV centuries, that have been reflected in memorable works like " The Harpers Festival" , whose melodies were compiled in 1792 along with compositions from Turlough O' Carolan, one of the most prolific harpists of XVIII A.C. She has done extensive research on the Irish harpers, and has recorded some 40 of their songs and harp solos using both wire and gut harps replicas.
Other renowned female harpist is Máire Ní Chathasaigh . As a teenager in the 1970s she invented a whole new style of harping that quickly became the norm amongst both her contemporaries and the younger generation of Irish players. In 2001 she received Irish music's most prestigious award, that of Traditional Musician of the Year. She has been a full-time touring performer since 1988. She's played in twenty-one countries, in venues ranging from the tiniest of village halls to prestigious concert halls. The late Derek Bell wrote an accurate description of her artistry : "Máire Ní Chathasaigh is considered to be the most interesting and original player of our Irish harp today. Players across the world are always fascinated by her ornamentation in the brilliant dance music she plays, and especially by the intriguing mordents on one string, but it would be wise to also listen to her phrasing and to the poetic expression of her playing, which only the truly discerning listener will be sufficiently sensitive to appreciate."
The list of contemporary harpists is quite large, being these review a brief compendium, many other harpists compromised in the goal of maintaining a musical tradition alive are not included here. I apologize myself if I don’t mention some you might love opr know, but it is my deepest wish that many more names of harpists and harpers, will appear enlarging the list for many generations to come in the future!
About The Author
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I took knowledge of the Celtic world at the age of twenty motivated by my love of literary and musical subjects.
Thanks to Janet & Robin Williamson, and Irish harp champion Sylvia Woods, I began to assimilate, the melodies and knowledge of traditional techniques and instruments, focusing on the performance and techniques of the Irish whistle and the Gaelic harp. Ireland, with its legends and mythological cycles, lured me to cross the main gate of the Celtic world. Passion that led me by 1985 to organize a Celtic Festival in Buenos Aires (historically the first took place in l960), as well as other cultural and musical activities within the Irish community living in Argentina, thereby developing an attitude because of the disregard on certain community sectors for their Celtic roots. By those days I had the chance to listen to the harp music of Alan Stivell, it was a magical moment since I got hooked to the instrument sin then. The vinyl album was “Renaissance of the Celtic Harp”, curiously it was the same album that inspired so many others including for instance Sylvia Woods and Loreena Mc Kennitt. Luckily I managed to purchase a Folk Harp in 1986 made by Salvi Harps. With this harp I managed to record the first celtic recording ever on tape in Argentina in 1988 featuring original and traditional music. Later on during the digital era, in 1977 I issued the first CD in Argentina featuring original and traditional music with harp with my established Celtic Folk band named BRAN. In 1992 I received as a gift a kit of a non lever small harp model. Later on I was able to build for it a new soundboard with a design of my own. Hereby are depict both models I own and play with, which like many other harpists are used to, I gave the names of "Gwenwyven" and "Bardic Rover".
You may find further information regarding my works and activities on my Celtic Sprite blog. Feel free to listen to my recorded music and videos on my Reverbnation profile.
End Notes Thanks for downloading and sharing “The Celtic Harp” I hope you were able to experience with these information much of the same evocative feeling I had while writing the book, the very emotional sense deep rooted in the everlasting Celtic spirituality of this ancient instrument so related to the enchanting music of airs, songs, and jingling dance tunes. More than a compilation of useful information for all those interested to explore the magical world of the Celtic harp, this book is almost a labour of love, and my public recognition for all those pleasant hours it gave to me and the portals I was able to trespass thanks to it . I hope you’ve shared my passion and felt the wish to trace the same sacred paths that lead us to a world of crystal sounds, a world enlightened by the vivid bonfires of love and remembrance of our ancients.
Feel free to visit my Page on Smashwords and discover other works of mine. Celtic Heart The Claddagh Ring, perhaps one of the most related expressions of the celtic heart symbolism, plus other remarkable motifs from the Celtic culture make this E-Book a quite amusing one to be read.
The Butterfly Book Of Celtic Poems Butteflies have always been associated to the Goddess, Mother Nature,and particularly conceived as Messengers of the Otherworld. While reading the poems collected on this book we experience the same symbolism, enhancing our reading with an enjoyable Celtic voyage. We transport ourselves to the very same places described in them and it is then that we perceive vivid visual and auditory images. Celtic Legends from Galicia and Asturias (Spanish Edition) On this work readers will gain knowledge of the motives and folk types common to both Galicia and Asturias. More than an essay it is an invitation to discover a common tradition, an identity still alive that should not be ignored by those lovers of Celtic subjects and wish to discover new ones. I wish to express my special gratefulness to Daniel Garcia de la Cuesta and Simon Chadwick for granting me their kind permission to share their interesting researches with you.
Hereby you may find some related cool links for your further research
The Clarsach Society/Comunn na Clarsaich, resource centre for the Scottish harp The Wire Branch of the Clarsach Society, based in Scotland WirestrungHarp.com complete resource for the wire-strung harp Edinburgh International Harp Festival Early Gaelic Harp Info The Instruments of Ireland Irish Harp Centre Castleconnell Limerick Ireland Association Hent Telenn Breizh studies early harp in Brittany List of surviving early Gaelic harps Historic wire-strung harps and harpers listed and described on wirestrungharp.com Gaelic Modes Web articles on Gaelic harp harmony and modes Oona Linnet: The Irish Harp Féis Seattle sponsored by Slighe nan Gaidheal, June 13–17, 2012, Cynthia Cathcart instructor Wire Players course sponsored by Ardival Harps, Bill Taylor instructor Edinburgh International Harp Festival An Chúirt Chruitireachta: International traditional harp course held annually in Termonfeckin Co. Louth, Ireland If you wish to learn more on Celtic subjects;
