My Harp Page

hile waiting for the results of a biopsy several years ago, I had time to consider the things I had, and hadn't done, in my life. Over those seven long days I thought about the things I had always told myself I would get around to, but never did. I missed having music in my life, so when the results came back, and I was OK, I vowed to do something I had always wanted. I learned to play the Irish harp.
rish harps are somewhat smaller than pedal harps, which are the ones you see in orchestras. Notes are sharpened or flatted by levers which must be adjusted by hand, and require fast hand movements while playing. Pedal harps, on the other hand, are adjusted by pedals at the base of the harp. One for each note. Changing key on a pedal harp is much more precise and somewhat like changing gears in a car. Music written for pedal harp can therefore contain more varied and numerous key changes, while Irish harp music is generally set in one key with a few changes during playing. Irish harps produce, in my opinion, a clearer and more delicate sound.
ylvia Woods, a world renowned Irish harpist taught me my first song. I learned "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while attending an introductory lecture at her store about a month after I received my biopsy results. It was almost a quirk of fate that this woman lived 30 minutes away from me. Harp stores and harp teachers are very few and far between, as you can imagine. I believe Sylvia was destined to be there when I needed her. And through Sylvia I found my wonderful teacher and friend, Debbie Friou. Both of these women opened a whole new world for me.

Everyone's a critic!

ebbie introduced me to the wonderful music of Carolan, an Irish composer who was born in 1670, and blinded at birth from smallpox.
reland had many blind harpers, perhaps because sight was not necessary. The harp is played largely by feel and
because the harping tradition was an oral one, reading was not a requirement. It wasn't surprising then that when Carolan visited George Reynolds of Lough Sgur in Co. Leitrim, that Reynolds
suggested he try composing. Reynolds said he "might make a better hand of his tongue than his fingers." Carolan's first song, written for Reynolds was 'Si Beag is Si Mor" was based on a local tale of a war between two
fairy armies.
arolan's practice of composing the tune and then writing lyrics was a "fundamental reversal" of the tradition.
Although music was always very important in Irish society, it had always been second to poetry. In Ireland at Carolan's time there were three musical traditions; art music, folk music and the harper tradition,
which acted as a bridge between the two.
arolan's melodies survive almost entirely as one-line melody so there is no way of knowing how he accompanied
them. A single copy of an unnamed book in the National Library of Dublin is the only one with more detail. It
suggests he followed the traditional harping techniques of the time. The book itself is something of a mystery. The
title page is missing and so it was first assumed to have been published in 1721 by the Neal brothers of Chistchurch
Yard in Dublin. The book, however, turned out to be no older than 1743. It is "almost certainly" a copy of a book
published in 1748 by Carolan's son (also a harper, though a mediocre one) and Dr. Delany of Dublin University.
eats sums up the biography with an excellent tribute to Carolan. "Carolan bridged the gap between continental art music on the one hand, and the Gaelic harp and folk
music on the other. At his best he wrote music that is distinctively Irish, yet has an international flavor as well. It
is this achievement that suggests that Turlough Carolan does indeed deserve the title of Ireland's national
composer."
This information is excerpted from
"The Complete Works of O'Carolan: Irish Harper & Composer (1670-1738)
2nd Edition, Ossian Publications
1989, Ireland
ISBN 0 946005 16 8
And taken from Lesely's site which is listed here.

My Favorite Harp Links
The Complete Works of Turlogh Carolan
Lesley's site includes midis and more biographical information
Sylvia Woods Harp Center
My favorite harp store. Music, strings, harp related gifts and other harp essentials
The Harp Page
Harp Societies, Publications, Events, and Manufacturers
Lyon & Healy Harp Makers
Dusty Strings Harp Makers
The Celtic Harp
An exellant source of additional information plus links to other related sites.
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"The Princess Royal" by Carolan