The Celtic harp is a triangular frame
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
traditional to the
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...
of northwest Europe. It is known as in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, in
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
, in
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
and in
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a
wire
Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm
A wire is a flexible strand of metal.
Wire is c ...
-strung instrument requiring great skill and long practice to play, and was associated with the Gaelic
ruling class
In sociology, the ruling class of a society is the social class who set and decide the political and economic agenda of society. In Marxist philosophy, the ruling class are the capitalist social class who own the means of production and by exten ...
. It appears on
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
coins, the
coat of arms of the Republic of Ireland,
Montserrat
Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
as well as the flag of
Montserrat
Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
.
Early history
![Earliest Irish harp on the Breac Máedóc reliquary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Earliest_Irish_harp_on_the_Breac_M%C3%A1ed%C3%B3c_reliquary.png)
The
early history of the triangular frame harp in Europe is contested. The first instrument associated with the harping tradition in the Gaelic world was known as a . This word may originally have described a different stringed instrument, being etymologically related to the Welsh
crwth
The crwth (, also called a crowd or rote or crotta) is a bowed lyre, a type of stringed instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, now archaic but once widely played in Europe. Four historical examples have survived and are to be foun ...
. It has been suggested that the word / (from / , a board) was coined for the triangular frame harp which replaced the , and that this coining was of Scottish origin.
A notched piece of wood which some have interpreted to be part of the bridge of an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
lyre
The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...
dating to around 300 BC was discovered on the
Isle of Skye
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...
, which, if actually a bridge, would make it the oldest surviving fragment of a western European stringed instrument (although images of Greek lyres are much older). The earliest descriptions of a European triangular framed harp, i.e. harps with a fore pillar, are found on carved 8th century
Pictish stones
A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are ...
.
[John T. Koch Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia 2006. Published ABC-CLIO, pp1276.] 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.
[A New History of Ireland, prehistoric and early history. Daibhi OCoinin (2005). Oxford University Press.][Celtic Music History and Criticism Kenneth Mathieson 2001 Backbeat books p192] Exactly thirteen depictions of any triangular chordophone instrument from pre-11th-century Europe exist and twelve of them come from Scotland.
The earliest Irish references to stringed instruments are from the 6th century, and players of such instruments were held in high regard by the nobility of the time.
Early Irish law
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norma ...
from 700 AD stipulates that
bards
In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
and 'cruit' players should sit with the nobility at banquets and not with the common entertainers. Another stringed instrument from this era was the
tiompán, most likely a kind of lyre. Despite providing the earliest evidence of stringed instruments in Ireland, no records described what these instruments looked like, or how the cruit and tiompán differed from one another.
Only two quadrangular instruments occur within the Irish context on the west coast of Scotland and both carvings 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 a reliquary and the twelfth century on stone and the earliest harps used in Ireland were quadrangular lyres as ecclesiastical instruments,
[The Story of the Irish Harp its History and Influences Norah Joan Clark (2003) North Creek Press] One study suggests Pictish stone carvings may be copied from the
Utrecht Psalter
The Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32.) is a ninth-century illuminated manuscript, illuminated psalter which is a key masterpiece of Carolingian art; it is probably the most valuable manuscript ...
, the only other source outside Pictish Scotland to display a Triangular Chordophone instrument. The Utrecht Psalter was penned between 816–835 AD.
[Snyder's Medieval Art, 2nd ed, p32. Luttikhuizen and Verkerk] However, Pictish Triangular Chordophone carvings found on the
Nigg Stone
The Nigg Stone is an incomplete Class II Pictish stones, Pictish cross-slab, perhaps dating to the end of the 8th century.
The stone was originally located at the gateway to the grounds of the parish church of Nigg, Highland, Nigg, Easter Ross. ...
date from 790–799 AD. and pre-date the document by up to forty years. Other Pictish sculptures also predate the Utrecht Psalter, namely the harper on the
Dupplin Cross
The Dupplin Cross is a carved, monumental Pictish stone, which dates from around 800 AD. It was first recorded by Thomas Pennant in 1769, on a hillside in Strathearn, a little to the north of (and on the opposite bank of the River Earn from) Forte ...
from c. 800 AD.
The Norman-Welsh cleric and scholar
Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and English historians in the Middle Ages, historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and w ...
(c.1146 – c.1223), whose ''Topographica Hibernica et Expugnatio Hibernica'' is a description of Ireland from the Anglo-Norman point of view, praised Irish harp music (if little else), stating:
However, Gerald, who had a strong dislike of the
Gaelic Irish
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
, somewhat contradicts himself. While admitting that the style of music originated in Ireland, he immediately added that, in "the opinion of many", the Scots and the Welsh had now surpassed them in that skill. Gerald refers to the ''
cythara
The cythara is a wide group of stringed instruments of medieval and Renaissance Europe, including not only the lyre and harp but also necked, string instruments. In fact, unless a medieval document gives an indication that it meant a necked inst ...
'' and the ''tympanum'', but their identification with the harp is uncertain, and it is not known that he ever visited Scotland.
Early images of the clàrsach are not common in Scottish iconography, but a gravestone at
Kiells, in
Argyllshire
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
, dating from about 1500, shows one with a typically large soundbox, decorated with Gaelic designs. The Irish Saint
Máedóc of Ferns
Saint Máedóc of Ferns (; 6th & 7th century), also known as Saint Aidan ( ga, Áedan; cy, Aeddan; la, Aidanus and '), or Saint Mogue ( ga, Mo Aodh Óg), was an Irish saint who was the first Bishop of Ferns in County Wexford and the fo ...
reliquary shrine dates from c.1100, and clearly shows King
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
with a triangular framed harp including a "T-Section" in the pillar. The
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
word ''lamhchrann'' or
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
''làmh-chrann'' came into use at an unknown date to indicate this pillar which would have supplied the bracing to withstand the tension of a wire-strung harp.
Three of the four pre-16th-century authentic harps that survive today are of Gaelic provenance: the
Brian Boru Harp in
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
, and the
Queen Mary and
Lamont Harp
The Lamont Harp, or Clàrsach Lumanach (also known as the Caledonian Harp or Lude Harp) is a Scottish Clarsach currently displayed in the National Museum of Scotland. It is believed to date back to the 15th century, and to have originated in Argy ...
s, both in the National Museum of Scotland,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. The last two are examples of the small low-headed harp, and were long believed to have been made from
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name ''hornbeam' ...
, a wood not native to Scotland or Ireland. This theory has been refuted by Karen Loomis in her 2015 PhD thesis . All three are dated approximately to the 15th century and may have been made in
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
in western Scotland.
One of the largest and most complete collections of 17th–18th century harp music is the work of
Turlough O'Carolan
Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition.
Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...
, a blind, itinerant Irish harper and composer. At least 220 of his compositions survive to this day.
Characteristics and function
In construction, the Irish and Scottish harp may, in general, be considered as one. A characteristic feature is the metal strings. Historical sources mention various types of wire, including brass and iron, and some scholars also argue for the use of silver and gold. The wires were attached to a massive soundbox typically carved from a single log, commonly of willow, although other woods including alder and poplar have been identified in extant harps. This harp also had a reinforced curved pillar and a substantial neck, flanked with thick brass cheek bands. The strings, usually played with the fingernails, produced a brilliant ringing sound. This type of harp is also unique amongst single row triangular harps in that the first two strings tuned in the middle of the gamut were set to the same pitch.
Components
![Bunworth Harp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Bunworth_Harp.jpg)
The names of the components of the cláirseach were as follows:
The ''corr'' had a brass strap nailed to each side, pierced by tapered brass tuning pins. The treble end had a tenon which fitted into the top of the ''com'' (soundbox). On a low-headed harp the ''corr'' was morticed at the bass end to receive a tenon on the ''lámhchrann''; on a high-headed harp this tenon fitted into a mortice on the back of the ''lámhchrann''.
The ''coim'' (soundbox) was usually carved from a single piece of willow, hollowed out from behind. A panel of harder timber was carefully inserted to close the back.
''Crú na d-tead'' (string shoes) were usually made of brass and prevented the metal strings from cutting into the wood of the soundbox.
The ''fhorshnaidhm'' may refer to the wooden toggle to which a string was fastened once it had emerged from its hole in the soundboard.
Playing technique
The playing of the wire-strung harp has been described as extremely difficult. Because of the long-lasting resonance, the performer had to dampen strings which had just been played while new strings were being plucked, and this while playing rapidly. Contrary to conventional modern practice, the left hand played the treble and the right the bass. It was said that a player should begin to learn the harp no later than the age of seven. The best modern players have shown, however, that reasonable competence may be achieved even at a later age.
Social function and decline
During the medieval period, the wire-strung harp was in demand throughout the Gaelic territories, which stretched from the northern Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland to the south of Ireland. The Gaelic worlds of Scotland and Ireland, however, while retaining close links, were already showing signs of divergence in the sixteenth century in language, music and social structure.
The harp was the aristocratic instrument of
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland ( ga, Éire Ghaelach) was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late prehistoric era until the early 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Normans co ...
, and harpers enjoyed a high social status which was codified in
Brehon Law
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norma ...
. The patronage of harpers was adopted by
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
settlers in Ireland until the late 18th century, although their standing in society was greatly diminished with the introduction of the
English class system
The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today. British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, w ...
. In his biography of
Turlough O'Carolan
Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition.
Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...
, historian Donal O'Sullivan writes:
The function of the clàrsach in a Hebridean lordship, both as entertainment and as literary metaphor, is illustrated in the songs of Màiri Nic Leòid (Mary MacLeod) (–), a prominent Gaelic poet of her time. The chief is praised as one who is skilled in judging harp-playing, the theme of a story and the pith of sense:
: ''Tuigsear nan teud'',
: ''Purpais gach sgèil'',
: ''Susbaint gach cèill nàduir''.
The music of harp and pipe is shown to be intrinsic to the splendour of the MacLeod court, along with wine in shining cups:
:''Gu àros nach crìon''
:''Am bi gàirich nam pìob''
:''Is nan clàrsach a rìs''
:''Le deàrrsadh nam pìos''
:''A' cur sàraidh air fìon''
:''Is 'ga leigeadh an gnìomh òircheard''.
Here the
great Highland bagpipe
The Great Highland bagpipe ( gd, a' phìob mhòr "the great pipe") is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, and the Scottish analogue to the Great Irish Warpipes. It has acquired widespread recognition through its usage in the British milit ...
shares the high status of the clàrsach. It would help supplant the harp, and may already have developed its own classical tradition in the form of the elaborate "great music" (''ceòl mòr''). An elegy to Sir Donald MacDonald of Clanranald, attributed to his widow in 1618, contains a very early reference to the bagpipe in a
laird
Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...
ly setting:
: ''Is iomadh sgal pìobadh''
: ''Mar ri farrum nan dìsnean air clàr''
: ''Rinn mi èisdeachd a’d' bhaile... ''
[Newton & Cheape, pp. 77–78.]
There is evidence that the musical tradition of the clàrsach may have influenced the use and repertoire of the bagpipe. The oral mnemonic system called ''canntaireachd'', used for encoding and teaching ''ceòl mòr'', is first mentioned in the 1226 obituary of a ''clàrsair'' (harp player). Terms relating to theme and variation on the clàrsach and the bagpipe correlate to each other. Founders of bagpipe dynasties are also noted as clársach players.
The names of a number of the last harpers are recorded. The blind Duncan McIndeor, who died in 1694, was harper to Campbell of Auchinbreck, but also frequented Edinburgh. A receipt for "two bolls of meall", dated 1683, is extant for another harper, also blind, named Patrick McErnace, who apparently played for Lord Neill Campbell. The harper Manus McShire is mentioned in an account book covering the period 1688–1704. A harper called Neill Baine is mentioned in a letter dated 1702 from a servitor of Allan MacDonald of Clanranald. Angus McDonald, harper, received payment on the instructions of Menzies of Culdares on 19 June 1713, and the Marquis of Huntly's accounts record a payment to two harpers in 1714. Other harpers include Rory Dall Morison (who died ), Lachlan Dall (who died ), and Murdoch MacDonald (who died ).
By the middle of the eighteenth century the "violer" (fiddle player) had replaced the harper, a consequence, perhaps, of the growing influence in the Gaelic world of Lowland Scots culture.
Revival
In the early 19th century, even as the old Gaelic harp tradition was dying out, a new harp was developed in Ireland. It had gut strings and semitone mechanisms like an orchestral pedal harp, and was built and marketed by
John Egan, a pedal harp maker in Dublin.
The new harp was small and curved like the historical or Irish harp, but it was
strung with gut and its soundbox was lighter. In the 1890s a similar new harp became popular in Scotland as part of a
Gaelic cultural revival.
There is now, however, renewed interest in the wire-strung harp, or , with replicas being made and research being conducted into ancient playing techniques and terminology. A notable event in the revival of the Celtic harp is the
Edinburgh International Harp Festival
The Edinburgh International Harp Festival is an annual harp festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland that includes concerts, workshops, and courses, as well as one of the world's largest exhibitions of harp-makers. Organized and promoted by The Clar ...
, which has been held annually since 1982 and includes both performances and instructional workshops.
Bibliography
* Armstrong, Robert Bruce (1904). ''The Irish and The Highland Harps''. Edinburgh: David Douglas.
* Bannerman, John (1991). "The Clàrsach and the Clàrsair". ''Scottish Studies'', vol. 30 no. 3.
* Budgey, Andrea (2002). "Musical relations between Scotland and Ireland"
nMcDonald, R. Andrew,
d.''Literature and Music in Scotland: 700–1560''. University of Toronto Press, ; .
* Caldwell, D.H.,
d.(1982). ''Angels, Nobles and Unicorns: Art and Patronage in Medieval Scotland''. Edinburgh: NMS.
* Cathcart, Cynthia (Summer 2009). "Silver report: Precious metal strings on the wire-strung harp". ''Folk Harp Journal'', no. 143, pp. 34–43
available via wirestrungharp.comnbsp;.
* Chadwick, Simon (November 2008). "The Early Irish Harp". ''Early Music'', vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 521–532.
* Collinson, Francis (1983)
966
Year 966 (Roman numerals, CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* 23 June - Arab-Byzantine Wars, Byzantine-Arab War: Arab-Byzantine ...
''The Bagpipe, Fiddle and Harp''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966; reprinted by Lang Syne Publishers Ltd., , .
*
Dimock, James F.,
d.(1867). ''Giraldi Cambrensis opera: Giraldi Cambrensis Topographica Hibernica et Expugnatio Hibernica''. London, UK: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer.
* Farmer, Henry George (1947). ''A History of Music in Scotland'', p. 280. London, UK.
* Heymann, Ann & Heymann, Charlie (Fall 1991). "Cláirseach: The Lore of the Irish Harp". ''Éire-Ireland'', vol. 26, no. 3.
* Heymann, Ann & Heymann, Charlie (Summer 2003). "Strings of Gold". ''The Historical Harp Society Journal'', vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 9–15
available via annheymann.comnbsp;.
* Lanier, Sara C. (1999). "'It is new-strung and shan't be heard': Nationalism and Memory in the Irish Harp Tradition". ''British Journal of Ethnomusicology'', vol. 8.
* Lawlor, Helen (2012). ''Irish Harping, 1900–2010''. Dublin: Four Courts Press, .
* Le Govic, Tristan (2015). ''The Breton Harp Anthology (Antologiezh Telenn Breizh)'' Vol. II
* Newton, Michael & Cheape, Hugh (n.d.) "The Keening of Women and the Roar of the Pipe: From Clársach to Bagpipe, ca. 1600–1782"
available via academia.edunbsp;.
* Ó Brógáin, Séamas (1998). ''The Irish Harp Emblem''. Dublin, IE: Wolfhound Press, .
* O'Donnell, Mary Louise (2014). ''Ireland's Harp: The Shaping of Irish Identity c.1770–1880''. Dublin, IE: University College Dublin Press, .
* Rensch, Roslyn (1989). ''Harps and Harpists'', pp. 125–127. Indiana University Press.
*
Rimmer, Joan (1964). "The Morphology of the Irish Harp". ''The Galpin Society Journal'', no. 17.
* Rimmer, Joan (1984)
969
Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...
''The Irish Harp: Cláirseach na hÉireann'', 3rd ed. The Mercier Press,
st ed. 1969; 2nd ed. 1977
* Sanger, Keith & Kinnaird, Alison (1992). ''Tree of Strings – Crann nan Teud''. Kinmor Music, .
* Watson, J. Carmichael,
d.(1934). ''Gaelic Songs of Mary MacLeod''. Blackie & Son
available via archive.orgnbsp;.
* Yeats, Gráinne (1980). ''Féile na gCruitirí, Béal Feirste''
he Belfast Harpers' Festival1972. Gael Linn, .
References
External links
Historical Harp Society of Ireland*
ttp://www.clarsachsociety.co.uk The Clarsach Society/Comunn na Clarsaich, resource centre for the Scottish harpbr>
Edinburgh International Harp FestivalList of surviving early Gaelic harps*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090209043451/http://www.calumcille.com/ Gaelic ModesWeb articles on Gaelic harp harmony and modes
Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D. an exhibition catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Clàrsach (cat. no. 68)
– descriptions of several types of historical European harps (with sound samples)
– information on Celtic and other types of harps
My Harp's Delight– learning to play the Celtic harp, tips and techniques, buying a harp
Teifi Harps– Celtic & Folk Harps in Wales
*
ttp://www.alisonvardy.com/harp-info/harp-amplification-series.htm Celtic Harp Amplification Series– using microphones and guitar amplifiers with folk harps
Markwood Strings– Information on installing harp strings, harp string installation guide
Early Gaelic Harp site by Simon Chadwick
{{Authority control
Composite chordophones
Culture of medieval Scotland
Frame harps
Irish musical instruments
Medieval Ireland
National symbols of Ireland
Scottish music