The Irish Harp

The harp that once through Tara's halls the soul ofall harps share: the strings run vertical (rather than
music shed,now hangs as mute on Tara's walls, as ifparallel) to the sound box.
that soul were fled.Griffith of Wales employed harpists in his court at the
So sleeps the pride of former days, so glory's thrill isend of the 11th century and the monk-historian
o'er,and hearts that once beat high for praise,nowGeraldus Cambrensis admired the great skill of the
feel that pulse no moreIrish harpers and remarked that some even
To tell the history of the Irish harp is to tell theconsidered the Scots to be better players. For Irish
history of the Irish people. This ancient folkand Scottish harpers commonly visited each other's
instrument with its beautiful, delicate sound is playedcountries to study, to learn and exchange tunes and
today despite being ignored, derided and proscribedtheir music was admired throughout Europe. Another
for centuries. Harpers, who in earlier days would havetwelfth century archivist, John of Salisbury, wrote
been hanged for their art, now flourish throughoutthat " ... had it not been for the Irish harp, there
the world, as do the Irish themselveswould have been no music at all on the Crusades."
Legend tell us the first harp was owned by Dagda, aThese harps were quite different from the large
chief among the Tuatha De Danaan. At one timepedal harps we see in modern symphony orchestras.
during a war with the Fomorians, the gods of coldThey were much smaller, originally held on the
and darkness, his harp was stolen but later recoveredharper's lap, leaning against the left shoulder, had no
by Lugh and Ogma. When it was returned it hadpedals, and usually were carved in one piece from
aquired two secret names and the ability to call forthbog wood. The Trinity College Harp and Queen
summer and winter. From then on, when DagdaMary's Harp are the oldest surviving Celtic harps and
played, he could produce a melody so poignant, itboth date from the 15th or 16th centuries and
would make his audience weep, he could play an airillustrate the similarity between the Irish and Scottish
so jubilant it would make everyone smile, or bringharps. A distinguishing characteristic of these Gaelic
forth a sound so tranquil, it would lull all who listenedharps was that they were wire-strung, rather than
to sleep. So thus did the harp became the dispensergut strung. The word "harp" has its roots in the
of Sorrow, Gladness and Rest.Anglo-Saxon, Old German and Old Norse words which
Harps are played throughout much of the world.mean "to pluck." In Gaelic they were known first as
From ancient artworks, epic tales and poetry, wecruit and later as clarsach or cláirseach.
learn of harps in Babylonia and Mesopotamia. We seeThe harp isn't peculiar to Ireland but subsequently
them in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses III , votivebecame its national emblem. (Nowadays you can
carvings from Iraq and sculptures of ancient Greece.even see it on the Guiness label) Harpers were highly
From Africa, which has more than 100 harp traditions,trained professionals who performed for the nobility
the instrument travelled north to Spain and soonand enjoyed political power - so much so that during
spread throughout Europe. Strung with sinew, silk orthe 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I issued a
wire, harps vary in size, structure and decorationproclamation to hang Irish harpists and destroy their
according to the physical and technologicalinstruments to prevent insurrection.
environments of their origins. African harps have beenSadly, while this oldest emblem of Ireland is still with
made from wood and gourd covered with cowhide,us today most of the ancient airs and melodies it
the Burmese sang auk has an arched soundboxonce produced are long gone, but younger harpers
similar to the Turkish ceng while European harpsare taking up the challenge to reawaken the pride of
feature a triangular frame, There is one feature thatformer days.