Download Pre-historic - Remote Staff

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The national symbol of Ireland
The huge golden instrument in the symphony orchestra
The giant guitar with a peculiar ensemble
The musical instrument played by angels in the clouds
THE HARP IS ALL OF THESE.
Considered as a very flexible musical instrument, the harp can be an accompaniment to
voice and other musical instrument, and can be played to the tune of classic, jazz, or pop.
It can be made either out of wood or by a machine, and can also be played with only the
hands or with both hands and feet. The harp can be played solo or as part of a group. But
no matter where, or what kind, or how it's played, the harp remains one of the most
beautiful and fascinating instruments in the world.
To make things easier, let us just say that the harp is any plucked string instrument,
usually triangular in form, in which the level of the strings is vertical to the soundboard
unlike the other string instruments wherein the strings run parallel to the sound hole.
Now, let us take a trip back to the past as we uncover the history of the whimsical harp.
The Pre-historic Age
Bows and arrows are said to be one of the earliest tools that were used in making a harp.
According to the theologians, the most primitive harp was born when the hunter
discovered that upon firing his arrow from his bow, the string on his bow made a
‘twanging’ kind of sound. From then on, that same hunter discovered that “the shorter the
strings, the higher the notes; and the stronger the strings, the lower the notes.” But you
know what? Something is more ancient than this…
During the pre-historic period, images of harps have been written in Caves. Those images
show how humans in those times created their own harps -- they used different things that
they found around them like animal bones, hide, gut, as well as willow bark, tortoiseshell,
and wood. And thousands of years later, these carvings were finally discovered.
3000 B.C.: Mesopotamia Egypt
5,000 years ago, primitive images of bow harps were discovered from the Pharaoh's
tombs in Egypt. Archeologists also say that harps were very, very fashionable in
Mesopotamia and Assyria during that time. As a matter of fact, it has been reported that
the harp was played every time they have religious feasts, grand processions, funerals,
and festivities, and to give evidence to this testimony, a very old vase was found in a
Babylonian temple containing one of the earliest images of the harp as its design.
Consequently, the harp that was seen in the design of that vase was an angled harp that
looks very much like the bow harp of Ancient Egypt.
As time went on the harp had developed into something a bit more sophisticated, with
more strings in their proper places. Furthermore, a sound box had been added for more
volume.
This is a picture of an Arched Egyptian harp, made of wood, and inlaid with bone and a
type of glazed ceramics used in Egypt at that time. This harp was found in a tomb and is
dated 1534-1296 BC.
200 BC
Around 200 B.C., the harps were played by druids who were both men and women that
were considered to be the intellectuals of the communities. They are the philosophers, the
historians, the physicians, the magicians, the priests, and the priestesses. Meanwhile, the
harp was viewed in Scandinavia as an instrument to be played only by the noblemen, and
any commoner found to play the harp is subject to death.
Middle ages
400 AD
This was the foundation period of Christianity. Harps were being used only by the
superior clergy, and were carried into places as the need for religious services arise.
Back to the time when monk choir were used in church services, the harp became the
favorite instrument for complementing the monks' voices. During those times, drums,
horns, and rattles were believed to be the devil's instruments. The harp was one of the
few instruments that are acceptable for worship.
However, it was not identified where or how the vertical column that formed a triangular
harp came into use. The oldest images of triangular harps emerged in the 9th century, and
it was the birth of the harp column that marked the dawn of the contemporary harp. The
modern harp finally permitted the harp makers to amplify the string pressure without
deforming the harp. The instrument could then be assembled with additional strings
containing higher tensions as well as enhanced volume and pitch.
12th century
During this time, harps were no longer played by the religious, but by the laymen, the
regular people in the communities. They were minstrels and troubadours, who would
travel around the countryside visiting castles, palaces, and courts, and sing songs and
ballads to the kings and queens. They would also recite poetry. It is probably because of
these things that the harpists became second to the king, frequently serving as advisors.
They also started to lead the armed forces into battle. And although weaponless, they
were acknowledged and respected by the opponent, and were normally untouchable from
any injury.
The royalty played the harp as well. An Irish High King by the name of Brian Boru
played the harp, and made the harp the national symbol of Ireland that it is today. It can
be found on flags coins, and official government documents.
Other royals who learned to play the harp were Mary Stuart, queen of Scot, and Henry
VIII, king of England.
16, 17, 18th century
During this time, music was a vital ingredient to the years of ancient Ireland, and
professional harpers were privileged on top of all other musicians. The Irish harpers
achieved a high status for their music.
However, the battle in Ireland in 1607 resulted to the end of the Irish bardic schools. By
the late 18th century it was apparent that the conventional Irish harpers were practically
vanished.
In an attempt to promote and conserve the old harping custom, a harp fiesta was held in
Belfast in 1792. Broadsheet ads attracted all Irish harpers to come and participate.
Awards were offered for the top three winning harpists, and a consolation prize is to be
given to all the participants. The Festival failed to motivate the increase of traditional
harping, but it was an exceptional accomplishment in protecting its very last remnants.
Forward to the 1970s:
Musicians turned out to be engrossed in bringing back the days of the old harps. Thus,
harp making became a successful trade, and although the majority of the harps were
fabricated for nylon strings, a few were being assembled for wire.
French and German harp makers also tried their hand at building a harp that could play
all 12 notes in a chromatic scale without having to constantly re-tune the strings. Can
you imagine that? It is actually like playing all the white and the black keys on the piano!
1772
Before the birth of the pedal harp, orchestral authors can not maximize the use of the harp
basically because the instrument could not blend with the other instruments in the
orchestra. Obviously, the traditional harp is not able to jump through a lot of key changes
of an orchestral music.
But 1772 saw the first attempt at a pedal harp. The Hochbrucker family produced the
mechanism that enabled the pitch of each string to be raised by a half tone or semi-tone.
Around the same time, a Polish harp maker, Charles Groell, was trying to improve this
mechanism, and thought about adding pedals. The timing wasn’t right however due to the
wars at that time. So the patent of that idea was sold to Sebastian Erard, a French piano
and harp maker, who later become the official founder of the double-action harp that we
know of today.
The harp’s orchestral constraint was eradicated with the introduction of the pedal harp.
Finally, orchestral harpists can join their social group in the most demanding music, and
increasing composers begun to add fascinating and stunning harp spectrum into their
works.
Today and into the future
Today, our world offers harps of all shapes and sizes, but they mainly fall into two
groups, the folk harps (with 20 to 40 strings and no pedals) and the pedal/concert harps,
(with 50 strings and pedals).
Although the pedal harp allows the player to play in more different keys, without retuning, many harpers prefer to play the folk, or lever harp as it is also known as. Not only
are they easier to transport, but they are a lot cheaper, too!
With regards to further improving the sound and the longevity of the harp, there are harp
makers all over the world experimenting with their harps. Some are trying different types
of strings, like carbon fiber instead of steel, nylon, wrapped silk, and gut strings, to see if
they will last longer.
And as we are in the age of ever advancing technology, one harp-making company has
already produced the first electric harp that can be plugged into a range of amplification
systems, enabling harpists to use pedals just like the electric guitar players. And since a
real pedal harp is very expensive, an electric pedal harp, which can also be played
without amplification, could be a very wonderful option.