Therese is playing a reproduction of the 17th C. “Boston Harp”, currently in the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The replica was built by Catherine Campbell, Port Townsend, Washington.
This arrangement of the popular Torche Branle by Praetorius can be found in Therese’s book “The Royale Harpist”. You can watch more of Therese’s performances (of both early and Celtic music) here.
Sunday, April 26th, 2-4pm
Harp Workshops with Boston Harpist
NANCY HURRELL
Ottawa Mennonite Church
1830 Kilborn Avenue
Admission: $30 at the door
And in advance:
The Leading Note, 370 Elgin St.
The Ottawa Folklore Centre, 1111 Bank St.
Contact: Mary Muckle mucklerice@rogers.com 613-825-1379
Details:
We’ll begin with a short session on Playing in a Harp Ensemble, learning a multi-level ensemble arrangement by Nancy. All levels of playing are welcome, and music is provided. Ideas and tips to improve an ensembles’ sound are given, plus brief comments/demo on performing the ensembles in her new book, ‘The Ring of Harps’.
The main workshop is Renaissance Dance Music for Harp. We’ll play Renaissance dances from the 16th century, and also learn the dance steps! Knowing the tempo and pulse of the dance is important for playing the music. We’ll also do some improvisation and discuss sources for music from the period. All levels of playing are welcome. (There will be a short tea break around 3:00pm.)
Information courtesy of M. Muckle
Portsmouth is a popular English Country Dance tune. This version is in G major. Goes well with Knole Park and All in a Garden Green. To hear a midi version of this tune, click here.
The HarpBlog Tune of the Month is courtesy of Chubby Sparrow Music . For a printable version, right click on the picture and choose “save target as”, or pop over to the Chubby Sparrow Free Music page for more detailed printing instructions (note: if you just left click and try to print directly from the browser, it probably won’t print at the right size).
January 23, 2009 – Improvising on Renaissance Dances, with Paula Fagerberg, historical harpist.
Join us while we learn some of the most popular ground basses and dance chord progressions of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, and explore concepts in period-appropriate improvisation on the tunes. Come jam with us and let your creativity go! For all harps. Chromatic harps (lever, pedal, multi-row) will have the easiest time, but diatonic harps will work too. Lever harps are available to rent for those who need an instrument. Ask for details.
What: Sixth Annual Midwinter Workshop (sponsored by The Atlanta Early Music Alliance)
When: Friday, January 23, 2009, 6:00-9:30 PM; Saturday, January 24, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM.
Where: Clayton State University, Music Education Building, Morrow, Georgia (www.clayton.edu)
Fee: $95 (includes box lunch for Saturday) plus music fee.
For more information and a registration form, please see www.atlema.org, or contact Jorg Voss at Jorg@JFV.com or (770) 998-3575.
Nov. 28 ’08 – ACACIA LYRA, an Ottawa harp and voice duo with Susan Sweeney Hermon and Janine Dudding, are pleased to be performing once again at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre 4th Stage, with guest musicians on flutes, fiddle, pipes, bodhran and bass. This versatile duo, who sing in many languages, accompanying themselves on Celtic harp and guitar, will present a “Hint of Winter”, with Yuletide and other traditional songs from Scandinavia, the Scottish Hebrides, Brittany, Ireland and Spain. National Arts Centre Fourth Stage, Friday November 28, 8pm. Tickets $16.00, available through www.ticketmaster.ca or 613-755-1111, the NAC Box Office: 613-947-7000 and the Ottawa Folklore Centre: 613-720-2887. Further Information: www.acacialyra.com, and www.nac-cna.ca
Dec. 4 & 14 – Hurly Burly presents “In Sweetest Harmony”, a concert of Medieval & Renaissance holiday music, Peterborough, ON., a concert of Medieval & Renaissance holiday music, Peterborough, ON.On Thurs., Dec. 4th we’ll be giving a shortened concert free of charge, starting at 8:00 p.m. in the Lady Eaton College dining hall at Trent University. Sunday Dec. 14th at 2:30 p.m. is our full-length seasonal concert at St. John’s Anglican church in the Guild Hall. For more information please visit our website: www.celticharper.com/hurlyburly
Thursday, December 11 – Friday, December 12: In from the Cold Christmas Concert: The Youth Emergency Shelter (YES) presents In from the Cold 8 p.m., at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (336 George St., Peterborough). This year’s lineup features: Carried Away, renowned Peterborough folk/vocal group; Enrique Roy Claveer (aka. Curtis Driedger) with Namonia Phelps; The Convivio Chorus, an innovative choir directed by Susan Newman; Michael Ketemer – fingerstyle guitar virtuoso; Tanah Haney, Celtic Harpist and The Mandolin Society of Peterborough. Collectively these acts present an enchanting mix of Christmas music which you won’t find at any other Christmas concert. Tickets are $10 and are available at Titles Bookstore (379 George St., Peterborough). All ticket proceeds go to the Youth Emergency Shelter. For more information call (705) 748-2126. (Details courtesy of the Quid Novis website)
An upbeat 14th C. song by French composer Guillaume de Machaut, Douce Dame Jolie is quite easy to play on the harp. A simple rhythmic drone using open fifths is all you need for accompaniment.
More info on this piece can be found here. To hear a midi version of this tune, click here.
The HarpBlog Tune of the Month is courtesy of Chubby Sparrow Music . For a printable version, right click on the picture and choose “save target as”, or pop over to the Chubby Sparrow Free Music page for more detailed printing instructions (note: if you just left click and try to print directly from the browser, it probably won’t print at the right size).
This came to me by way of one of the members of our early music ensemble; thanks Sue!
“John of Salisbury (1120 – 1180) taught at the University of Paris during the years of Léonin and Pérotin. He attended many concerts at the Notre Dame Choir School. In De nugis curialiam he offers a first-hand description of what was happening to music in the high Middle Ages. This philosopher and Bishop of Chartres wrote:
“When you hear the soft harmonies of the various singers, some taking high and others low parts, some singing in advance, some following in the rear, others with pauses and interludes, you would think yourself listening to a concert of sirens rather than men, and wonder at the powers of voices … whatever is most tuneful among birds, could not equal. Such is the facility of running up and down the scale; so wonderful the shortening or multiplying of notes, the repetition of the phrases, or their emphatic utterance: the treble and shrill notes are so mingled with tenor and bass, that the ears lost their power of judging. When this goes to excess it is more fitted to excite lust than devotion; but if it is kept in the limits of moderation, it drives away care from the soul and the solicitudes of life, confers joy and peace and exultation in God, and transports the soul to the society of angels…” (Hayburn 18).
After an unusually warm and rainy November, winter has finally descended on our little town. We woke up this morning to chilly sub-zero temperatures and a blanket of snow. So I thought this would make for an appropriate December tune of the month. “To Drive the Cold Winter Away” (also known as “All Hail to the Days”) is one of my favourite seasonal tunes, a standard with my early music ensemble and my flute, harp and cello trio. Because the words are also quite lovely, I’ve also included the lyrics to the song below. The duet part was written for our cello player. If you want to use the bass as a left hand part for solo harp, you can leave out the G# if you don’t have G levers, or don’t feel like flipping in the middle of the piece.
The HarpBlog Tune of the Month is courtesy of Chubby Sparrow Music . For a printable version, right click on the picture and choose “save target as”, or pop over to the Chubby Sparrow Free Music page for more detailed printing instructions (note: if you just left click and try to print directly from the browser, it probably won’t print at the right size).
Lyrics: “All Hayle to the Dayes”, Eng. trad.
All hayle to the days that merit more praise
Than all the rest of the year!
And welcome the nights that double delights
As well for the poor as the peer!
Good fortune attend each merry man’s friend
That doth but the best that he may,
Forgetting old wrongs with carols and songs
To drive the cold winter away.
To mask and to mum, kind neighbours will come
With wassails of nut-brown ale,
To drink and carouse with all in the house
As merry as bucks in the dale;
Where cake, bread and cheese are bought for your fees
To make you the longer stay;
The fire to warm, will do you no harm,
To drive the cold winter away.
Thus none will allow of solitude now
But merrily greet the time,
To make it appear of all the whole year
That this is accounted the prime:
December is seen apparel’d in green,
And January fresh as May
Comes dancing along with a cup and a song
To drive the cold winter away.
This time of the year is spent in good cheer,
Kind neighbours together do meet
To sit by the fire with friendly desire
Each other in love to greet;
Old grudges, forgot, are put in the pot,
All sorrows aside they lay;
The old and the young doth carol this song
To drive the cold winter away.