This piece can be found on Cynthia’s CD ‘Alchemy of a Rose’ (which I highly recommend). Not only is Cynthia an extremely accomplished wire harp player, she has also put out several excellent method & repertoire books for wire harp. You can visit her website at cynthiacathcart.net
Along with his inimitable charm, Harpo Marx had truly mad harp skillz – and, hands down, the best comedic timing of any harpist to date.
“A 3-day journey exploring the world of the harp. Designed for Adults who enjoy playing the lever and pedal harp in an intimate atmosphere. Experience the fun of ensemble playing for any level. A study of musical styles crossing times and lands.”
With Frank Voltz as Featured Artist.
Website: http://harpjourneys.com/
I just can’t get enough of these kids. Although it’s hard to find YouTube videos of them with any kind of decent sound quality (believe it or not, this is one of the better ones). One of my favourite performances of theirs is a street performance of Video Killed the Radio Star that we posted earlier here. The official Wrong Trousers MySpace page can be found here.
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).
Feb. 15: Grainne Hambly & William Jackson workshops/concert, Atlanta Harp Center, GA. For more info visit the Harp Column events page.
Jan. 31 ’09 concert, Ottawa, ON: In celebration of St. Brigid’s Day, Ellen MacIsaac (voice) and Mary Muckle (harp and voice) are giving a concert of Irish, Scottish and Welsh songs and harp music at St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 760 Somerset Street W., January 31/09, 8 pm. Guest performers include The Celtic Choir, Cantorian Cerdd Dant ( Welsh penillion singers) and harpists Kelly Aminian and Julie Leduc. Tickets, available at the Ottawa Folklore Centre or at the door, are $15 general and $10 seniors and students. For more info call 613-825-1379 or email mucklerice@rogers.com.
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.
Happy New Year everyone!
A list of 2009 Harp Events is now up in the Celtic Harp Page events section. If you have a harp-related event that you would like to announce, feel free to email me via the CHP or post a comment here. We also accept listings for early music concerts and events.
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)