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Comment by Dept of PMM Castle Life on January 19, 2011 at 2:44pm

The Harp and where it came from-

 

The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. Note that our friend, the Hammer Dulcimer, is a multi-stringed instrument whose strings are parallel to the soundboard and are struck not plucked. Therefore placing it in a separate family. All harps have a neck, resonator, and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to as open harps.

Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North, and South America, and in Asia. In antiquity, harps and the closely related lyres were very prominent in nearly all cultures. The oldest harps found thus far have been uncovered in ruins from ancient Sumer. The harp also predominant in the hands of medieval bards, troubadors and minnesingers, as well as throughout the Spanish Empire.

A medieval harp (left) and a single-action pedal harp.

Harps were most likely independently invented in many parts of the world in remote prehistory. The harp's origins might lie in the sound of a plucked hunter's bow-string or the strings of a loom.

 

A type of harp called a 'bow harp' is nothing more than a bow like a hunter's, with a resonating vessel such as a gourd fixed somewhere along its length. To allow a greater number of strings, harps were later made from two pieces of wood attached at the ends: this type is known as the 'angle harp'. They can also come in different colours. The strings, possibly made of hair or plant fiber, were attached to a diaphragm at one end, and tied around the string arm or neck at the other. The strings were tuned by sliding or rotating the knots that held them.

Bow Harps

Detail of a wall painting from an XVIIIth dynasty tomb at Thebes, showing a musician with a type of arched harp. Oriental Institute, Chicago.

Min Adungu (Bass Bow Harp) Player of Wamidan World Music Ensemble.

 

The Angle Harp

The harpist chants laudation of the Pharaoh before the god Shu,
symbolizing the space between Heaven and Earth, who wears an ostrich feather headdress
and holds a scepter Was, symbolizing the

Comment by Dept of PMM Castle Life on April 12, 2010 at 2:32pm

Fáilte a Rún 5:15
Carolan's Welcome 1:39
If Only I'd Known 4:56
Lullaby for Eileen 1:32
Amhrán Chuig an Stoirm 3:33
A Promise Unbroken 5:27
Éiníní 2:12
Symbols 3:37
Through Misty Air 7:39
Céile 2:07
Longing 3:51
Tugaim Dhuit mo Lámh 2:49

Comment by Dept of PMM Castle Life on April 12, 2010 at 2:30pm

Seven of these in stock @$15.00 + S/H&I Remember we are a road vendor and plastic wrapping does help, but things do get worn in boxes in travel and weather

Comment by Dept of PMM Castle Life on October 9, 2009 at 1:25pm

Through Misty Air is Caera's solo debut. This album is a combination of traditional and original songs in both English and Irish (yes, that includes original songs in Irish Gaelic). Full lyrics, translations, and notes for each song are included in the packaging. All songs on this album were recorded live and acoustic, using only instruments that would have been available in the Celtic countries during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Album Notes
The debut solo album of Caera, the wire-strung harper and Gaelic half of Môr Gwyddelig. A combination of traditional and original songs in both English and Irish (yes, that includes original songs in Irish Gaelic). Full lyrics, translations, and notes for each song are included in the packaging. All songs on this album were recorded live and acoustic, using only instruments that would have been available in the Celtic countries during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Caera is a Celtic musician from the Boston area, who is very passionate about the music, languages, and history of her ancestors. She plays a clairseach, a brass-strung harp modeled after historical harps of Ireland from the Middle Ages, and sings in all three Gaelic languages (Irish, Scottish, and Manx) as well as other languages.

Caera performs a variety of songs from different time periods and places. She performs songs and chants from the Middle Ages, mostly from northern and western Europe. She also has an ever-growing repertoire of traditional songs from Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Many of these songs are in the native languages of these countries. She has a particularly strong interest in the sean-nos singing tradition of Ireland, which she has studied in the Boston area and in Ireland, and in the puirt-a-beul tradition of Scotland, which she has studied in the Boston area. Finally, Caera does write her own original songs, in English as well as Irish Gaelic.

In the short time that Caera has been a performing musician, her singing has been compared to Máire Brennan (of Clannad), Nóirín ní Riain, Karen Mattheson (of Capercaillie), Karan Casey, Loreena McKennitt, and several other notable singers in Celtic music. She has also collected such comments from her audiences as "Now I know the angels sing in Gaelic," and "I would walk on broken glass to hear you sing."

Caera's record label: http://www.gra-is-stor.com For more information and free samples of songs, www.myspace.com/IrishHarper , or search for "Caera" on Facebook. http://www.caera.info

For bookings and more information, call 831-332-7609 or email caerasinger@gmail.com .