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Jun 11, 2019 · The harp is a lonely instrument — there are no harp sections in orchestras — but it doesn’t shy away from its stature. Much of a concert grand’s unmistakable tone owes to its massive size.
How is the harp used in contemporary music? Today, the harp remains popular in film, TV, and video game soundtracks, as well as in pop music. Electric harps have enabled new genres. Players also commission experimental new repertoire. What is unique about the harp’s history?
- King David
- Joanna Newsom
- Loreena McKennitt
- Alice Coltrane
- Andreas Vollenweider
- Dorothy Ashby
- Beste Toparlak
- Akiko Shikata
- Lavinia Meijer
- Órla Fallon
King David’s harp is the most iconic and well-known harp in the history of the Judeo-Christian world. Born in Bethlehem and a key figure in biblical history, King David was King of Israel from 101-970 BCE. Documentation from the first testament book of Samuel proclaims King David’s proficiency as a harpist. Not only would he play the harp to soothe...
Born in 1982, Joanna Caroline Newsom is a northern California native. She grew up playing classical harp and piano, becoming a keyboardist in the indie band The Pleased in San Francisco to mark the beginning of her musical career. She then began writing, singing, and recording her own songs that earned her a contract with Drag City records who has ...
Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt is a Canadian harpist, accordionist, pianist, composer, and vocalist who produces and performs Celtic and Middle Eastern style music. She has written the lyrics and composed the music on nine albums, four of which have earned platinum status in the U.S. and Canada. Furthermore, her album “Troubadours on the Rhine” ear...
Born in Detroit as Alice McLeod, Alice Coltrane was an accomplished harpist and pianist long before meeting and marrying the famed jazz musician John Coltrane. Alice Coltrane studied classical piano under the tutelage of Bud Powell before returning to Detroit to begin her career as a jazz musician in various trios and duos, until signing on with Jo...
Andreas Vikkebweider is a Swiss harpist, instrumentalist, and composer whose music ranges from Classical to Jazz to World music. His albums are equally eclectic, with an impressive discography of a whopping 24 albums recorded since 1979. As a testament to his multi-genre appeal, two of his albums reached number 1 on Billboards in the musical catego...
Born Dorothy Jeanne Thompson in Detroit, Dorothy Ashby was a harpist and composer specializing in jazz music and deemed one of the most talented modern jazz harpists in history. Ashby brought the harp out from behind its strictly orchestral background denomination and into the limelight of improvisational jazz and bebop. She came from a family of m...
Beste Toparlakis a Turkish harpist and soloist who began studying music with famed pianist Yevgenia Tarasova at age 8, entering the Turkish Ankara State Conservatory in 1999. She eventually graduated with a degree in Harp in 2009. She then earned a Master’s Degree in Harp, studying at the Austrian music conservatory Hochschule fur Musik und Theater...
Japanese native Akiko Shikata is a multi-talented musician, composer, singer, and songwriter who began recording music in 2001, producing numerous studio albums, video game soundtracks, and singles that run the musical genre gamut. Music experts and critics have categorized her music as world music, experimental, jazz, new age, classical, ambient, ...
Lavinia Meijer is a world-renowned harpist from the Netherlands who began studying harp at age 11 at the elite Utrecht Conservatory until graduating with a degree in music in 2003. She then continued her musical education at the Amsterdam Conservatory, earning a Master’s degree in music in 2005. Her highly successful career has garnered worldwide a...
Originally named Orlagh Fallon, Orla Fallonis an Irish harpist and Irish folk music performer. Their music and vocals have earned her audiences from famous world figures such as the pope and the president of Ireland and prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall. She initially played in a Celtic group known as Celtic Woman before branching out on her...
Even today, in the 21st century, the harp is still considered one of the world's most beautiful and important instruments. Read on to learn everything there is to know about the harp.
Two seemingly contradictory trends hint at the future of the harp industry. Sparked by an increasing interest in Celtic music, more musicians are using harps similar to those used 1,000 years ago.
Sep 24, 2019 · Paintings of these harps appear in many early manuscripts, and their shapes hardly differ from those of the Celtic harps that are still played today. As the early harps had no mechanical...
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What is King David's harp?
Jan 14, 2020 · As harpists become increasingly integrated into the contemporary music world, the harp revolution of the twentieth century points towards a future in which the harp is composed for with an awareness of its past that informs, but does not limit its musical future.
