#clarsach

Can't paint for Tombtober right now. Creating a play with music, petting cats and trying to get all the cat hair out of the harp bag!

Visiting my friend Berättaren and his mostly cat family, together with Saga Björling/Starur, polishing an emotionally hard-hitting stage adaptation of "Tristan and Isolde".

It's ready to ship.

The fruit of more than 5 years of searching, saving, waiting. A Starfish Glencoe in maple: 34 strings, staved back construction, Camac levers, gut-strung. Tension high for a lever harp, designed for the Scottish clarsach tradition, not the lower-tension Irish tradition. Maple for purity of tone and faster decay, allowing for better articulation, especially on the bass end.

I've been low-key in mourning for my spectacular old Pratt Chamber Harp, which I was privileged to own and play for about 8 years, and finally had to give up because of where I live--super, super remote, in a tiny space with unpredictable heat and humidity.

This baby is half the weight of the Pratt and a fraction of the size, with a ton of projective power. It will fit in the back seat of a car and the corner of my room. I can't wait to hear its voice.

Next: it takes a journey from Ballachulish. Pouring rain here, so we are in a holding pattern for the next few weeks.

Well, after last week’s admission, I’m pleased to report that last week showed real improvement. Or, at least it did until the weekend when I was at a harp residential and I firmly fell of the healthy eating bandwagon! There were so many fantastic treats that I just couldn’t help myself! 🙂 We had a brilliant time practising and learning som emew pieces and techniques, and I really turned a corner…

Hey I know this is terrible but I was really nervous because my voice has been horrible recently but I tried! I’d really appreciate it if you gave this a listen! Also I played a wrong note on the harp at one point but ignore that! My voice is quiet because I didn’t feel gr8 but ignore that too lmao.

Louder, carries better solo and ensemble

Clearer brighter tone

Longer sustain, more resonant

Can fit more strings on a smaller harp

Nearly all celtic harp music was composed for wire harp (or clarsach)

To play nylon or gut strung you gotta trim your nails reeeeal short (lame), but to play wire harp you gotta grow and sharpen your nails into claws (fun and sexy)