The Latest News on My Harps Triplett Luna and Stoney End Rebecca
Time for an update on the latest from my harp studio: my beautifully rebuilt Triplett Luna harp arrived home safely in September after being masterfully rebuilt by Steve Triplett in his shops at San Luis Obispo, CA. This is a harp that I had accidentally knocked over while recovering from Covid and was still too […]
Harp Ornaments (the carved wood kind)
My Argent Fox double-strung harp was originally planned to have wood carvings added to it but that final touch was overlooked as other concerns took precedence preparing for the harp’s delivery in fall 2022. This spring I decided it was time to revisit that forgotten detail and complete the visual aesthetic of the harp. My […]
Harps in memory of our beloved kitties…
After two months of carefully changing out my bronze wires for copper phosphor bronze ones and bringing my double-strung harp up to tension (currently at A=390, Baroque pitch), my newest wire harp is ready to make his grand appearance at our Christmas Eve services! In the harp world, we tend to give our harps a name. […]
Thoughts on playing a cross-strung wire harp How you can play one too!
Since my double strung harp is out of commission for the time being, I’ve been relying on my lightweight (10 lbs.!) Esabelle harp to come to church with me every Sunday. Playing her on a weekly basis has certainly helped improved my technique! Cross-strung (X) harps are usually not wire; they normally have nylon strings instead […]
Pipe Organ and Wire Harp A How-to for Your Church!
Almost every Sunday, unless husband George has to be away (substituting at another church, playing the carillon for Convocation or Commencement at either of his two colleges), he’s playing the historic pipe organ at our church. Preludes, postludes and hymns. With, of course, wire harp accompaniment! If you happen to have a spouse, friend […]
Irish Wire Harp at Communion Source of Melody...
My favorite time to play my harp during Sunday morning church service is at Communion. At our church, members are invited to come up and gather in a circle around the altar after our priest elevates the Host, breaks it and begins to distribute it to each in turn, saying: “The Body of Christ, the […]
Sacred vs. Secular (and music that really doesn't work for me...)
Let me open this post by clearing the air (as it were), by noting first it’s been a while since my last post – April of this year to be exact. We’ve had some rough weather here in Vermont with the floods and the wildfire smoke and that hasn’t exactly been conducive to thoughtful writing. […]
About my harps St. Thomas & Grace Weekly Digest
Welcome to those of you who came here after clicking the link in our Weekly Digest! This is a WordPress blog I’ve been maintaining on and off and I hope to continue writing occasional material for our weekly church newsletter with a link to here if there’s interest. I’ve enjoyed playing my harps for you […]
King David’s Psalms What he might have actually played...
In my continuing research for interesting liturgical music to play on my three Irish wire-strung harps in church, I recently came across the work of the late French archaeomusicologist and organist Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura (1912-2000). She is best known for her book La Musique de la Bible revélée (1st ed.: 1976), a study in which the cantillation […]
Polish Liturgical Music on Wire Harp Roman Catholic Hymn Collection
In recent months I’ve become aware of a fantastic collection of kolady (Christmas carols) and hymns and service music for Mass on the website of the Polish American Liturgical Center at Orchard, Lake Michigan. Under Śpiewnik (hymnal) you will find a fabulous collection of Polish language hymns in PDF format to download! As I am […]