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 […]
Lessons & Carols on double-strung wire harp
We’ve selected the carols and Christmas hymns we’ll be singing for Lessons & Carols at our church on December 31st. Most of these will be played on the pipe organ and I’ll be accompanying on my double-strung wire harp. The collection this year will be: (from the Episcopal Hymnal 1982) Once in Royal David’s City […]
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 […]
Creation Care Season & Feast of St. Francis
“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5: 24) Culling, Curfews and Caps: Australia ‘Declares War’ on Its Cat Problem A departure from my usual posts here on liturgical harp. May we pray and seek to defend God’s creatures and His Creation from cruel and unnecessary predation by […]
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 […]
My Paraguayan Harp Mi Arpa Paraguaya
Here is my Paraguayan harp. It actually belongs to my husband George Matthew Jr., who bought it at a church fundraiser some years ago when he was living in CT. I’ve done some research on it and discovered it was built by Adelio Ovelar of Asunción, Paraguay sometime in the early 1980’s. It was my […]
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. […]
Українські Великодні Піснеспіви Ukrainian Easter Hymns
Accompanying my recent collection of Polish Easter hymns, here’s a comparable set of Ukrainian hymns, 23 in total. I’ve loosely translated their titles and provided an index at the beginning. You can download this pdf collection and print them at the UPS Store and have them spiral bound, as I like to do, so they’ll […]