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Origins of the Harp

The harp is an instrument common to almost every civilisation, and the oldest discovered string instrument (the oldest discovered instrument was a flute made from mammoth ivory, dated at around 42,000-43,000 years old). Due to its global development, the etymology of its name is disputed. It may have come from the Latin “carpo”, meaning “touched by fingers” (influencing the modern name of harp and the Roman Cithara). Its invention might also be accredited to the Italian tribe, the “Arpii” or from the Anglo Saxon “harpa” or German “harfe”. Ancient Phoenicians used “telynu”, meaning “songs played on the harp”. This is similar to the Welsh “telyn”.[1]

 

Sumer – 3500 BCE

The earliest discovered harps are from the earliest known civilisation, in Sumer, southern Mesopotamia (now modern east/central Iraq). To put their age in context, the earliest protowriting dates back to pre 3000BC, earliest texts date to 3500-3000 BC and the excavated Lyres of Ur date from 2600-2350 BC. This means that between 3500 to 2600 BC not only had music developed, but also technology, craftsmanship and social hierarchy. Excavated by Leaonard Wooley between 1922 and 1934, The Lyres of Ur are considered to be the world’s oldest surviving string instruments and are now held in the British Museum in London, with replicas on display. Standing around a metre high, each lyre is strung with 4 to 11 strings and are highly decorated. The most famous, the queen’s lyre, features a prominent bulls head. Throughout antiquity, the bull was considered a divine symbol, of fertility, power, and the moon. These instruments were certainly used by and played for royalty, or at least at the royal courts. Some East African lyres still preserve elements of these Sumerian lyres today.

Ancient Egypt – 2500 BCE

Harps were also prevalent throughout Ancient Egypt. There is much scholarly discussion on where the Egyptian harp came from; if it was an import from Mesopotamia or if it had developed independently. There were two types of Ancient Egyptian harp, the arched and the angular. The arched harp was made out a single piece of wood with strings attached to both ends, resembling a hunting bow. This appeared during the 5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (25th century to mid-24th century BC). The angular harp emerged far later, in the new kingdom (16th to 11th century BC). These were made of 2 bits of wood joined together to create a main frame, with strings strung between them. The harp was most used for the entertainment of royalty and aristocracy.[3]

Ancient Greece – 2000 BCE

Perhaps the most famous of ancient harps is the Ancient Greek lyre. Greek myth attributes its creation to the messenger god Hermes, who came upon an old turtle shell with a few sinews left, kicked it and was pleased by the sound. It became the instrument of Apollo when Hermes gave it to him in apology for stealing Apollo’s herd of sacred white cattle (Hermes was also the god of thieves).[4] Other mythological mentions of the harp include the building of the city of Thebes. Mythology claims that as the three brothers were building the city, Antheon played the lyre and the rocks danced and followed, giving Thebes its name as the only city ever built by art. Perhaps the most famous lyre player of Greek Myth was the musician Orpheus, who soothed Cerberus, the three headed guard dog to the doors of the underworld, enough to let him pass into Hades on his doomed quest to save his dead wife Eurydice. Other less pleasant mythological depictions of the harp include Hercules’ taking music lessons from his tutor Linus, with whom he grew so frustrated he killed him with the instrument.[5]

The role of the lyre was forefront in Greek culture. It was a vital part of Greek education, the virtues of which were expounded by Plato. It was used by poets, and at banquets and festivals. There were three types of harp that were most popular, the chelys (like Hermes’ harp, made from a tortoise shell), the phormix (with 4 strings) and the seven stringed kithara. The strings were of equal length with varying thickness made of sheep gut, played by strumming with the hand or a plectrum. This was played either sitting of standing, and could also be supported by a carrying strap. Although most Greek harp players were male, in the Minoan Palaikastro depictions of clay dancers, there is a female lyre player. Minoan hieroglyphics also had a distinct symbol for musicians, thus showing their status.

East Asia – China and South Korea 276 BC

In Ancient China, three types of harp (konghou) were developed. The Wuo Konguo, was more of a zither, to be played placed in front of the performer. The Shoo Konghou most closely resembles the ancient Egyptian Angular harp. It appeared between 206 BC – 25 AD, used between 7 to 23 strings, and was played with the thumb and index finger of both hands. Lastly, was the Fong Shou Konghou, called this because of the decorative neck (translates as head of the phoenix). The soundbox was shaped like a boat, with the frame otherwise bearing resemblance to the Shoo Konghou. The Konghou was in vogue during the Han Dynasty and continued its popularity into the Ming Dynasty, used in orchestras and as a solo and chamber instrument. However, the instrument became extinct during the 17th century, and has only recently been revived by modern efforts. The Chinese Konghou instruments influenced the development of the Korean Gonghu, most popular from 37 BC to 686 AD.[6]

Irish Harps – 800 AD

The Irish Harp became popular around 800AD. Unlike previous eras of harp playing, Irish harpers did not necessarily hail from the upper classes. They played a frame harp, that had a straight column and 10 to 11 strings. It first appeared in medieval western Europe between 800 and 1000 AD. However, in the 14th century, a harp emerged that also had a hollowed soundbox to amplify the sound. It also featured a curved fore pillar and 30 to 36 strings made of brass. Harpers were often minstrels and used the harp to tell stories.

Renaissance Harps – 1800 AD

Diatonic harps emerged in the early 1300s AD. The forepillar was thinner and less curved, the neck was slenderer and it curved upward to meet the end of the column. These were referred to as Renaissance harps, and usually had 24 gut strings which were strung between neck and sound board and fixed with brays. These harps provided the basis for traditional harps in the Americas such as Andean and Paraguayan harps, due to Spanish colonial imports.

Double and Triple Strung Harps – 1700 AD 

Double strung harps have two sets of strings, with levers on each side to alter the pitch of the strings by semitone, similarly to Celtic, Irish and clarsach harps. This improved harmonic capabilities of the instrument and allowed enharmonic playing. Triple Harps, however, were invented in Italy in the late 16th or early 17th century. They had three rows of strings, with the outer two tuned to the same diatonic scale while the inner row was tuned to chromatic semitones. Harpists would reach through the outer rows of strings to play the inner chromatic notes for colouration. Other benefits of this new invention included more agility and speed when playing melodies that included repetitions of the same note (a feat still difficult on a modern pedal harp), and added resonance when playing the same notes on both sides, therefore effectively amplifying the instrument. The triple harp travelled to Wales during the 17th century where it evolved into a larger instrument, and firmly established itself as a national favourite and vital part of Welsh tradition. 

Single action – 1770 AD 

The idea of amplifying the sound of the harp and achieving further chromaticism continued to be a concern that drove further innovation. In 1770, the single action harp was invented and produced by companies such as Nadermann, Erard and Holzmann. Rather than an extra row of strings or levers to alter the pitch of a string, five pedals (eventually increased to seven) were built into the bottom of the sounding box. When pressed by the foot they connected to hooks at the bottom of rods in the harps column which connected to disks which would sharpen the corresponding strings. These hooks evolved to right angled crochets, then to beguiles (two paddle like doors which bent the string), and then to levers, that would rotate in opposite directions to pinch the string between them. Throughout the 18th century, the design of the single action harp greatly evolved. Not only was a separate soundboard added to the soundbox to provide further amplification, but the body was also reinforced with wooden internal ribs and the neck reinforced with external brass plates. The rotating levers were replaced by disks that the string passed through when affixing it to the tuning peg. The turning disks were much stronger than the lever system and eliminated any buzzing.

Chromatic/Cross strung harps

 

The chromatic, or cross strung harp was invented in the year I894, by Gustav Lyon, the director of the Paris Maison Pleyel. The original cross strung harp had no pedals, and was made of two sets of strings, cross strung from its two necks, two bodies and two columns that crossed in the centre. Advantages of the instrument included that the chords had a much longer resonance, as there was no interference or need to damp due to the pedals, and because there was not mechanism like a single or double action pedal harp, that it was far easier to repair.

In the late 19th century this was simplified by Pleyel into a harp that had one body and column, but with a wider neck to accommodate the two sets of crossed strings. Whilst this harp was the cause for the commission of Debussy’s fabulous Danses Sacrée et Profane (1904), this harp was ungainly and difficult to play, so much that it was virtually abandoned by the 1950s. Indeed, Henriette Renié swiftly arranged Debussy’s Danses for the double action pedal harp in the same year as Debussy’s original publication.

Double Action harp

Sebastien Erard registered his patent for the double action harp, that we know as the modern pedal harp, in 1801, and developed it throughout the early nineteenth century. The main difference between the single action and double action pedal harp was that the seven pedals could be depressed twice rather than just once and had two metal disks through which the string passed rather than one. This meant that the instrument had full chromatic capability, and vastly widened the musical possibilities of the instrument, and allowed for richer harmonic repertoire to be written for the instrument.

Aside from some mechanical improvements, Erard’s system is still used today.

“The harp is Ariadne’s instrument.”[7] The harp is common to almost every ancient civilisation and its ubiquity continues to the present day. Yet is all too often both the harp and harpists are reduced to stereotypes. The suite The Crown of Ariadne does away with these preconceptions, challenging what the harp can do, what it is to be a harpist, and who Ariadne really is. It puts both Ariadne and harp front and centre, and the main character and attraction, no longer in the shadow of cultural expectations and preconceptions.

Next suggested navigation: Mythological Roots

 

1] Thomas Aptommas, History of the Harp. Place unknown. Published by the author at Conservatoire de la Harpe, 1859, p7

[2] Christine, Kappel, “Ancient Egyptian Harp. Its origins and the status within the Ancient Egyptian Society.” Academia. Accessed July 11th 2022 https://www.academia.edu/31747764/Ancient_Egyptian_Harp_Its_origins_and_status_within_the_Ancient_Egyptian_society

[3] Stephen Fry, Mythos, The Greek Myths Retold, Great Britain: Penguin Books: 2018, p.106

[4] Thomas Aptommas, History of the Harp. Place unknown. Published by the author at Conservatoire de la Harpe, 1859, p.18

[5] Joyce Rice, “The Chinese Harp, or Konghou”, Harp Spectrum. Accessed on 11th July 2022. https://www.harpspectrum.org/folk/Chinese_Harp_Konghou.shtml

[6] Murray Schafer, Patria, The Complete Cycle, Ontario: Coach House Books, 2002. p162

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