About the programme

A harpist playing Beatles? – that might cause some raised eyebrows. But the truth is, the harp has always been something of a a “pop” instrument. Not many of the great composers of the European tradition have left works for the harp, and if they did, they are not always among their most sublime accomplishments! But if one looks beyond the classical repertory, there is an astonishing richness and a variety of styles of music that few other instruments have to offer. After all, the harp is one of mankind’s oldest instruments, with a history spanning at least 5000 years – it was known in ancient Mesopotamia as well as Egypt, and nowadays harps are played anywhere from Latin America to Western Africa and Burma – not to mention New Zealand!

The image of the rugged Irish bard, who carries his harp from court to court playing for a dinner and a drink, or of the Medieval troubador harping love songs to some unattainable lady, are firmly imprinted in our consciousness, and from there the harp has made its way as an icon of fairy-tale and fantasy literature. But only in recent years have harpists actually begun to research and revive the types of instruments that were played during the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque era.

What does one play on a medieval or baroque harp? There is some authentic repertory from Spain, Germany and Italy. And there is the Celtic tradition of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. A prominent characteristic of much of the extant pieces is their closeness to the dance and entertainment music of their time. Arrangements of popular melodies and tunes have always been a stock part of the harpist’s repertory. And where is the fundamental difference between the arrangement of a popular melody from an 18th century opera, and my own adaptation of a song from a Disney movie?
Improvisation – or “jamming” – plays a major part not only in jazz and contemporary music, but also in baroque and medieval music, and it bridges the time gap between songs written and popular at the time of the Crusades, and arrangements from Howard Shore’s “Lord of the Rings” soundtrack. Inbetween are jazzy variations on pop songs from the Renaissance, dance hits from the era of J.S. Bach, roots music from the Spanish Golden Age, and a selection of folk tunes from Ireland, Africa and Latin America.

Blondel’s song “Amour dont sui espris” must be one of the first “top hits” of European musical history. Not only has the melody come down to us in a unusually high number of manuscripts, there are also several re-workings and arrangements – such as the three-part version “Procurans odium” from the German collection known as “Carmina Burana”. Similarly famous is the dance-y“Kalenda Maya” by Raimbaut de Vaqueiras. Both melodies were originally songs or poems and come with a text – not so the elegiac “Lamento di Tristano”, culled from an Italian manuscript, and the soaring “Amoroso”, which is designated as a “French dance”.

Well-known nowadays, and very much alive, is the Celtic harp tradition of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Medieval English tunes such as “Miri it is” have a distinctive Celtic flair, which lets us guess just how ancient that tradition is. One of the most famous Irish harpers was Turlough O’Carolan, who lived during the 18th century. What is particularly remarkable about his music is that it has come down to us in written format – unusual in a tradition that is, to this day, largely oral and relies on passing tunes on by ear. The more contemporary tunes from the famous collection “O’Neill’s dance music of Ireland” are mostly intended for the fiddle, and pose a nice challenge of speed and dexterity on the harp! And if proof is needed that the traditon is alive and kicking – and spreading! – listen to “Snowgum Jig”, written by my friend and fellow harper Andy Rigby, from Australia. My own little contribution, “Planxty Kerstin”, is dedicated to my cousin who died in November last year.

Much less well-known than the Celtic harp tradition are those of Spain and Germany. In Spain during the 17th and 18th century, the harp was widely used in dance and theatre music, in combination with the guitar - as well as in church music, as a cheaper and more portable subsitute for the organ. Antonio de Cabezon was organist to king Philip II – known as the brooding villain from Schiller’s play and Verdi’s opera “Don Carlos”. Arranging popular songs like “La Dama le demanda” was an art in itself, and Cabezon took it to its jazzy extreme.
One of the most extensive sources of harp music from the baroque era is the collection “Luz y Norte Musical” by professional cleric and lay musician Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz. It includes mainly dance music for the harp – popular and widely known dances such as the Folias, but also pieces that show the influence of West African music, which came to Spain along with the African slave trade. From Spain, the tradition of harp playing spread to Latin America, where it is still very much alive in many places throughout Mexico, Venezuela, Equador and Paraguay.

Another large manuscript collection of harp music was compiled in Leipzig, Germany, around the time that Johan Sebastian Bach lived in that city. It includes songs and dance music – the pop music of Bach’s day. “Aimable Vainqueur” is an arragement of a French aria popular at the time. In the times before radio and record player, these music collections were meant for private delectation in the home – much in the same way as we can nowadays buy easy piano or guitar arrangements of film songs or pop hits, such as Alan Menken’s “Tale as Old as Time”, the title song for the Walt Disney picture “Beauty and the Beast”?
Intermingled with the baroque German dances are some Estonian folk tunes that I found in an old and battered book on Estonian folk dance which has come down to me on my mother’s side of the family. Their style is similar to that of much Scandinavian and Northern European folk music, which is not too far removed from that of baroque dances of J.S. Bach’s time.

The beautiful and soaring adaptation of a Scottish folk song that Michael Nyman wrote as the main theme for Jane Campion’s film “The Piano”, hardly needs an introduction - neither does Howard Shore’s film music for Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings”. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings, the harp is mentioned frequently – it is played by elves, dwarves or men, though not, as far as current evidence goes, by hobbits! Although the harp is not particularly featured in Howard Shore’s soundtrack, a number of the movie themes can easily be adapted for the instrument, especially those associated with the elves and hobbits. What better proof could there be that Shore’s music is, in fact, authentically Middle-Earth?

About Asni

German-born harpist Asni has been an active participant in the European early music revival since its beginnings in the mid-1980s, and has established herself internationally as one of the foremost modern performers on early harps. She was a member of New York early music group ARTEK/458 strings, as well as working with internationally acclaimed ensembles such as Chanticleer (USA), and at the Drottningholm opera house in Stockholm (Sweden). Later this year she will be representing New Zealand at the World Harp Congress in Dublin, Ireland.
Getting tired of playing only music written before the year 1750,one day she picked up a Beatles tune. Rather to her surprize, it sounded really well on the harp, and since then she has been exploring the repertory of contemporary pop and film music more thoroughly.
In 2003 she came to New Zealand for a tour, fell in love with the place, and stayed. Currently, she is teaching early harps at Victoria University Wellington, and has performed with a wide range of music ensembles in the creative capital - – she has worked with singer Pepe Becker and early music ensemble “Baroque Voices”, as well as with alternative pop group dGare at last years Fringe festival, to name but a few. Her musical and artistic interests range widely and include film, photography, painting and writing, as well as looking after her own ever spreading website, www.asni.net. She holds a MA in musicology and has several published articles and radio broadcasts to her name, including a feature for German radio on Douglas Lilburn and New Zealand Music. She also runs her own music publishing company, The Harp & Hobbit Press.

Please also check out my article "The harp and pop music"

last updated: 8 May, 2007