PRACTICAL MUSIC WORK:

THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE ORCHESTRA

The Harp
1– Explain what materials the instrument is made of, what its parts are, how it is constructed and
how it works. Place a drawn or printed image of the same.

The harp is a musical instrument with multiple strings.

that are placed in a plane perpendicular to
the resonance box.
Organologically, the Harp is categorized in the
general history of Cordophones (string instruments)
and they have their own sub-category (the Harps).

The person who plays the harp is called a Harpist.

The Marco harps have a pillar or column; those who

they do not have the pillar they are called Open Harps. Depend-
Given its size, which is very variable, a harp can...
to be executed standing on the lap or while it is
place it on a table or on the floor.

The strings can be made of nylon, gut, or wire.

In the smaller harps, like the music harps
"folklorica", the material at the core of all its strings
it is the same.

In larger instruments with a wider sound range such as modern Concert Harps, the materials
The strings are blended to achieve the different registers.
The Concert Harp is common in Symphony and Opera Orchestras.
Sometimes, it is used with excellent results in chamber music.

Our modern harps are mostly made of wood and measure 1.7 meters in height.
Just like the piano, works for this instrument are generally written for the right hand in
G clef on the second line and left in F clef on the fourth.

The range is 6 and a half octaves, therefore after the organ and the piano, the harp is the instrument
with the widest extension.

The modern orchestra harp includes more than 1988 pieces and the pressure exerted by the strings on the
the instrument is around two and a half tons.

Organology: Organology from Greek: ὄργανον - Organon, 'instrument' and λόγος - logos, 'study') is the science that studies the
musical instruments and their classification including the history of the instrument, the cultures that are related to it and the
technical aspects of how sound is produced.
This process includes the use of counter-
beech, maple or rosewood veneers - which are ma-
that curve easily with steam - for the
sound box that, in turn, is reinforced in its
interior through a triangular molding sometimes metallic
about

The double action harp has 47 strings, thank you.

the double action of its pedals allowed to bypass the
chromatism problem.

This system was patented in 1810 by Sebastián

Erard in Paris allowed performers to alter
the tuning of each string in one or two semitones
higher.

Con este mecanismo las cuerdas son alargadas o

shortened (thus changing their tuning) by a com-
complex mechanism that starts at the pedals until
through the column and then into the neck.

For each note, there are two discs that spin and trap.
to each string when they are activated.

For example, when a pedal is actuated from the

position B flat to Natural, the upper disk pulls from
the string half tone. When the pedal is moved
once again from Natural to Sharp the note ascends one
second time.

The pedals are organized in a non-ordered way.

tasks that are easily remembered in English
your order following the phrase 'Did Columbus Bring'
Enough food going to America.

A Harpist uses only the four fingers of each hand

to play, the little finger never comes into action.

Since it has no 'black keys', how does an ar-

clue to find the notes within the 47
strings?
Each cord is red while
Each black face.

These are the guide strings for the performer.

2 - Report on the origins of that instrument, its history, and whether there is any myth surrounding it.
creation or at some point in its history.

The harp is one of the oldest instruments and can be found in engravings from Sumer and Babylon.
which date back to the year 3000 BC.
The famous 'Harpist of Keros', a marble sculpture from the Aegean period in ancient Greece.
around 2000 BC
In Greek mythology, Orpheus descends to the underworld with his harp and with a marvelous music.
he asked the gods to return to him his wife Eurydice, who died on their wedding day. Also Amphion
able to raise the walls surrounding the city of Thebes solely with the magical sound of his harp.
Numerous frescoes and reliefs from different periods of Egyptian civilization reflect the im-
importance and the evolution of the instrument in the cultural life of this people.
In the tomb of Tutankhamun, among his personal belongings is an harp, allowing us to deduce that
Around the year 1350 BC, this pharaoh cultivates the pleasure of executing it.
On the walls surrounding the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses III, harps are depicted around the year 1200 B.C.
In the collection of Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre Museum, one can see a harp triangle.
The sacred scriptures mention King David as one of its followers; this mythical king lives in Jerusalem.
It dates back to the year 1000 BC. By this time, the Hebrews have the Kinnor harp, whose sound causes...
simultaneously the joy.
By 600 B.C., the Celts expanded across Europe and completely occupied the British Isles.
in successive waves until the year 200 BC.
Its mythology and ancient legends place the harp in Ireland prior to the arrival of Christianity.
me towards the year 400.
It can be assumed that these Indo-European peoples bring the instrument from Asia or that
they acquire it through their contact with the cultures of Greece and Rome.
Starting from the 600s and 700s, there is abundant evidence that testifies to its widespread use in the Islands.
Britons and Northern Europe.
Christianity desde its beginnings shows a special preference for the harp. Its presence is permanent
nothing in the offices and songs of the church until the appearance of the organ and continues to be present even for
It takes time in difficult-to-access places for this instrument, such as in American evangelization.
The harp is a source of inspiration for the greatest artists of Christianity in its most varied expressions.
sessions, no other instrument is represented so many times always associated with the celestial, virtuous and
sublime.
By the year 900, it was already accepted as a national symbol and emblem of Ireland.
The Irish harp is built from a single piece of willow wood, with up to 30 brass strings and co-
curved lumen outward.
Her execution technique is with the nails, which must be long and strong. She is considered the most advanced and
it has a strong influence on the development of other medieval harps. Around the year 1350, the Gothic harp appears.
it, with a tall and elegant design. Its upper ends carved in an arch shape define its style. The
The mast is straight or slightly curved and its strings are made of gut. Some performers maintain the technique
it can be played with the nails and to achieve semitones they press one end of the string with the index finger.
This instrument is the precursor of American folk harps and modern orchestral harps. It is
used until the early seventeenth century.
By the year 1550, cultural advancements and harmonious development generate more complex music. The limi-
tensions of the diatonic harp are exposed.
From this moment on, builders are eagerly seeking solutions that allow them to equip their
strings of chromaticism indispensable to meet the demands of new musical compositions.
Around the year 1600, the two-order harp appeared in Spain and the arpadoppia in Italy, which are different from each other.
in design details and execution technique but similar in their musical proposal.
They present two rows of strings with different tunings, and with the combination of both, the esca- is obtained.
the chromatic. Shortly after, the triple harp appears in Italy, to which a third string is added.
central row tuned with sharps. These instruments have their moment of peak but ultimately
they become bulky and heavy, difficult to build, complicated to execute and
cumbersome to tune.
With the Spanish conquest, the instrument makes its presence felt in America, but there is no evidence that
indicate to which style the first harps that entered the territory belong, although due to the historical context
With huge distances, it is easy to imagine that they are small and portable.
Some illustrations from between 1750 and 1800 show her standing with arched corners, column
straight and large box suggesting a local crossing between the Gothic harp and the Spanish harp.
On the other hand, it is known that the Jesuits, who come from all parts of Europe, do not use the Spanish proportion and
they contribute their own techniques to build them and their execution technique with the nails dates back to the ancient harps
Irish.
It can be asserted that the brilliant Latin American harps today are the product of a long process of fusion of the
more varied European cultures and traditions with the native idiosyncrasy of each region.
The first performer noted in the Río de la Plata is Martín Niño, who accompanies Sebastián Gaboto.
in his expedition of 1526. It can be deduced that he travels with his instrument, as he is mentioned as a 'skilled player-'
harp pain
Around the year 1700, the Jesuit father Antonio Sepp, in charge of the mission of Yapeyú and an outstanding musician who masters until
twenty instruments, initiates the locals in the art of playing the harp and trains them in its construction, along with
other instruments intended for the performance of religious music.
Around the same time, Father Antonio Sepp was commissioned for the formation of the town of San Juan Bautista.
in Paraguay. In a later report, it details how it establishes the various positions of administration and art-
healthy, among which it designates two manufacturers of lutes and harps.
Around the year 1720 in the City of Córdoba, the Jesuit priest Domenico Zipoli began a vast work that transcends the
Viceroyalty, writes numerous musical pieces with active participation of the harp.
In Paraguay, despite its late development as an instrument of popular music, it reaches its highest evolutionary point.
high in the hands of masterful performers who transform it with their extraordinary skill and creativity into an instruction-
mentor for soloists. Their harpists are renowned and highly sought after worldwide.
Félix Pérez Cardozo is the Paraguayan musician and composer who has contributed the most to the perfection and dissemination.
from this instrument. His famous compilation "Pájaro Campana" along with other wonderful compositions, earned him
international transcendence of Paraguayan folk music.

Currently, the Harp is the national musical instrument of Ireland, Paraguay, and Peru.

Post-Modern Harps:

The Amplified Harps (electro-acoustic) with resonance box and the solid body ones have been produced by
many manufacturers. Generally, they use individual piezoelectric transducers, one for each string in combination-
with small internal microphones to produce a mixture of output electrical signal.

The instruments that also have hollow bodies can be acoustically reproduced, while the in
Solid body mentos must necessarily amplify.

The American instrument builder and musician Robert Grawi created a double harp - electric lute in 1986.
based on the Kora instrument from West Africa, but strung and tuned differently.
The Gravi-kord is an ergonomically lightweight instrument made of modern materials, mostly steel tubes.
stainless. It is a double harp that has 24 strings evenly divided into two rows arranged in a
free situation "V" in the form of a synthetic material bridge that includes an integral piezoelectric sensor.

The laser harp is not a string instrument, but rather an electronic instrument shaped like a harp that has rays.
laser where the harps have strings.
Laser beams are configured like harp strings; they do not produce any sound themselves but act as
triggers of previously synthesized sounds.
These can also be programmed to trigger other elements of a multimedia theatrical work like effects.
of lighting, video loops, etc.

Other data:

The harp has been used as a political symbol in Ireland for centuries, the origin of this association is unknown, but in
the Welsh tradition each Clan should have a resident harper who would compose Elegies and odes in honor of the leader and
Chief man of the Clan, for this he has been adopted as a symbol of the Kingdom of Ireland.

In the religious context, Heaven is described with Saints and Angels playing the Harp.

This symbolism may derive from the vision of heaven described in the Christian Bible, Book of Revelation 14:2 'I heard
then a voice came from heaven, like the roar of a torrent and the sound of a strong thunder, and that voice was
like a concert of harps" King James Version.

In Germanic Mythology, Tristan from the legend of Tristan and Isolde plays a harp to enchant his King.

It has also been identified with the mystical ladder, as it tends to be a bridge between the earthly world and
the celestial, for which the heroes of Edda (collections of stories related to Norse mythology) wanted that
A harp will be placed on your grave to facilitate access to the other world.
3– Mention which family of the orchestra it belongs to and if it has received other names throughout the
historia. Colocar su denominación en idioma Ingles, Alemán e Italiano.

The Harp belongs to the family of Plucked Strings. From this family, it is the only member required perma-
nentemente como parte integrante de el Orgánico Orquestal en uno o dos miembros.
Approximately half of the 500 works from the most performed symphonic repertoire worldwide require
this instrument in at least one performer.

Etymology:

The name Arpa comes from the French Harpe and this from the Frankish, Harpa, rake, harp. German Harfe, English.
Harp, Italian Harp.

4– Mention two outstanding performers of that instrument (at least one of them contemporary), mention-
going to a prominent interpreter of that instrument of Argentine nationality.

Among the two highlighted harp performers, I mention the Argentine Maria Cecilia Rodríguez, Soloist Harp Or-
this Philharmonic of Buenos Aires of the Colón Theatre, to Catrin Finch International Soloist and winner of pres-
outstanding awards in her instrument and to Heidi Van Hoesen Gorton Principal Harpist Symphony Orchestra
Toronto.

5 - Search for and bring a recording of that instrument played solo

VIDEOS:

MEDIEVAL ARPA - Video 9

Posted on YouTube on 09/13/2012 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-_Wzsvs1vg

Improvisation on the Gregorian hymn 'Ave Maris Stella' and the cantiga of Santa María by Alfonso X number
18 (13th century)
Medieval harp built by Francisco Luengo, following the two harps represented in the Portico of Glory.
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (12th century)

Duración: 5.14 min.

ARPA RENAISSANCE - Video 10

Published on YouTube on 12/21/2008 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUavmFj_FkQ

"Tarantela" de Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz, autor de "Luz y norte musical para caminar por las cifras de la guitarra
Spanish and the harp" (1677).
Intérpretes: Arianna Savall - Harpa
Pedro Estevan - Tambourine
Church of Plouaret, Festival of Lanvellec -- 10/13/2002

Duracion: 3.57 min

ARPA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC - Video 11

Published on YouTube on 9/6/2011 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-WEgj8bvw0

The Ships of Caernafon (The Ships of Caernafon) This song is from the new album by Catrin Finch using
effects and percussion on the Harp, it is a live recording at Brecon Theatre in England, on June 4, 2011.

Duración: 10.14 min

 ARPA POPULAR JAZZ MUSIC - Video 12

Published on Youtube the 14/11/2009 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA7mM128jqk

El Arpista en Jakez Francois en Jakez Francois plays jazz Harp - The Minstrel Suicide con J. Thomas / J.
Francois.
French Harp Days
Moscow, May 2009

Duracion: 2.51 min

ARPA GRAVIKORD - Video 13

Published on YouTube on 29/8/2007 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRdNBQCjQq8

Daniel Berkman performing 'A Piece of Heaven' on a Gravikord (electronic kora) on television.
Saint Francis was established on 12/12/98.

Duración: 3.24 min

ARPA LASER - Video 14- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnVIQe6O1zA

Posted on YouTube on 12/10/2012

Standing in Motion Show Laser Harp shooting sound effects and multimedia.

Duración: 6.09 min

Series of demonstration videos published on YouTube on the channel ThePedalHarp

Introduction to the Harp and Special Techniques. Videos 1 to 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Ramón Andrés: Dictionary of Musical Instruments Ed. VOX 1995

Roslyn Rensch : HARPS & HARPISTS

INTERNET:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp
http://soniaalvarez.webdelamusica.com/arpa.htm
http://www.yourharpist.com/harpworks.html