Harpblog

rainbow harp

Thank you to Athy for these pictures of his special rainbow finish electric harp, catching the sun! He added a cover made out of holographic material.  Uncovered, the harp has a more subtle rainbow sheen, which you can view in detail here.

 

another new Camac harp

It is good to hear that Jane Berthe is enjoying her new Camac Harp! She came to our Paris showroom with her friend Line Gaudard, when Line was choosing two Atlantides for the Bern Symphony Orchestra back in 2008. 

"Line was enchanted by the harps and also bought a personal one for herself.  I was similarly impressed, particularly by the Atlantides in rosewood, and Eric Piron told me it would be no problem to organise a selection of rosewood harps for me to try.  All I had to do after that was sell my other harp, and choose!  My new harp arrived at my home in Germany at the end of February, and I am delighted with it.  In the Paris shop, the Camacs struck me as very personal harps - one will sound particularly fine for you."

You can find out more about Jane's work on her website, which features an especially nice recording of the Saint-Saëns Fantasie.  As well as a busy freelance career as a solo and orchestral harpist, Jane has several interesting chamber music projects with voice, cello, flute and flute/viola/harp trio - a great source of inspiration for programming ideas!

Anna Bella

If you're looking for a story today, what about Deborah Henson-Conant's Anna Bella and Piano Man Sam? You can also hear Deborah's recording of Anna Bella, and watch Jakez improvising on the same music.

Deborah will be at the Wales International Harp Festival next month, where she'll be launching the international publication of three new works for harp and chamber ensemble.  You can also read Harpblog's interview with her here. 

vessels of song: harp in the music of Giora Feidman

Camac recently lent Israeli harpist Hila Ofek an instrument for her recent concert and recording with Giora Feidman in Munich.  Giora Feidman, Hila‘s grandfather, is one of the most famous klezmer clarinettists in the world and I am a big fan of klezmer music anyway, so I enthusiastically went to the library to  take out all his CDs and do some research. 

The first thing I read was by a musicologist, Susan Bauer:  "the first time I heard klezmer…I thought:  this music sounds somehow close to me – somehow Bavarian, really."  I was just about to laugh when I realized it was true.  Not that klezmer has significant musicological links with Bavarian folk music, but that, regardless of their own culture, few people fail to be moved by klezmer. 

Indeed, klezmer has homes all over the world.  Its origins lie with the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe in the sixteenth century.  Their musicians were at first called Lezim, Lejzim or Lezanim, expressions which are found in the Talmud in connection with world music.  They were later known as Badchanim and finally, Klezmorim.  The Klezmorim were wandering musicians, who carried news and gossip as well as music from shtetl (the small, predominantly Jewish towns in pre-Holocaust Europe) to shtetl.

The Klezmorim performed largely dance music for Jewish weddings and other festivals, and also played a ceremonial role.  Their music was rooted both in religious aspects of Jewish culture, influenced by the local music wherever they happened to be, and also had a big Gypsy element.  The Klezmorim continued to gather strength until their hey-day in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  By this time, a wide and varied repertoire had been developed, and the word "klezmer" began to be used to describe their music as a genre, rather than simply the musicians ("a klezmer" is the singular form of "klezmorim"). 

Disneyharp

As we were saying in Glasgow last week, the blue harp is very versatile.  It is used extensively in jazz and pop, but also in classical music such as Schönberg, Hummel, Debussy, or - since 2008 - the first concerto for blue harp and orchestra.  It is also popular across the contemporary music spectrum, for example in  the pioneering work of Martine Flassier and her Trio Controverse, Elisabeth Valletti's video installations, the new folk music of Corrina Hewat or Mary Macmaster, and Catrin Finch's latest projects. 

In the commercial music world, the blue harp recently appeared on the soundtracks for Terminator Salvation and Casino Royale, played by Skaila Kanga.  It can be found in the desert, in the air, accompanying a giant spider and in practically every photograph of Athy that ever brought joy to womankind.  It even starred in Dita von Teese's recent show at the Gentry de Paris Revue.  

On March 6th, it entered the magic kingdom when Myriam Serfass went to play at Disneyland Paris!

Myriam was accompanying a traditional Welsh "cerdd dant" song as part of Disneyland Paris's annual Welsh festival.  The concert featured young singers in association with Urdd Gobaith Cymru, a Welsh-language youth organisation.  Five winners of the 2009 Urdd National Eisteddfod were selected to perform at Disneyland Paris.

It is great to find some of Wales's wonderful music tradition in Paris.  Urdd Gobaith Cymru approached Camac when they were looking for a harpist for the festival, and we suggested Myriam.  It is always a pleasure to be able to recommend harpists and harp teachers, so contact us if you need one, anywhere in the world!

one month to go until the Wales International Harp Festival!

The programme for the Wales International Harp Festival 2010 is now out, you can download it here!

Download Wales International Festival 2010 Programme

Don't forget that there is a special art auction on ebay of paintings by three of Wales's best-known living artists, who have donated their work to help fund the festival.  The sale ends on Thursday, March 11th at 1AM.

 

Ameylia Saad Wu recital, Italy

 

Ameylia Saad Wu, who was a prize winner in the Jakez François International Lever Harp Competition 2009, is giving a big recital in Italy on March 19th, 2010.  Organised by the Amici del Loggione del Teatro alla Scala, Ameylia's concert will take place at 9PM at 6 via Silvio Pellico, Milan, with an instrument provided by Camac Italia.  

The first half of the programme will comprise music (including songs - Ameylia is a fine singer as well as a harpist) influenced by Celtic music, and the second half will take more world music and contemporary directions.  Both halves include many of Ameylia's own compositions, and her new CD will be on sale after the concert - or, if you can't make it to Milan, is also available from Camac Harps.

A Camac harp debut

Bravo to Valérie Milot for this  super review - of the first concert she gave on her new Camac harp! 

Valérie writes: "yesterday, I gave my first concert on my new Camac in the Montcalm Palace, a magnificent hall in Quebec, as a soloist with Les Violons du Roy.  I had a lot of comments afterwards, all very positive, about the harp's exceptional sound.  And I particularly notice how quickly I got used to the new instrument.  I've had it for less than a month and yesterday, even with performance nerves, I felt totally at ease."

You can read more about Valérie's experience buying a Camac harp here. 

2nd International Competition, Slovenia: results

 

The results of the 2nd International Competition of the Harpist Association of Slovenia are now out!  Congratulations to all prizewinners, and to competition organiser Dalibor Bernatović and his team. 

Read on to find out more...

Starting young in Berlin!