Harp

The harp is one of the oldest musical instruments. Even in the visual arts of the Cycladic civilization , the plot of a seated harpist was widespread. Such marble figurines date from 2800-2300 years BC. e. The earliest ancient Egyptian images of the harp date from about 2400 BC. e.

Typically distinguished arc , angular and frame harp ^[1] . For Europe, the most typical frame harp. The oldest written mention of harp ( lat. Harpa ), the oldest in Europe, is traditionally erected to Venantia Fortunatu (VI century A.D. ):

The Roman will give you praises on the lyre , the barbarian - on the harp, the Greek will sing you on the Achilles instrument, the British (or Breton ) - on the mouth .

Original text (lat.)

Romanusque lyra plaudat tibi, barbarus harpa,
Graecus achilliaca, chrotta Britanna canat

- ^[2]

K. Sachs and other researchers believe that the "Achilles instrument refers to an early (mentioned by Homer) type of lyre - helis .

•  

  Ancient Egyptian harp, 14th century BC e.

•  

  Assyrian Harp

•  

  Harp from the tomb in Ur , Mesopotamia ( Iraq ). Now exhibited at the British Museum

•  

  Harp in mosaic, Sassanid empire, 3rd century AD e.

Since the harp has already had a significant sound range (five octaves ), and there is not enough room for strings of the full chromatic scale , strings are stretched on the harp only to extract sounds of the diatonic scale. On a harp without pedals, you can play only two scales - in C major and A minor (only natural scale ). For chromatic enhancements in earlier times, strings had to be shortened by pressing the fingers of the neck; later, this pressing began to be produced using hooks set in motion by hand. Such harps were extremely uncomfortable for performers; These flaws were largely eliminated by the pedal mechanism invented by Jacob Hochbrucker in 1720. This master attached seven pedals to the harp, acting as conductors that passed through the empty space of the beam to the bar and there they brought the hooks into such a position that they, tightly adhering to the strings, produced chromatic enhancements in the entire volume of the instrument.

In 1810, Sebastian Erard improved the Hochbrucker mechanism and patented a double-pedal harp in Paris, which is currently used.

There is a kind of harp designed for playing together (four hands).

The first serial production of harps in the USSR was launched in 1948 in Leningrad at the AV Lunacharsky Musical Instrument Factory ^[3] .

•  

  , keyboard harp

•  

•  

  Mechanical harps, invention of the late 19th century

The harp has the shape of a triangle, the components of which are:

• Resonator box case with a length of approximately 1 meter, expanding downward; its former shape was quadrangular, its current rounded on one side; it is equipped with a flat deck (the lower semicircular part is made of maple (on inexpensive models - from hardwood plywood), and the upper one is made of spruce, and in the middle of it along the body is attached a narrow and thin solid wood lath with punched holes for piercing strings )
• Column (connects the loose ends of the resonator housing and the frame; may be absent).
• Ring frame on which strings are fixed.
• The base is the support of the harp.

The pedal harp also has main and pedal mechanisms. Usually has 46 strings: 35 synthetic and 11 metal. They are attached to the deck below the harp and to the pegs at the top. The strings of the Do notes are red, and the Fa is blue or black ^[4] .

•  

  Harpist with classical harp

•  

  Pedal gear

•  

  Harp pedals

• Andean (Native American, Peruvian) harp is a large instrument with a large volume of a resonating soundboard, which gives a special richness to the sound of the bass register. It is spread among the Indian peoples of the Andes : Quechua , Aymara ( Peru , Bolivia , Ecuador ). One of the most famous performers on the Andean harp was Juan Cayambé (Ecuador, the canton of Pimampiro , the province of Imbabura ^[5] ).
• Welsh harp - harp with three rows of strings.
• Irish harp , also a Celtic harp - a knee-drawn harp, a small-sized instrument ( Andrew Lawrence King is involved in research in this area).
• The reverse harp - has no pedals, the system changes when you turn the levers on the peg frame. The number of strings is 20–38.
• Pedal harp - the tuning changes when you press the pedals. It is a classic harp designed for professional performers.
• Saung is a Burmese and Mons arc harp.
• An electric harp is a type of pedal harp equipped with electronic pickups.

•  

  African

•  

  Andean harp

•  

  Burmese harp sound

The harp has been the political symbol of Ireland for many centuries. It was first used for the symbolic representation of Ireland in the Royal Flag of King of Scotland Jacob VI (aka King of England Jacob I ), and has since been featured in all the Royal Flags of England , Britain and the United Kingdom, although the image style has changed over time.

Since 1922, the Irish Free State has continued to use the harp as a state symbol imprinted on the Great Seal of Ireland, on the coat of arms , the Presidential Flag and the Presidential Seal, as well as in several other state symbols and documents. The harp is also depicted on Irish coins, from medieval to modern Irish euro coins.

• Bandas L.L., Kaplyuk A.A. Harp. Device and repair. - M .: Legprombytizdat, 1985 .-- 64 p.
• Gazaryan S.S. In the world of musical instruments. - M .: Education , 1989 .-- S. 145-150. - 192 p.

• Harp in the Great Russian Encyclopedia
• Harp // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890. - T. II. - S. 211.