The 17th
century
O'Fogarty
harp
(photo:A&C
Heymann)

The extant historical instruments have to be the basis for understanding the music and traditions of the Gaelic harp. There are 18 instruments surviving from before 1800AD, the earliest dating from medieval times.

Because these originals are preserved in museums and are too fragile to string and play, musicians today wanting to play an early Gaelic harp are dependent on modern instrument makers producing accurate and high-quality replicas.

Complementing the surviving instruments, there are pictures in contemporary art but they can rarely be taken at face value; rather than being a photographic record of the world at the time, they are likely to be copied from other pictures or modified to make a rhetorical point.

A typical early Gaelic harp is made from three large pieces of wood: the soundbox (com) carved from a block of willow; the neck (corr) which bears the tuning pegs, and the forepillar (lamhcrann) which supports the far ends of the neck and soundbox. These three components fit together without the use of glue, being held firmly together by the tension of the 29 or more metal strings. A thin wooden panel closes the hollow back of the soundbox.

When being played, the instrument rests on the projection at its base, and is steadied between the knees of the player. When not in use it has to be laid on its back.

Simon Chadwick