Genesis of the Harp

From African origins and perhaps inspired by the sound of a plucked string along the hunter’s bow (Fig. 1.1), the strings of a weaving loom, or maybe even the frame of a house ⁵, harp-like instruments developed idiosyncratically throughout the world. Harps are acknowledged as the first documented wooden instruments, with surviving examples from 3,000 BCE. ⁶

Throughout this dissertation, a liberal definition of the harp will be used, including instruments such as the Ethiopian krar and Chinese guzheng, which some argue are lyres and zithers/psaltries respectively, rather than variations of harp.

The Ancient Greek word ψαλτήριον (psaltērion) means "stringed instrument, psaltery, harp," derived from the verb ψάλλω (psallō), "to touch sharply, to pluck, pull, twitch” ⁷, demonstrating the ancient overlap between these instruments. Another harp nomenclature variation is the bridge-harp, a term coined by Roderic Knight (examples are the kora, or arguably the guzheng) where the strings pass over a bridge that transmits soundwaves to the soundboard.

Since their construction, tone, plucking action, intention of expression, and position in society are recognizably harp-like, instruments such as lyres, psaltries/zithers, and bridge harps will be examined as valuable sources of artistic expression for modern harpists and composers.

Strictly speaking, harps include a neck, resonator and strings. By this definition, there are three types of true harp: arched, angular and frame, with great variation in size, materials used and manner of playing.

The oldest of these is the arched harp, also called a 'bow harp' or ‘open harp,’ and resembles a hunter’s bow with additional strings and a resonator (often a gourd) attached. We find examples of arched harps all over the world, from Africa to India to Asia, where the Burmese harp (Fig. 1.2) is still played and held in high regard today.

To allow a greater range of strings and increased tuning stability, an additional arm was attached between strings and resonator to create a “V”: this type is known as the 'angle/angular harp’ (Fig. 1.3).  Angular harps emerged around 1900 BCE-1700BCE, and by 1400BCE already had up to 20 strings, in contrast to arched harps’ more limited range of less than 10. ⁸
Angular harps can be held horizontally or vertically: the former generally has fewer strings and is played with a plectrum while the latter has more strings and is plucked with fingers. (Ibid.)

Later, in Europe we find a pillar, or third side, added to the harp, creating the familiar ‘frame harp’ or ‘triangular harp’ (Fig. 1.4) around the 9th century CE. ¹⁰ This shape has become the main harp design we find today in pedal and lever harps, due to great stability in terms of tuning, wide range of strings/pitches, and its ability to stand upright on its own.

In all cases, harps are made primarily of wood, although we also see extensive use of metal hardware and strings (bronze, steel, gold, silver), animal skin soundboards and toggles, gut, hair and silk strings. Modern harps also make use of various plastics in the form of hardware, glue, nylon strings, carbon bodies and strings, fiberglass sound boxes, and even electronics. 

Experimentation in harp design is an ancient art, as we hear from Peter Pringle:

Although the early harp is often associated with Celtic culture, in fact, the harp was known and celebrated long before the Celts adopted it as their emblematic instrument.

One of the oldest musical discoveries ever shows a harp-like instrument on rock paintings dating back to c.15,000 BCE in France ¹², as well as rock etchings from c.4000 BCE in what is present-day Israel (Fig. 1.5).

Harps appear in paintings from 4000 BC in Egypt ¹³; harp is the most frequently depicted instrument in ancient Egyptian art, demonstrating its high status.¹⁴ 

The famous Harp of Ur in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) is an extremely rare physically surviving instrument, and is now over 5,500 years old.

The harp traveled widely, spanning out in all directions from African origins.

Lily Press ¹⁵ observes representations of ancient harps in Greece, North Africa (especially Egypt), what is now called the Middle East, Afghanistan, India, China, and Burma.

The Silk Road was a key route of dissemination for the harp, as were later roads of influence via trade and conquest such as Muslim presence in North Africa and Spain.

Spiritual journeys also played a role; the harp was introduced to Asia mainly via Bhuddist teachings. ¹⁶ 

The harp also evolved wherever it found itself. Although the most ancient traditions in harp are found in Africa, where more than 100 harp traditions have been documented ¹⁷, examples of possible indigenous harp creation can be found in the steppe region:

Musical bows consist of a string stretched between the two ends of a flexible stave, and are the most basic type of arched harp, identified above as the oldest, original harp. There are three variations: bows with a separate resonator; bows with attached resonators (Fig. 1.6); and mouth bows, which use changes in the player’s embouchure to affect resonance. ¹⁹ These bows are sounded by plucking or striking the string, can be bowed with a friction stick, scraped with a rattle stick, or sounded by exhaling and inhaling across the stave. ²⁰ Often, a buzzing mechanism is incorporated, which we will later encounter in the much younger Gothic European harps as well.

The lyre is the next most common harp in Africa. In Ethiopia and Eritrea we find two types: the large begena with 8-10 strings and a box-shaped body (corresponding to the ancient Greek kithara and almost identical to the Harp of Ur, Fig. 1.7) plus the smaller six-string krar, with a bowl-shaped body (resembling the Greek lyra).  Both these instruments are played with a combination of plucking with fingers, strumming with a plectrum, and dampening unwanted strings with the non-playing hand.

The lyre was well-represented during the classical era in Greece, Rome, and Israel. These lyres expanded upon African lyres by experimenting with sound boxes of different sizes, shapes, and materials, larger numbers of strings and modes of attaching them, as well as affixing bells and vibrato mechanisms. Michalis Georgiou of Cyprus' life work is reconstructing these instruments, and the variations are astonishing, in turn allowing great artistic scope which we will explore in Chapter 3.

Somewhat similar in shape to African spike harps such as the kontingo, simbingo, donso ngoni, kamaleng ngoni, bolon or bolombato but otherwise unrelated, ²¹ the sophisticated kora of the Mande people of West Africa is classified as a harp-lute or bridge-harp, and is extremely popular today worldwide (Fig. 1.8). The first literature reference we find to the kora is during the late 18th century, by Scottish explorer Mungo Park (Ibid.) 

The kora's strings lie in two parallel ranks, rising on either side of a vertical bridge which has a notch for each string, sporting 21 strings in total. The strings are attached to the neck with plaited leather thongs (as with some of the most ancient harps such as the Bull Lyre of Ur), or in recent practice are sometimes connected to guitar machine heads. Occasionally levers are affixed, as with neo-Celtic harps. The long neck passes through a large, hemispherical gourd resonator covered with a leather sounding board. The neck varies from less than a meter to almost 1.5 meters. A crossbar supports two vertical handles which fingers 3, 4, and 5 hold onto - the playing fingers are 1 and 2 (always surprising to learn, as kora music sounds very full-textures - more on how this effect is created later).

Below (Fig. 1.9) is a diagram of kora string rank layout with corresponding pitches in SATB notation:

Lyres emerged in Mesopotamia around 2650 BCE. For the first three centuries they were large ("bull lyres”, as seen in Fig. 1.7) and approximately one meter high. Smaller, portable lyres became standard after 2000 BCE. Despite being easily carried, lyres did not spread much east of Iran. ²³ 

Today we still find lyres and harps in use. The simsimiyya of Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen, descended from Bedouin tribes (Fig. 1.10) has between 5-25 strings, most commonly 19 atrings. The junuk (Fig. 1.11), a fairly small angular harp, is an instrument of the desert, therefore easily transportable and still in use today. ²⁴ 

The peripatetic nature of harps is demonstrated in this quote:

Considered throughout many cultures and eras a sacred instrument, we find frequent depictions of the angular harps in ancient Egyptian art, which often has a sacred tone (Fig. 1.14).

Growing in size as time went on, we see a Turkish angular harp painted by Danish artist Melchior Lorck in 1576, featuring more than 30 strings (Fig. 1.15).

Although there are many poetic descriptions of the Persian çeng, there are no surviving specimens nor detailed descriptions. The late 17th-century Ottoman traveler and writer Evliya Çelebi described the çeng as "a large instrument in the shape of an elephant's trunk" (i.e. L-shaped) sometimes with as many as 40 strings. ²⁶ New York-based Japanese harpist Tomoko Sugawa has also been involved in the reconstruction and performance of the Persian harp, terming hers a kugo (built by Bill & Catherine Campbell). We will learn about Sugawa's repertoire in Chapter 3. A recent reconstruction, supported by the International Art & Architecture Research Association and UN-HABITAT, of the Persian harp (çeng/chang) took 22,000 hours of research and an additional 7,500 hours of physical labor to complete. ²⁷

Another proponent of instrument reconstruction is Fikret Karakaya, who has rebuilt an Ottoman çeng and specializes in classical Turkish repertoire. He incorporates an innovative latch system to meet the tuning demands of multiple scales and temperaments (Fig. 1.16).

The santoor (Fig. 1.17), although not always considered a harp due to its construction, appears to have originated in Persia and from there fanned out to Turkey where it is known as the kanun, Greece, where it became a santuri, in Hungary and Romania the cimbalom, and India where it is called the swarmandal. This instrument will be discussed further in section 1.3c below.

By borrowing the Turkish kanun's mandals (tuning levers), a modern hybrid çeng has been designed by Turkish artist/instrument maker Feridun Öngören in collaboration with Robert Labaree, as described and depicted (Fig. 1.18) below. This hybrid çeng also features long strings extending past the bridge which allow pitch bending, similar to the Chinese guzheng described below in section 1.3d.

Returning to santoors/kanuns, all are trapezoidal in shape and are played held on the lap or on a stand. Turkish kanuns have 26 courses of strings, with three strings per course (like the piano) and a range of three and a half octaves. They are played by plucking the strings with two picks, one in each hand, by the fingernails, or with hammers, as with the Hungarian cimbalom and American hammered dulcimer.

As mentioned above, the kanun features latches/levers for each course called mandals. These small levers are raised or lowered quickly by the performer while the instrument is being played to change pitch. While Armenian kanuns feature half tones and Arabic qanuns quarter tones, typical Turkish kanuns divide the semitone into 6 equal parts, yielding 72 equal divisions (commas) of the octave. Not all divisions are available on the Turkish kanun, however, since mandals are only affixed for the most common maqamat (scales). Some kanun makers choose to divide the semitone of the lower registers into 7 parts instead for microtonal subtlety at the expense of octave equivalences. Hundreds of mandal configurations are at the player's disposal when performing on an ordinary Turkish kanun. ²⁹

Before the Silk Road became active, arched harps known as vina/veena were found in India, ³⁰ either emerging indigenously or imported from Africa; after the route opened angular harps also appeared. As Roderic Knight states ³¹, arched harps spanned the entire length and breadth of India from the 2nd century BCE.

Ancient Tamil Sahgam literature mentions the yaal (another term for harp) in 200 BCE. It is considered the first instrument played by the Tamil people, with further evidence from statues and other iconic sources from 500 BC depicting people playing this harp. Later texts from the 9th century CE also discuss arched harps ranging from 7 to 21 strings, shaped either as a peacock, a bow, or a head resembling a Yali/Leogryph, reminding us of the worldwide collation of mythology and harp.

Today, an arched harp is still in use in India: played with a plectrum and called the bin-baja, a probable variation of vina (Fig. 1.19).

Most likely imported from Persia via the Silk Route, we find the swarmandal/surmandal (“Swara” means a musical note and "Mandal" means a multitude or group ³²), which bears a strong resemblance to the santoor/kanun. Although considered a minor instrument in Indian music, these harps have a long presence in India. There is no standard size or number of strings for a swarmandal  (Fig. 1.20). One tunes the swarmandal to the particular raga being performed, as it has no levers or other pitch-altering accessories. It is generally used as a drone instrument  - much like the tanpura - to accompany vocalists, although it sometimes functions as a solo instrument. ^{33 34}

The Burmese harp has survived to this day; also known as the saung-gauk, it is the national instrument of Burma (Fig. 1.21). As with many harps it became associated with royal courts, with the harpist holding high status there. It sports 16 nylon (formerly silk) low-tension strings (in Thailand it is known as the pin-nam-tao and has 15 strings) attached to the arch via braided rings, similar to traditional kora stringing. 

The Burmese harp can be up to 80 cm long, 16 cm wide, and 16 cm deep, with an arch rising about 60 cm from the body. It has a treated goatskin soundboard, with the rest of the body being treated lacquered wood. It arrived approximately 500 CE from India ³⁷; today there are only 5-6 harp makers left in Burma ³⁸  (Fig. 1.22).

This harp is played sitting on the floor or in a chair with the harp body in the lap and the arch by the left hand. String orientation is the opposite of lever and pedal harps; on the Burmese harp, the lowest pitched strings are closest to the player's eyes while the highest pitch strings are furthest away. The strings are plucked with the right-hand fingers reaching in from the outside perspective, and the elbow hangs free of the harp body (Ibid.).

Side note: Steppe harps flourished before Buddhism entered East Asia. These harps were not associated with Buddhism, nor did they appear on Silk Road paintings ³⁹,  suggesting an indigenous origin. An example is the changi, a horizontal angular harp found today in Georgia (Fig. 1.23).

The guzheng (Fig. 1.24) dates back to at least 500 BCE and is the most popular type of harp in Asia today. It has many descendants all over Asia, such as the koto of Japan, the kayagum of Korea, and the dan tranh of Vietnam. It is a plucked string instrument with 12-26 movable bridges: the standard one used today has 21 bridges. Originally, silk strings were used; these have been replaced with steel strings or steel cores wrapped with nylon. The player plucks the strings on the right-hand side of the bridge with the right hand while the left hand presses the strings on the left-hand side of the bridge, producing glissando bending tones and variations of vibrato. ⁴⁰

In the 20th century, the demand rose for a national instrument rooted in ancient times yet contemporary in construction and function. In 1964, the konghou was revived in Shenyang, China, and during the 1980s several Chinese musical instrument factories began producing a hybrid konghou combining elements from the guzheng, pipa (lute), qin (mandolin), and pedal harp (Fig. 1.25). 

Featuring double-row string ranks and double-action pedals, the konghou can easily play a 12-tone scale, expanding beyond the pentatonic scale focus of much of traditional Asian music. The konghou can be played with the characteristic traditional Chinese technique of ‘Yin, An, Swing' found in guzheng and pipa playing, which decorates and prolongs the melody. Each of the double rows has 36 strings, making 72 strings total; each string has a bridge set in the middle of the soundboard. Strings (silk twisted over steel) of both ranks cross the bridges and are tied to the back of the sound box. By playing a string on one side and pressing the string of the same pitch on the other side, multiple ornamentations and vibratos are produced. The modern konghou, with its double rows of strings, adjustable soundbox, and multiple bridges, melds traditional Chinese music with contemporary techniques and expression. ⁴¹

Early Celtic harps were often carved out of one piece of wood and strung with bronze or gut strings. ⁴³ Wire-strung harps featured iron, brass, silver, and gold, allowing a distinctive bell-like timbre. As mentioned above, very few harps survive physically, but we do have three pre-16th century examples: the Brian Boru harp in Trinity College, Dublin (Fig. 1.26), plus the Queen Mary and Lamont harps in Scotland. 

Although Celtic harps had practically died out, the 1960s onwards brought a major harp revival in Ireland and beyond.  Composer Sean O’Riada (1931-1971) revived interest in traditional Irish music, particularly that of the last Irish harper-bard, Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738). Alan Stivell of Brittany continues to popularize the bronze-strung harp and more recently, the electric harp. Ann Heymann focuses on reconstructing ancient Celtic harps of many types, along with investigating their repertoires and techniques.  Harp makers such as Jay Witcher, David Kortier, Ardival Harps, Joël Herrou, and many others have been key to this harp revival.

Modern neo-Celtic harps/lever harps (there is much discussion around the naming of these new harps) are a hybrid of many worldwide and historical influences and are possibly the most popular non-pedal harps today.

Levers, somewhat similar to kanun mandals, allow harps to be played in multiple keys and tunings in different octaves, as well as engage in interesting effects such as lever/note bending.  Innovations in neo-Celtic/lever harp construction occur continuously, with some of the most important being:

Other innovations include John Westling’s stringing of the lowest 11 strings directly into the base of the harp, relieving the soundboard of over 600lbs of tension, allowing for a thinner, more dynamically responsive soundboard (Fig. 1.27).

An innovation that strangely has not gained wide popularity is the Douglas/Dilling single-action lever harp (Fig. 1.28) championed by harpist Mildred Dilling (1894-1982) in collaboration with luthier Arsalaan Douglas Fay. Inspired by John Egan of Dublin’s early 19th century Royal Portable Irish Harp, it functions similarly to a single-action pedal harp but is much smaller. It has 7 levers affixed to the harmonic curve of the harp, one lever for each note of the diatonic scale. These levers change all similar pitches at the same time: the engaged C lever raises all C strings to the sharpened (C#) position in one move. This contrasts with the typical lever harp where each C must be sharpened individually

These are just a few of the innovations harps have undergone in recent decades; more will be discussed in later chapters.

Looking further back in time, on the continent during the Gothic era and increasingly during the Renaissance, harps increased pitch range, especially in the bass, resulting in large instruments. Accidentals were achieved by pressing the string with fingers against the neck, a technique used by Latin American harpists today with fingers, tuning wrenches, and other devices. 

Another Gothic development was the bray harp. Said to ‘bray like a donkey’, these harps are fitted with tiny L-shaped wooden pegs (Fig. 1.29). The ancient Ethiopian begena features leather toggles at the bottom of each string which create a similar sound to bray pins, and the reconstructed Lyres of Ur also feature this device.

Multi-course/multi-row harps are another European variation on instruments like the African kora or Middle Eastern kanun, featuring multiple parallel or crossing rows of strings. 

Double-strung harps have two parallel rows of strings, each row dedicated to a separate hand. Usually tuned diatonically, there are of course many possible tuning variations. Having rows allows the performer interesting effects such as rapid clear echoing without staccato or buzzing, and distinct polyphonic lines, to name a couple.

The triple harp (Fig. 1.30) features three rows of strings. The outer rows are tuned similarly and diatonically, like the double-strung harp, and the additional inner row of strings is tuned to pitches that we would call accidentals (similar to the black keys of a piano, roughly). We first see this instrument in 16th century Italy, after which it migrated to Wales and became the national instrument there.

The cross-strung harp features two rows of strings, one diatonic and the other filling out the chromatic scale. The strings cross without touching about two-thirds of the way up the string length (Fig. 1.31). Another tuning option is the isomorphic system, which moves in sequential half-steps. The first mention of cross-strung harps is Spanish music scholar Juan Bermudo's Declaración de Instrumentos Musicales from 1555.

Looking toward pedal harps, perhaps the most visible harps in the modern world due to their role in orchestras, the genesis of this harp was during the second half of the 17th century, primarily in Germany.

Single-course "hook" pedal harps were fitted with manually turned hooks that fretted individual strings, raising their pitch a half step.

In the 18th century, a link mechanism connecting the hooks with seven pedals (one for each diatonic pitch) was created, and the single-action pedal harp was born. Jacob Hochbrucker (1673–1763, Bavaria) has been most credited for this invention. 

Later, a second row of hooks was installed along the neck, capable of raising the pitch of a string by either one or two half steps, allowing a fully chromatic harp (Fig. 1.32). Called the double-action pedal harp by its patent-holder Sebastien Erard (1752–1831, France), it became the standard option for classical and jazz playing today.

1.3f Latin American Harps

In Latin America, Engel tells us that the ancient Peruvians had a five or seven string lyre, demonstrating once more the wide distribution of this instrument, and pointing to possible indigenous origins again. ⁴⁶

Today, the Latin American harp (Fig. 1.33) is found all over the continent and resembles Spanish Renaissance harps (from which it was derived via Spanish conquerors and clergy). This harp borrows from other instruments and musical traditions – an interesting example of a fully formed Western harp being transformed musically and physically upon encountering another culture.

Light in both construction and string tension, its strings are placed close together and played with nails, creating a rapid, brilliant sound.

Paraguayan harps, a national instrument and possibly the most popular Latin American harp in general, usually are large, with approximately 36 strings and a wide, deep soundbox that tapers sharply.  They do not stand upright when unattended and can be played standing up or sitting down.  Some models now feature guitar machine heads and/or levers for tuning.

Being extra light, the Arpa Peruana/Peruvian harp is often played upside down, sitting on the harpist's shoulder so that he/she can walk (an interesting throwback to vertical angular harps soundbox orientation) (Fig. 1.34).

Additional popular Latin American harps are the Arpa Llanera (harp of the plains) of Venezuela and Colombia which features Joropo music, the Arpa Tuyero of Venezuela which features metal strings, and the Arpa Jarocha/Mexican harp (similar to the Paraguayan harp) used in Jarocho music. 

There are also examples of Latin American harps with middle strings removed to facilitate percussion on soundboard by a second performer, reminding us of the kora's konkondiro technique described in Chapter 3.