The old Irish harp comes from a time when music could be magical...

@@annheymann your playing truly is magical. 🎶🎵🎶

"No. The Irish harp cannot be brought back to life; 'Tis dead for ever! And even the music which it had created will never be felt again as it has been felt. But it won't die. A few minds, possessing the deeper sensibilities of our nature, and strong enough to spurn the deadening influences of fashion will always be found whom in the enjoyment of such music, will look for a solace amidst " 'The fretful stir and fever of the world'". Eugene O'Curry quoting George Petrie in a lecture delivered June 26, 1862.

Yes I think 🤔 your Right mate 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🇮🇪☘️🙏🏻(The Virgin Soldier)at your Service.

Thank you for watching and we are glad you enjoyed it.

Hey Brendan, it's not too late... ; -D

Hi Ann - Loving the way you play! This is so lovely and moving 🎶

Thank you!

Our pleasure, Jochen!

@@historicalharp Is this the correct size for an Irish harp

Dearest Bob-I'm so very honoured...and you obviously hear, but feel the cláirseach's voice.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Yes. Played with fingernails. Also search Paul Dooley harp.

You can tell by the tone, of course it is. Most often, 'clàrsach' is used to indicate this with clarity, but 'early Irish harp' does so equally well, and it's clear what it is based on the sound and build of the harp in question. The description also makes this quite explicit and doubtless. The clàrsach is not the only wire-strung harp, and similar instruments such as the lyre and zither are, as well, so it's not the most helpful proposed marker for clarity, much though it is common currency in the revivalist community. It's really an unhelpful gripe.

@@Communitis I think they were just saying that it would improve the visibility of the video, so more people can watch it.

@@patrickstone8675 Oh, well, of course. But there are better recommendations for improving its visibility, like adding tags and such. Clarsach would be more searched, which is why I mentioned that.

Sounds as if you could be Right mate 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🧑🏻John ☘️🇮🇪The Slanite’ Kid.

Yes, metal strung, entirely 22, 20, 18 & 14 K gold... strings of ór, airgid & umha [gold, silver, copper] but of course alloyed (none of the pure ores will hold a pitch) and the main alloy is umha/copper. However, Ireland was/is? rich in Calamine ore--copper ore, naturally enriched with zinc oxide; a "special ore" that led to the early development of great functioning music wire. Also, it is the main alloy for Sterling Silver (the narrow window in which silver strings work) and gold. My favorite guess is that findruine [an undetermined old Irish precious/semiprecious metal) is roughly an 18K gold/silver alloy. I've not yet tried this, but gold, in a variety of karats is exceedingly flexible with its alloy partners.

Cumha a' Chléirich

@@carthachofaolain7365 Thanks for that. It's almost twice as long as the version on Cruit go nÓr - which I don't own (yet). It's an amazingly powerful piece of music.

Translated it's "Lament for the Cleric" (Clergyman or possibly Poet )

@@annheymann Most likely Cleric

David Kortier, in Duluth, Minnesota, USA.

David Kortier did make this harp-according to my design; inspired by the St. Mogue harp, which tho small, has all the robust features required to support the high tension of a full gamut of metal strings. The Latin Vulgate says the Merlin played a harp strung in fine gold, and here is proof positive of that not being implausible.

Oh, and I decorated the harp. With the Trinity College harp as a starting point, the neck features the solar calendar/Zodiak on the right and the Coligny lunar calendar on the left side of the neck, but imbedded within the design are all sorts of formulae...I sort of went overboard...

Smaller harps might be easier to transport

Absolutely... and I designed the soundbox to be a tad narrower than what I'd envision for this historical projection-but it was to ensure that it'd fit in the overhead of regional jets...I also decided to have it entirely of willow, rather than of a willow soundbox, and say an oak neck and pillar, keeping it light for easy holding between the calves (I don't believe in the concept of lap harps), at least when it comes to Irish harps... because the practice puts the player's hands/fingers in a poor position for fingernail technique.