Camac Egerie’s “new Camac sound”?

[sarafigal]

Who has played the Egerie, built with the newer Camac architecture? I’m curious about whether the sound is significantly different from the Clio (other than having more strings). I really want a small harp with a straight soundboard and 40 or 44 strings are plenty, but I’m curious about whether the “new Camac sound” is worth scaling up and taking on an additional 12 pounds.There is no way I can get access to both to play them, so I’d love to hear from others.

[balfour-knight]

I would love to know this, too. The advantage of the Egerie would be that you would have the full 47 string range of the pedal harp. We have not traveled much since the beginning of the pandemic, so I have not yet experienced the new Egerie. If it is like my glorious Atlantide Prestige in design, then I would heartily recommend it!

Harp Hugs,

Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[sarafigal]

Balfour and Carol Lynn,

Have you seen the PR on the Camac design elements? There is an interesting interview with Jakez Francois about the changes to harp building that they made initially with the Canopee and Nouveau. Then, in an act of “democratization,” they decided to introduce the Egerie with the same new sound box design and its “new sound.” If you google “interview Camac Egerie,” you’ll find various platforms sharing that video interview.

Best,
Sara

[balfour-knight]

Hi, Sara Lynn,

Thanks so much for pointing us to that nice video of Jakez telling about the new Egerie. It is a very good interview, and explains why they phased out the Athena and created this new model. Since my Atlantide is new enough to already have this type of construction, I heartily endorse the concept behind this glorious French sound. I think that is exactly what made me fall in love with this harp! To have this new construction technique, based on the antique Erard harps, and to be able to make it more affordable, seems to be the goal of Camac with the Egerie. Now, let’s hear from those harpists who have tried out and own the new model!

Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[avdhoeven]

Here is a sound example from the Camac Art Nouveau played by my son. It sounds really very nice:

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by avdhoeven.

[balfour-knight]

Hello Andre!

So nice to see your post here! It is such a pleasure to see Davy growing up into such a fine young man and a wonderful harpist. His technique and tone production are most excellent on this beautiful Camac. I remember that he liked the new Egerie model, also, and that you posted something a while back of him playing that harp. Thank you so much for sharing this video with all of us. You all must be very proud of Davy and all his hard work!

Best wishes, my friends,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[cblack]

I just played an Égérie and an Atlantide side by side and the Égérie is actually better. It’s richer, clear but not too bright. The Atlantide felt stiff in comparison. I now have a major dilemma because I love traditional frilly harps and the Égérie is fairly plain and modern, aesthetically, but the sound is truly lovely.

[balfour-knight]

You qualify for the Trianon or the gold Oriane! However, my particular Atlantide Prestige beats them all, in my humble opinion. Enjoy trying out many harps in order to find the harp of your dreams, Cblack!

Wishing you all the best,
Balfour

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