list of recordings and books of interest for beginning harpists

[faith-lewis–2]

I’m looking for a list of recordings of harp music, dvds

[tony-morosco]

I think it would depend on their ages. Are you looking for books on how to play the harp, or books on history or culture?

My first introduction in terms of instructional material was the Fun From the First books. I highly recommend them.

For more history and culture:

The Harp of Ireland: The Belfast Harper’s Festival 1792 and the Saving of Ireland’s Harp Music by Edward Bunting, by Grainne Yeats

Grainne also has a double CD recording of her performing a combination of the music played at the festival as well as some other great Irish harp pieces.

Another great book on Irish harp history is The Story of the Irish Harp: Its History and Influences, by Nora Joan Clark.

And for anyone into O’Carolan’s music they absolutely have to read Carolan, The Life And Times Of An Irish Harper, by Donal O’Sullivan.

Moving away from Irish to more general harp stuff, Harps and Harpists (Revised Edition) by Roslyn Rensch is an absolute must. A very comprehensive and beautifully done book. And my copy came with a CD that has some great examples of harp music.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Carlos Salzedo was a major player in the contemporary popularization of the Harp. The Biography, Carlos Salzedo: From Aeolian to Thunder, by Dewey Owens is excellent. I haven’t read the other biography just released, Pentacle: The Story of Carlos Salzedo and the Harp, by Marietta Bitter, yet. But I hear great things about it, and Saul wrote the introduction so it has to be good.

Although not specifically about the harp there is also no denying that for many people all they know about the harp comes from watching the Marx Brothers movies, and Harpo Marx’s autobiography, Harpo Speaks, is an absolutely fascinating read. Oh, he talks about the harp and

[faith-lewis–2]

Tony,

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Though not harp-specific, I highly recommend Philip Johnston’s The Practice Revolution or Not Until You’ve Done Your Practice (for the younger kids). I also love Dr. Carrol McLaughlin’s Power Performance. As far as recordings go, there are so many to choose from and now you can browse the internet and listen to some tracks before buying.

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