What’s your favorite-looking harp?

[Pat Eisenberger]

Opps! I just went back and read the other posts. It seems that someone else had the idea of a black and silver finish. Boy, I’d love to see that Style 23!

[unknown-user]

I adore Gothic-styled harps such as the Wurlitzer DDX, the L&H 3 (and the 26 to an extent), and my favourite – the Erard Gothics, especially the ones with the column with the carved spiral/twist. They’re the only gilded harps particularly I like, not really into the rather ornamented ones. I’ve seen pictures of Erard and Erard-style Gothics with gold and coloured finish, and they’re just gorgeous, like the polychrome decoration in Gothic cathedrals and castles. For modern pedal harps, the Bauhaus harp from Thurau harps, the Salvi Apollo (in glossy ebony), and the L&H Salzedo.

For non-pedal harps, I’m a big fan of Andrew Thom’s modern-styled harps (possibly rather biased because I have one!), and Peter Brough’s harps with the elegant narrow column and sweeping point. And most harps with a high-headed medieval-Gothic shape, too.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

If I could buy a new harp now, any model, it would be a toss-up between a style 3 or a Salzedo, and I think I would get the 3 first. I would rather get an original Salzedo with the original design.

[Jerusha Amado]

Saul,

Could you please

[michael-steadman]

Interesting to read these comments!

Personally, I still think the L&H Style 11 is the most elegant.

[Evangeline Williams]

On Howard Bryan’s site I like the blue/gold contrast on the 23 CG, as well as the blue Egan.

[unknown-user]

The original design of the Salzedo model has an extra-wide sounding board at the bottom end, as did the 11, but the Salzedo was the widest, as I recall, perhaps 21 3/4 inches. The column design is made of elements in numbers of five, five layers to the column, five levels from bottom to top. Recently, L & H added a sixth layer at the bottom of the column for their own reasons. They also narrowed the width of the sounding board to match the 23 for a more ideal sound, someone once told me. I suspect Salzedo’s concept was to capture some of the sound of a straight-sounding board, and combining it with the oomph of a wide bass. Now the effect is somewhat different.

[unknown-user]

The Thurau Bosch style harp takes some beating… in my dreams… I also adore the Eric Wolkenstein harp – it looks absolutely perfect.

In the real

[Jerusha Amado]

As far as the lever harp is concerned, I love the Thormahlen Cygnet, especially the graceful S curve in the neck!

Jerusha

[harpglo-jean]

Love the look of the “Anne” 26-string harp by Stoney End….

[David Ice]

Hi Jerusha,

I think that Vanderbilt Music/Eleanor Fell might be doing a remaster of Jack Nebergall’s recording AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’

At least that’s what memory tells me….but then again, I may need to up my medication again 🙂

[carl-swanson]

I missed this thread when it got started because I was in France. Well, I know I’m prejudiced, but I like the Swanson Empire, particularly the fully gilded in Antique Maple. I also love, and I mean really love the Art Nouveau instrument we built a few years ago. You can see all of these on the company web site, http://www.swansonharp.com. By the way, we’ve begun work on another Art Nouveau instrument.

[Anonymous]

I have yet to find a harp that approaches the slender elegance of the Erard Gothique.

[David Ice]

About a month ago I took delivery on a custom Venus Aria harp, with wide spacing and custom carving and gold leaf decorations on the back of the shell.

[don-hilsberg]

Now David!
Did your new Aria harp whisper its name to you like Dorothy Remsen said it would?

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