Clàrsach

Clàrsach Scots Gaelic, Cláirseach Middle Irish are the Gaelic words for 'a harp'. The word clarsach is used in Scottish English and the word cláirseach is used in Irish Language to refer to a variety of small Irish and Scottish harps.

The use of this word in English, and the varieties of harps that it describes, is very complex and often causes arguments or disagreements between different groups of harp-lovers.

The Irish form of the word is Cláirseach; this word has an overlapping but much smaller usage in English.

By and large the word Clàrsach in English, is equivalent to the term Irish harp, the former being preferred in Scottish contexts and the latter in Irish contexts.

The precise Gaelic term for the harp of the Gael is clàirseach Ghàidhealach (Sc.)/cláirseach Ghaelach (Ir.), meaning Gaelic harp.

Gaelic words for harps

Clàrsach is the (Gd.) originally Clàir Shioleach or willow board ^[1] ^[2] and later as Cláirseach in (Irish) versions, attested in written sources from the 14th century. An older word is cruit, ^[3]

The historical clarsach or Irish harp

The early history of the triangular frame harp in Europe is contested. However the oldest authentic harps to survive are of Gaelic provenance: the Trinity College Harp preserved in Trinity College Dublin, and the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. All three are dated approximately to the 15th century and are considered to have been made in Argyll in South-West Scotland ^[4]

The characteristic features of the historical clarsach or Irish harp are its strings of metal wire, usually brass but possibly also gold and silver^[5]. These are attached to a massive soundbox typically carved from a single log of willow, a reinforced curved pillar and a substantial neck, flanked with thick brass cheek bands. Usually played with the fingernails, it produced a brilliant ringing sound.

Existing Examples

Three medieval Gaelic harps survived into the modern period, two from Scotland (the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp) and one in Ireland (the Trinity College harp, sometimes romantically called the Brian Boru harp). Artistic evidence from study of the decorative designs on the instruments implies that all three were probably made in the western Highlands. ^[6] Opportunities for the Trinity harp to travel across the Irish Sea from Scotland into Ireland were, many, varied, and extremely colourful. ^[7] There are at least 15 other early Gaelic harps dating from post medieval times to c.1800; though most are in Ireland and are usually assumed to be Irish, many have no provenance.

Importance in Society

Until the end of the Middle Ages the historical clarsach or Irish harp was the highest status musical instrument of both Scotland and Ireland, and harpists were amongst the most prestigious cultural figures amongst Irish and Scottish kings and chiefs. In both countries, the harpist enjoyed special rights and played a crucial part in ceremonial occasions such as coronation and poetic recital.

The main function of the historical clarsach or Irish harp in medieval Scotland and Ireland seems to have been playing to accompany the recitation of bardic poetry in Gaelic or Irish.

Especially popular in 16^th and 17^th century English courts, the historical clarsach or Irish harp was played all over Europe. It was developed in the 17th century and made by Mack Helvin. The instrument was made of wood and metal, producing a pleasant tone when played.

Decline and extinction

As the Gaelic social order collapsed from the 17^th century, harpers were no longer retained by patrons; instead their numbers declined and they became itinerant singer-songwriters touring a circuit of lesser patrons. The famous Irish harper Carolan was such an itinerant singer-songwriter, accompanying his songs on a wire-strung harp.

By the 18th century the historical Scottish clarsach was extinct in Scotland, and the Irish harp died out in Ireland in the early 19th century. The last bearers of the tradition, Denis Hempson and others, played their music for Edward Bunting at Belfast in 1792, allowing it to be written down. Bunting published the music arranged for piano and his notebooks disappeared into the archives.

The modern clarsach or Irish harp

In the early 19th century, even as the old Gaelic harp tradition was dying out, a completely new harp tradition was invented in Ireland. ^[8] This Irish harp had gut strings and semitone mechanisms like an orchestral pedal harp, and was invented by Dublin pedal harp maker John Egan and marketed to aristocratic ladies. It was small and curved like the historical clarsach or Irish harp, but its strings and soundbox were modern.

In the 1890s a similar new harp was also developed in Scotland for the cultural Gaelic revival. ^[9]

These new instruments were popular and formed the basis of the 20th century revival in Ireland, Scotland and across the world. In Scotland they are called clarsach though in Ireland they are usually called Irish harp not cláirseach. Elsewhere they are called Celtic harp or folk harp or small harp or lever harp. Some have gut strings like the 19th century originals but many have nylon or carbon-fiber instead.

The revival of the early clàrsach and early Irish harp

Since the 1970s there has been a deliberate revival of the older wire-strung instrument, based on Early Music principles and using replica instruments and period playing techniques. Largely the work of one person, Ann Heymann, this movement is characterised by the use of accurate replicas of the museum instruments, fitted with brass, silver and gold wire strings, and using repertory and techniques taken from Edward Bunting's manuscripts and other historical sources. The main annual event is Scoil na gCláirseach held in Kilkenny every August. Important CDs featuring historical music played authentically on replica medieval harps are Ann Heymann's Cruit go nÓr and Simon Chadwick's Clàrsach na Bànrighe. However the early clarsach remains much less popular than its modern rival.

References

^ Divided Gaels: Gaelic Cultural Identities in Scotland and Ireland c1200-1650. Wilson MacLeod (2004) Oxford University Press
^ Tree of Strings Crann Nan Teud History of the Harp in Scotland. (1992) Kinmor music.
^ J. Keay & Julia Keay. (2000): Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland, Clarsach, p. 171. Harper Collins publishers.
^ Keith Sanger and Alison Kinnaird, "Tree of Strings - Crann nan Teud", Kinmor 1992
^ Strings of Gold by Ann and Charlie Heymann
^ Caldwell, D.H. (ed). Angels Nobles and Unicorns: Art and Patronage in Medieval Scotland. Edinburgh: NMS, 1982
^ Keith Sanger and Alison Kinnaird, "Tree of Strings - Crann nan Teud", Kinmor 1992
^ http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/history/19th.htm Early Gaelic Harp Info: history (19th Century)]
^ [Bagpipe, Fiddle and Harp. Francis Collinson (1983) Lang Syne publishers.

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