Andreas Niebisch

Just heard the very sad news that the harp maker Andreas Niebisch died suddenly last week.

Condolences to his family and friends.

Here's a short documentary of Sioned Williams playing some celtic music on one of Neibisch and Tree's small harps and shows Andreas building one.

3 things you didn't know...

you needed - but wouldn't they be useful ?

I already (sadly) use not 1 but 2 heavy duty covers on my Salvi Iris as well as the column and base covers and of course the dust cover. My Iris is the fattest most overdressed harp in town. But maybe I should use these too..... belt and braces?

How great is this? Only the other day I was trying to sort out a harp for a student who had this problem and I could have done with this

Now this is a known unknown that I know I had no idea even existed, and I find ever so slightly scary.

mm - now I'm going to own up to having just bought the abrasive cord, but I think I'll pass on the stickers to decorate my harps...

The Uncommon Harp

It was great to see so many harpists at the premier of Graham Fitkin's Concerto for midi harp this week.

I finally got to meet Graham's partner Ruth Wall, who has a really lovely solo harp CD that she released in 2004. All the music is performed on a 33 string lever harp built by Mark Norris and it is a CD of new accessible tonal music.

My personal favourites are the Farewell to Stromness by Peter Maxwell Davies, Opening by Philip Glass, and The Peninsula Run by Ruth Wall.

Two Movements for Small Harp by Laurence Crane is a bit too minimal for my liking, the 2nd movement especially so, but it does open up a good debate which I think is a problem that besets most harp music.

Because of the natural decay in sound when you pluck a harp string, I think there is a tendency to want to "fill up" the gaps left in what would be sustained notes if played on any other instrument. When in fact it is good to hear the gaps/silences between the plucked notes. Personally I feel there are perhaps too many "gaps" for me in this piece but maybe I'll grow to like this piece more?

All in all a very enjoyable and inspiring CD!

So much so I've just bought the sheet music for the Maxwell Davies and I might even have a go and try it out on my lever harp instead of my concert harp...

No Doubt

I went to see SIoned Williams perform the new concerto by Graham Fitkin for midi harp and orchestra with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at their Maida Vale studios in London yesterday.

Called "No Doubt", Graham used sample voices from public speeches, mostly US politicians during the Iraq war and after about 5 minutes into the piece, the harp strings stopped being used as an "electric harp" and the strings then started triggering sample voice sounds. The harp could then "speak" words. Fascinating stuff!

It was a ground breaking concert which was well supported by lots of harpists coming to see this new instrument in action in a concerto for the first time. The technical aspect of this new harp is that of course not only does each string act as a "trigger" to start a sampled sound but that trigger lasts for as long as the string vibrates. SO for some trigger sounds you would need to damp the string very precisely. All in all, thinking about the possibilities on this instrument certainly makes my head hurt!

Fantastic playing from Sioned and now that she has "laid down the gauntlet" hopefully there will be more good music to come on this new and exciting instrument.

The performance is being broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and is well worth listening to. Also very much worth a listen is the In Tune programme that Sioned played on prior to the concert where she and Dominic Murcott (who operated the programming and technical interface side of the midi harp as Sioned played) explain more about the project and how the instrument works.

BBC blog with links to all the programmes here

Seasons Greetings..

And a very happy new year!

I'm all carol-ed out and it's now it's time to waltz into the new year, and an interesting one it will be with the economic climate being what it is, and seeing how that pans out for all those who work in the Arts.

Being a freelance musician for nearly 20 years, I'm well used to diversifying and being creative is the key (I think) to getting through this difficult time.

So my latest project for the new year is harp lessons over the internet via Skype.

I've got a new website www.iHarp.info with lots of information on there, I've also filmed a few videos for it and I'll be adding lots more to it in due course.

Here's to good health and happiness in the year ahead. x

Midi harp concerto

If you are in London on the 26th January 2011, then you should definitely go to see an exciting concert featuring the first public performance of the first concerto for midi harp performed (and commissioned) by Sioned Williams with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Composed by Graham Fitkin it will certainly be a really fascinating concert.

And the concert is free, but you need to book tickets ASAP via the BBC.

Details on how to book tickets below.

It is also being broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 1st February.

A real shame it's only on radio and not being filmed for future broadcast on TV, as it's a concert with some significant firsts on this new instrument by Camac.

Lucinda Belle Orchestra

I heard an interview with Lucinda Belle earlier this year on Radio 4 and just found some great videos of her on the web.

She's got a deal with Island Records and an album out.

I'm going to download it from iTunes now.

Go Girl!



Better still - good to see a harp at Ronnie Scott's

Tuning A=440, 441 or 442?

What pitch to tune my harp to has been a particularly nerdy issue I have struggled with most of my orchestral life. I tune to A=442 as tuning to anything less than that makes the harp sound flat in an orchestra.

I use to worry about what long term effect on the harp tuning so sharp would have, so I would tune to A=441. Until I had a chat some years ago to Billy (the main Salvi/L&H technician in the UK) and he told me he regulates all the harps to A=442 as that is what they are built to be regulated at. He also regulates harps across Europe and South Africa. So any worry I had about the harps being regularly tuned sharper than they are built for was ungrounded as they are already built to be tuned higher then 440. German Horngachers, I believe, are built for A=444.

I wondered whether harps were being regulated to the same A=442 in the US and I found an interesting discussion on a US harp forum about it some years ago, so I'm glad it's not just me that has deep (quite sad) thoughts about the subject! Quite a few of US harpists on that thread seem to find issue with tuning so sharp.

I also found an even more interesting discussion on a US violin forum which gave lots of detailed insight into it from a string players point of view, and it makes a fascinating read.

So, when I was at Kneller Hall recently (which is the home of the Royal Military School of Music which trains musicians for the all of the bands in the British Army) I couldn't believe what I saw in their museum cabinet!!!

And there I was thinking tuning A=442 was potentially a tad sharp. Check out the pitch that the British Army bands used to be at! Information about it in picture below.

It makes tuning my harp at A=442 seem quite insignificant.

And yes, that is A=452!


click on the photo to see a larger view.

Ros Savage

There is a lovely review online of the concert by Keziah Thomas at the Carnegie Hall. Also very nice comments in the review about the solo harp piece she commissioned from Andy Scott, Crossing Waves.

Crossing Waves was inspired by Ros Savage who rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean and happened to be in New York at the time of Keziah's concert so she went along to the concert and spoke to the audience.

I heard Ros Savage speak after a dinner last year in Liverpool and she is a very inspirational woman.

Alison Stephens

My friend and colleague, Alison Stephens, passed away yesterday, 10th October 2010.

We first met in 1988 at Trinity College of Music, when in a musicianship class, the teacher was busy pairing all the students off to do a project. Much like the weedy kids who are never picked for the sports team, Ali and I were last to be paired off, so in desperation the teacher ordered us (mandolin and harp) to "go off and find something to play together". And so began a life time friendship and musical collaboration.

We played together as much as possible, and when we weren't playing we were either researching what music would work on mandolin and harp, scheming about life in general, having a laugh (or cry) and eating or drinking and everything else students fill their time with.

It was with the greatest joy for me that Ali had such a wonderful career. When I had my children and Ali was busy jetting off round the world with the RSC, we always had time to share with each other whether it was with an email, text, phone call or best of all a bottle of wine and a good chat.

As a duo, we always had a very special connection. To have a duo consisting of two plucked instrument you have to a near "pyschic" connection to play absolutely together, and we always had such joy playing together.

Six years ago Ali and I started work on publishing mandolin music and a fantastic catalogue has been brought together. Ali was so keen that future young mandolinists would have music readily available and she worked so hard to provide that music.

I was so glad when Ali finally met and settled down with the love of her life, Mitch, 6 years ago, and it is a comfort to know that her final years were her happiest.

When Ali was first diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago, she was determined to not let it stop her and much to the amazement of her medical team continued with her gigs and recordings, her running training, and with her colleague Mike Maran undertook a massive fundraising initiative for various cancer charities.

When she was diagnosed with cancer for third time, we all thought Ali would beat it like she had before. Ali and I had gigs booked until 2012 and we were finalising the artwork to re-release our CD, Tapestry. Likewise with her other duo partners, Ali had gigs and projects planned with Craig Ogden, was about to record a CD for Chandos with Steven Devine, had just devised a new stage show with Mike Maran and had many mandolin books which she was putting together for publication.

Just two weeks ago, Ali and I had a wonderful day out in London. I was accompanying her as she did two sessions, one in the Abbey Road studios for the new Harry Potter movie, and one later in the evening for an advert. In between we fitted in a girly day out shopping in Oxford Street and a meal in our favourite restaurant in China Town.

Like any creative musician taken from us prematurely, Ali has left us bereft of the creative projects she has left undone. But I am privileged to have worked with her for the past 22 years and I will very much miss my musical partner.

As a friend I will miss her greatly.

Thank you for the music, my lovely Ali.

Duo Mandala - 1993

Alison Stephens 1st March 1970 - 10th October 2010

Ali and me on our girly day out in China Town just after she had done her Abbey Road session on 22nd September 2010

Ali raised lots of money for cancer charities during her treatments. This one was the Big Fun Run at Milton Keynes in September 2009. Left to right, Andy Scott, Lauren Scott, Ali Stephens, Mitch Harris, Craig Ogden.

Duo Mandala at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2009