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Coordinates: 55°56′49″N 3°11′20″W / 55.947°N 3.189°W / 55.947; -3.189
The medieval 'Queen Mary harp' Clàrsach na Banrìgh Màiri preserved in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
The Queen Mary Clàrsach na Banrìgh Màiri or Lude Harp, is a Scottish Clarsach currently displayed in the National Museum of Scotland[1]. It is believed to date back to the 15th century, and to have originated in Argyll, in South-West Scotland.[2] The Queen Mary harp is a very rare and valuable survivor, as one of only three Gaelic harps to survive from medieval times, the others being the Lamont Harp and the Trinity College harp. About 15 more survive from between 1500 and 1800 AD.
[edit] History
The Queen Mary harp [3] was presented to Beatrix Gardyn by Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century, and was subsequently passed down into the Robertson family of Lude, in Perthshire. Lady Gardyn's son had a servant in 1588 called Anthony McEwan McChlairser - 'son of the harper' - which provides a clue as to who might have played this clarsach.[4] The last harpist to play the instrument is dated as John Robertson of Lude who died c.1729; his repertory was preserved in the family and published by John Bowie in 1789. All three surviving Gaelic harps are considered to have been made in Argyll in South-West Scotland sometime in the 14th-15th century.[2]
[edit] Appearance
Replica of the 'Queen Mary harp' Clàrsach na Banrìgh Màiri by Davy Patton, 2007, showing how the original would have looked when it was new.
The Queen Mary harp is noted for being the most complete and best-preserved of all the old harps. It is covered in original and intricate carving, The forepillar or (Lamhchrann) is elaborately carved with a double-headed fish and the instrument retains, clear traces of its original paint. The decoration includes a number of pieces of Christian symbolism suggesting that the harp may have been made as a commission for a church or monastery.[5] The vine-scrolls and the particular shape of the "split palmette" leaves have clear parallels with 15th century West Highland grave slabs from the Argyll area, suggesting that this is the time and place that the harp originated.[2] A grave-slab in the chapel at Keills in Knapdale has a carving of a clarsach similar to the Queen Mary Harp.
[edit] Replicas
Replicas of both the Lamont and Queen Mary [1] Harps with gold and silver wire strings are played by harpists and built by David Kortier[6], based on his measurements from the original to reproduce its idiosyncratic string spacing, angles and overall ergonomics. Student replicas are available from the Historical Harp Society of Ireland. The most accurate replica was made by Roscommon sculptor Davy Patton[7] and is played by Simon Chadwick; it can be heard on his CD Clàrsach na Bànrighe
[edit] Recent Study
The Queen Mary harp, along with the Lamont harp also preserved in the National Museum of Scotland, are currently under study by Edinburgh University PhD student Karen Loomis[8]. Loomis has imaged the Queen Mary harp using a CT scanner [9]. Her MMus thesis covered damage and repair to the Queen Mary and Lamont harps [10].
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.nms.ac.uk/queenmaryharp-fullwidth.aspx
- ^ a b c Keith Sanger and Alison Kinnaird, "Tree of Strings - Crann nan Teud", Kinmor 1992
- ^ "National Museums of Scotland - Clarsach associated with Mary, Queen of Scots". Nms.scran.ac.uk. http://nms.scran.ac.uk/000-190-000-742-C. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ "National Museums of Scotland - Detail of a clarsach associated with Mary, Queen of Scots". Nms.scran.ac.uk. http://nms.scran.ac.uk/000-100-002-323-C. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ Robert Bruce Armstrong “The Irish and Highland Harps” 1904
- ^ "David Kortier-Harpmaker". Kortier.com. 2012-01-25. http://www.kortier.com. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ "Davy Patton • Early Irish Harps". Davypatton.com. http://www.davypatton.com. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ "Overview | Postgraduate profiles | Music". Ed.ac.uk. 2010-09-16. http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/arts-culture-environment/music/current-students/postgraduate/postgraduate-profiles/overview?person_id=87&cw_xml=profile.php. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ Wire Strings, the newsletter of the Wire Branch of the Clarsach Society, October 2010, p.9
- ^ Karen Loomis, The Queen Mary and Lamont harps: A Study of Structural Breaks and Repairs. MMus thesis, University of Edinburgh, August 2010
 Queen Mary harp replica - Clarsach - Scottish harp Queen Mary replica harp without decoration. The instrument has just been brought to pitch for the first time. I hollow the sound-box from a single piece of green wood, in this case lime (linden). The harp will require around three months or more for her tonal qualities to come alive! I have used brown sycamore for the neck and poplar for the pillar. Thank you Oliver Chamberlain... Thank you for watching!!! |  Tuning a replica of the Queen Mary harp This is for all those who think tuning is scary, or a boring necessity, or those for whom tuning is a special, deeply significant act loaded with mystical symbolism... nothing special here, just tuning the harp. More info at www.earlygaelicharp.info/tutor |  Queen Mary Harp - Replica Clarsach Queen Mary replica harp snippet for Jennifer Sims just brought to pitch - undecorated but with much of the wood detailing which I feel is important for this instrument cosmetically. Soundbox hollowed from a single block of willow, cherry harmonic curve and alder forepillar. I have not played harp for sometime now due to breaking my fingernails so please forgive my playing -- I need to practice!!! Thanks for watching William |  King James's March to Ireland / Lochaber / The Wild Geese, played on a replica Queen Mary harp A set of three variants of this famous tune. Composed by Irish harper Miles O'Reilly, it was taken to Scotland by Thomas Connellan. Celebrating (or lamenting) the defeat of the Jacobites in Ireland in 1691-2, the first section (King James March to Irland) is from a Scottish viol manuscript of 1693. The middle section (Lochaber, or Ireland's lamentation or Limerick's Lamentation) and the third section (the Wild Geese) are from Edward Bunting's field notebook, c. 1800 (ms33(1)), noted down from the performance of Partick Quin in South Armagh. Performed here on a replica of the medieval Scottish Queen Mary harp with brass, silver and gold wire strings. More info at www.simonchadwick.net |  Queen Mary Harp Finished.avi My homemade Queen Mary style harp. Not quite in tune and played a few dud notes. It is not a very loud harp but sounds fairly nice. |  Caniad San Silin (Robert ap Huw), played on a replica of the medieval Scottish Queen Mary harp This is from the 17th century Welsh 'Robert ap Huw' manuscript, and is played on a replica of the medieval Scottish Queen Mary clarsach. You get ten and a half of the twelve sections before YouTube's 10 minute rule cuts us off. For more information please visit www.simonchadwick.net |  Queen Mary Replica Harp - Early Clarsach - Scottish Harp A short preview and promotional film of my Queen Mary replica harp. Many thanks to Sophie Decrée for her permission... Oh yeah, the shaky outside video was caused by me getting attacked by the midges! Sorry about that :-) It's that time of year again!!! Thank you for watching. |  Queen Mary " first date" Stories of suffering and joy, arrival and demise. First date with my new harp...... |  Medieval clarsach - Tristan's Lament (Lamento di Tristano) A Lament for Tristan of Cornwall, played on a replica of the Queen Mary harp. www.simonchadwick.net According to some versions of the story, Tristan was born and raised in Fife or the Lothians, hence his Pictish name. I like to think that he learned to play the harp in his youth in Fife, before travelling to Tintagel to stay with his uncle, King Mark. Though it comes from an Italian manuscript, this lament works well interpreted as a native harp cumha. |  Old and Ethnic Musical Instruments on Cigarettes Cards, 1934 Please visit my card museum by clicking the blue creamofcardstv link above and the link on the left-hand-side of my profile page. This video clip features the following set of cards: stores.ebay.com A set of 48 cigarette cards on Musical Instruments, issued by CWS in 1934 Instruments Included: Harp,Lyre,Bagpipe,Portuguese Lute,Spanish Mandora,Harp-Lute,Spinet,Chimes or Glockenspiel,Burmese Soung,Arabian Rehab or Fiddle,Ivory Hunting Horn,Persian Kemantche or Fiddle,Chinese Musical Instruments,Hindu Tambursa or Indian Lute,Tromba Marina,Spanish, Guitar,Drum and Harp - Uganda,Mahati or Great Vins,Musical Instrument of Tibet,Sarinda,Chinese Temple Bell,Sarangl,Neopolitan Mandoline,Japanese Drums,Rattle and Trumpets Gold Coast and Niger River,The Xylophone - India,Flageolet and Rattle - Vancouver, Island,The Hydraulus,Hindu Wind Instrument,Regal,Trumpet and Bugle,The Cornet,Aztec Pot Whistle,Sistrum,Assyrian Asor,The Cheng,Unganda,Chinese Handbells,Orinoco River - Native Trumpet,Slide Trumpet,Concertina,Stradivari Violin,Viol da Gamba,Queen Mary, Harp,Yamada-Koto,Welsh Crwth,Upright Grand Piano,The Marimba, |
 The Galloway Gazette |
The Galloway Gazette
Tue, 01 May 2012 21:02:38 -0700
He has had a replica made of the medieval “Queen Mary” harp, which is on display in the National Museum in Edinburgh, and used that instrument to demonstrate his talk on Music of the Old Gaelic World. Simon made the focus of the evening the development ...
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