              Copyright
Helen Forder
2004
|
The
National Music of Wales ... continued xxxxxxxxxxxxxpage12
John
Thomas (Pencerdd Gwalia). From Y Cymmrodor, 1878 |
| Vincentio Galilei, in
his Dissertation on Ancient and Modern Music,
published at Florence in 1581, states that
the double harp was common in Italy in his day;
and that it was derived from Ireland. |
 |
| It is very
difficult to conceive how the Irish could
possibly have ever possessed such an instrument,
inasmuch as it has left no trace whatever upon
their music, the peculiarity of the scale of
which consists in leaving out all accidentals and
notes which indicate the least modulation from
key to key, but which notes would have been
available upon the instrument alluded to. |
| A
circumstance which has recently come under my
notice, goes far to show that it might have
originated in Wales. A bronze bas-relief by
Donatello, forms part of the high altar in the
Church of St. Antonio, in Padua. The date is
about 1450. One of the figures is that of an
angel playing the harp, and the shape of the
instrument is precisely that of the Welsh triple
harp. I accidentally discovered a plaister cast
of the original bronze at the Kensington Museum,
where it may be seen. |
| In any
case, whether the double harp originated in
Ireland or in Wales, the invention of the Welsh
triple harp, with three rows of strings,
naturally followed; for, as music advanced, the
inconvenience of being circumscribed within the
limited compass of only half the diatonic scale
on either side of the instrument would soon be
felt; therefore, it was extended on each side to
the full extent of the instrument, with a centre
row of accidentals, accessible from either side. |
| It is
worthy of remark that the Welsh triple harp is
the only instrument of the kind that has ever
been known with the strings on the right side
of the comb; thereby necessitating its being
tuned with the tuning-hammer in the left hand,
which is exceedingly awkward to anyone who is not
left-handed. This circumstance may also explain
why it is held on the left shoulder, and played
upon with the left hand in the treble and the
right hand in the bass, so as to have a full view
of the strings; otherwise the comb would
inconveniently intercept the view, as is the case
when Welsh harpers in the present day attempt to
play upon the modern English pedal harp, -
holding it on the left instead of the right
shoulder, with the strings on the left side
of the comb. |
| The science
of music having so rapidly advance within the
last century, rendered it absolutely necessary
that still further improvements should be made in
the harp, that it might keep pace with other
instruments. The difficulty of playing upon the
inner row of strings of the triple harp in rapid
passages, and the impossibility of playing in any
other key than the one in which the instrument
was tuned, gave rise to the invention of the
pedal harp, which is an immense improvement, in a
musical sense, upon any former invention; as it
admits of the most rapid modulation into every
key, and enables the performer to execute
passages and combinations that would not have
been dreamt of previously. |
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