The 2021 Virtual Conference of the Historical Harp Society was held Monday, August 2 through Thursday, August 5. The theme was “Across Time” a) because we go across many times zones (Europe, British Isles, Iceland, and North America last year) and b) because the goal was to cover our 5,000 years of harp history, touching on various times and places. The complete conference schedule is shown below. Some presentations were recorded for future (extended) viewing, and those recordings are shown here. Many thanks to all our presenters and all who attended and made this “virtual” conference such a success.
12:00 noon – Open Strings in Western Antiquity (Dr. Stefan Hagel)
Information about Dr. Hagel’s work can be found at https://homepage.univie.ac.at/stefan.hagel/. The software mentioned in his presentation is at https://homepage.univie.ac.at/stefan.hagel/software/Harmgai_inst.exe
1:15 – 2:15 – My experience with the Kugo and the Japanese ancient music ensemble (Dr. Masumi Nagasawa)
Further information about Dr. Nagasawa and her work with the kugo is available on her website, https://MasumiNagasawa.com. She can be reached by e-mail at info@masuminagasawa.com
2:30 – 3:30 – Adungu Bow Harp: Its Meaning and Significance Across Time (Dr. James Makubuya)
12:00 noon – Survey of Historical Harps in Scotland, Ireland and Wales (Bill Taylor)
1:15 – 2:15 – Using Historical Damping Techniques, workshop (Bill Taylor)
Bill’s book on fingernail technique can be downloaded at https://wirebranch.wordpress.com/sources-for-fingernail-technique/
2:30 – 3:30 – The Harp During the Medieval Period in England (Sarah Deere-Jones)
12 noon – The Multi Row Harp – A Solution to Chromaticism through the 17th Century (Dr. Christa Patton)
1:15 – 2:15 – Ornamentation in Harp Music 1546-1789, workshop (Mara Galassi and Lorenzo Montenz)
2:30–3:30 – The Paraguayan Harp: A Master Symbol of Paraguayan Cultural Identity (Dr. Alfredo Colman)
12:00 noon – Homage to Judy Kadar (Nancy Thym)
From Nancy: I met Judy on her first day in Berlin. That was back in 1979. It was my first day in Berlin as well. I was touring with a modern dance company from Munich. Our performances were in the evening, so we had the days free. What does one do on one’s first day in Berlin? Visit the musical instrument museum and look at the harps, of course! As I walked through the exhibit, I noticed a couple looking closely at the harps. I went nearer and heard that they were speaking English. “I see you are also interested in the harps,” I said. Not only was she interested in the harps, she was interested in historical harps as I was! We ended up going for coffee and spending the entire afternoon together. That evening before the performance I talked with one of the dancers from Berlin and raved about the wonderful harpist from New York I had met that day. “Do you know about the harp builder, who has his shop in around the corner from the dance studio?” That was Rainer Thurau, who was just beginning to build historical harps. I went to Rainer’s shop the next day and then introduced him to Judy. That was the beginning of a friendship and collaboration with Judy Kadar that has lasted decades.
1:15-2:15 – The Development and Use of the Single-Action Harp, panel (Paul Knoke, moderator)
2:30-3:00 – Open Mic Session
3:00-3:45 – Closing Reception
4:00 pm – Annual General Meeting of the Historical Harp Society