Made after the model in the Trinity College Library, Dublin.
Brian Boru was the legendary Grand Monarch
of Ireland,
who in the year 1014 completely wiped out the Danish viking
army at the battle of Clontarf.
Three harps of this kind have been preserved
in their original state and are dated back to the early 14th and 15th
centuries. Typical for this Celtic harp from the late Middle Ages is its
wire strings´ bell-like sound fading away slowly, which the bards produced
by plucking the strings with their fingernails. The resonance box is made
"from a single block of wood" just like the original.
The Tyrolean fairy-tale harp
In the southern part of Tyrol, between the town of Bozen and the Fassa valley, stretches the mountain crest given the name Rose Garden. King Laurin once lived there along with his dwarf tribe. The long myth gives an account of his heroic deeds, his struggle to win the beautiful Princess Similde and of his eventual downfall.
He returned to his homeland after some adventurous journeys. Once he caught sight of the mountain again, which was completely covered in roses and shone crimson in the evening sun, the home-coming king spoke the words: "These roses along with their glowing colour have betrayed me. These strange warriors - they would never have set foot on my mountain if they hadn´t seen these roses".
Thereupon he put a curse
on the roses to ensure that they could never again be seen, neither by
day nor by night. However, he didn´t think about the twilight. And so
it came about that the entire mountain glowed red in the dusk of evening.
This is given the name `Alpenglühen´ (glow of the Alps).
And in that particular valley where the former language is still cultivated,
there was an expression for sunset - "kann sorèdl va flori" (when the
sun goes off to glow). This spectacle of nature was my inspiration when
making this harp.
Made of Indian rose-wood,
American cedar-wood and Austrian walnut.
27 strings made of brass and steel.
The harp, whose strings were made of
brass or bronze, was played by the bards not only in Ireland in the Middle
Ages but
also in Scotland up to and including the Renaissance period.
This instrument of first-class craftsmanship
is made of traditional fine-sounding woods such as grained mountain maple
and walnut. Even with the softest plucking, the strings produce a bell-like
sound in every imaginable fine tone. The strings are drawn from
a specially developed brass alloy of the strongest quality.
The processing of the metal was, as we are told from ancient myths, the
element of the dwarves; this is why this harp was
named after the legendary "Erlenkönig".
Immense sounds from a man-sized harp.
The strings of this harp, made of brass, bronze
and steel,
produce a wealth of sounds that completely enwrap the listener.
The sounds produced by this harp linger on in the room, they rumble like
thunder, sing, rise in a crescendo, and make everything and everyone in
their surroundings tremble. Phases of powerful motion open into a silvery,
tingling flow and planes of timeless repose.
The mightiness of this harp originates from its peacefulness ,
and even its most powerful sounds remind us of the same.
This peacefulness affects us deeply, because something within us recognises
this force. Our entire body is busy listening.
Those who sharpen their senses or immerse in a world of imagery at the
sound of this harp find access to a world beyond.
