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    • shop products > Piano & Instrumental > Strings > The Book of the Harp

    The Book of the Harp

    John Marson
    (Book) Product code: 1400373
    ISBN: 978 1 84417 343 3
    ISMN: M 57024 404 1
    Price now: $39.95
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    Avg. Customer Rating: (1 review / comment)
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    • Magnifying Glass See larger photo

    Size: 210 x 153 mm, 256 pages, illustrated hardback

    Description:

    'With more harpists than ever before, the harp is an instrument which has successfully demonstrated its staying power and important role both in music and beyond,' claims John Marson. His Book of the Harp is a unique and definitive work distilled from a wealth of experience: a lifetime's study and research and an outstanding professional career.

    John Marson traces the development of the harp from its earliest origins thousands of years BC to the invention of the pedal harp in the eighteenth century and the harps of the twenty first century. He examines the writings of many forgotten exponents of the harp (inventors, players, composers) and provides a fully comprehensive view of every make, model and modification to the present day. The Book of the Harp is a rich source of information, entertainment and anecdote on everything from strings, tuning, principles of fingering and tone production, historical influences, designs, techniques and methods, to the harp’s literary associations and those with the theatre and cinema, its Celtic and religious symbolism, virtuoso players and its appearance in the poetry of Milton and novels of Jane Austen.

    Both historical and practical, The Book of the Harp is an authoritative source of entertainment and a fascinating study for student, professional musician and interested reader alike.

    About the author John Marson has enjoyed a glittering career during which he has been principal harpist of the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Professor of Harp at the Royal College of Music and soloist and freelance.

    He has worked with countless musical stars including the Beatles, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Benjamin Britten, Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, John Dankworth, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Martha Graham, Hans Werner Henze, Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Zoltan Kodaly, Liberace, Lorin Maazel, Neville Marriner, Pierre Monteux, Jessye Norman, Laurence Olivier, Luciano Pavarotti, Gennadi Rozhdestvenski, Frank Sinatra, Georg Solti, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Joan Sutherland, Georg Szell, William Walton, Stevie Wonder and countless others.

    In 1964 John Marson co-founded, with Michael Jefferies, the United Kingdom Harpists Association (later United Kingdom Harp Association) and edited its magazine for many years.

    Contents:

    All this for your enjoyment

    1 The Harp prior to the Pedal Operated Mechanism in the Eighteenth Century

    2 Inventors of the First Pedal Systems and Appearance of The First Method (1762)

    3 Harp Makers, Composers, Method Writers and Female Predominance

    4 Approaches to Strings and Tuning and the Use of Different Materials

    5 Seating and Playing Positions

    6 Hand Positions, Gestures and Movements

    7 Principles of Fingering, Tone Production and Care of the Hands

    8 Introduction to the Pedal Mechanism, Design Ideas and Single and Double Action Harps

    9 Eighth and Ninth Pedals, Damping Techniques, Harmonics as Played and Notated

    10 Effects Examined and Ensembles of Harps

    11 Modulation, Style of Performance and How to Practise

    12 Health and Harp-Playing

    13 Matters Ignored in Methods, Glissando Pedal Settings

    14 Later Advances in Harp Design and Decoration; Modern Aids for the Player

    15 Beginnings of the Pedal Harp Repertoire and Harps in London in the 1790s

    16 Later Repertoire to mid Twentieth Century, and Ensemble and Orchestral Use of the Harp

    17 The Harp and Spiritual Awareness: The Use of Language Pertaining to the Harp. Celtic Symbolism

    18 The Harp and Religion: King David and Angels

    19 Social Connections, from Royalty to Street Musicians

    20 Poetic and Literary Associations and Representations: the Harp as an Aid to Romance

    21 Discordant Voices

    22 The Harp in the Theatre and Cinema

    Envoi: The Harp as an Emblematic or Ornamental Device. A Recent Scientific Achievement and Maintaining Ideals

    Featured Review

    Review

    ...Well produced... clear... gem.

    		 Wednesday, November 09, 2005
    Rating:

    Posted by:
    Sioned Williams (guest)
    It is commendable that Kevin Mayhew agreed to publish this gem. The book is well produced with clear, well-sized print and an attractive coloured outer sleeve. There is one section of excellent illustrations in black and white in the central section. At £14.99 it is really affordable given that it provides as much information as a small encyclopaedia, and will always be a fine reference book.
    John Marson is a person who answers everyone's questions about harp matters, and has always been looked upon as a tardis of information, and a great help to harpists worldwide in their quest for information, be it for a student's dissertation or a programme-note for a concert.
    This book is unique as it is not only a historical textbook on the harp, but also a most readable and sometimes intriguing and humorous look at various aspects of harping. In all areas, the book has been most thoroughly researched. It is not so easy to find as much meticulous attention to detail as there is here, and it certainly requires years of accessing material from many sources around the world. It is perfectly possible to read just one section of this book at a time, as each part reads like a mini-book in itself, and even if one does not require specific facts and figures one still cannot read through any section without learning something. The book deals with subjects possibly considered touchy by others, from hand positions, gestures and movements, and seating and playing positions, to an approach to stringing and tuning.
    What I particularly enjoy in this book is the way that so much is added by the way of extra information. Questions which have troubled harpists for some time are addressed - such as whether Faure's Impromptu Op 86 was composed entirely (or in part) by Faure, or did he have a deal with Hasselmans to write it for him? The Author details many reasons for his conclusion, which is very interesting (even if eventually you choose to disagree).

    I thoroughly recommend this book - not merely for the harp specialist, but for anyone interested in a really good read.

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