THE HARP OF ERIN

New Zealand Tablet, 20 May 1915, Page 49

THE HARP OF ERIN

.The harp and the shamrockhow closely they are associated in our minds! What fond memories they awaken in our heartsmemories of faith and home, and the dear green land of which they are the emblems ! But of the tiny plant so beloved of Erin's children, wherever their paths in life may lead them, so much has been written that it would, in truth, be superfluous to add another word, (writes Marian - Nesbitt ■ in the Catholic Times). The harp, however, seems an appropriate subject for consideration about the time of the feast of the glorious Apostle St. Patrick, seeing that it was an instrument intimately connected with the services of the Church at . a very early period in Irish ecclesiastical history, for reliable authorities tell us that from the first ages of Christianity the priests not only 'took great delight in playing the harp," but were really skilled performers. The Music of Ancient Ireland. Nor must it be forgotten that, though the music of ancient Ireland was extremely simple, consisting wholly of short airs, and possessing none of those complexities to which modern cars are accustomed, yet, for the most part, these melodies give evidence of a genius and exquisite taste in their construction which many latter-day composers might well envy. It is interesting to find that the Irish missionaries often carried with them on their journeys a small portable harp, which was used as an accompaniment to the voice as early as the fifth or sixth century. What a poetic and charming picture must these wandering evangelists have made, as they climbed the' steep mountain paths or walked through darksome woods or by silver streams, harping with their harps, and drawing men's minds heavenwards, almost as much by the "' concord »»f sweet sounds ' as by their impassioned words. Music and the Irish Temperament. Old legends speak of the magic spell, the enchantment wrought by music on the Irish temperament. They represent it as one of the chief delights of Heaven, where the white-winged, white-robed angels sing ever before the Throne songs of ineffable sweetness: and stories tell of human beings, still exiles in this vale of tears, being rapt in ecstasy on hearing the trilling of a bird, like the monk Felix, who remained entranced for years, and coming to himself, returned to his monastery, believing he had been absent only a few hours. It is a fact beyond question that the singing of birds held a special charm for, and made a strong appeal to, the Irish people in olden days. Who does not recall St. Columkill's tender remembrance of his native country recorded in a poem he wrote when far away on the desolate island of lona ? After describing his longing to be once again in the land of his birth, he exclaims with heart-rending pathos: A grey eye looks back towards Erin ; a grey eye full of tears : beloved Erin of many waterfalls. Many are her kings and princes, sweet-voiced her clerics; her birds warble joyously in the woods.' Again, in another old poem, we read: ' Sweet is the cuckoo's note from the bending bough.' And once more: ' Sweet was the voice of the wood of blackbirds.' Holy Men and the Harp. To return, however, to the harp, which is mentioned (says Dr. Joyce), ' in the earliest Irish literature, and constantly mixed up with our oldest legends and historical romances.' We have already seen that very small harps were often used as an accompaniment to. the voice, a statement which can be proved by referring to the lives of some of the Irish Saints, where this fact is mentioned. Such harps were probably about sixteen inches in height, and would have had only a small number of strings. We read of a certain monk poet in the ninth century, who possessed one of these little instruments, and sang his compositions to the thrilling sound of its throbbing chords. ' On a certain day, in the season of autumn,' runs the tale, so full of Celtic charm, ' as Eelim MacCriffan, monarch of Erin, was in

Cashel of, the Kings, there came to him the abbokof a church, who took his' little eight-stringed harp from?Jiis girdle, and played sweet music, and sang a poem to it.' " '-Small harps, the largest not more than thirty-six inches in height, continued to be used ,so V for several centuries. These usually had thirty strings, like that noted example familiar to us under the title of Brian Boru's Harp'; though Dr. Petrie ; and other learned and reliable authorities tell us that careful research has led to the conclusion that it was not made till many years after the time of that famous monarch, probably not before quite the latter part of the fourteenth century. Despite this fact, however, it is nevertheless the oldest harp still extant in Ireland, possibly in the world whilst the romance that surrounds it, as well as the richness of its ornamentation ana" the delicacy and skill of its workmanship, render it beyond question the most interesting instrument of its kind in existence. The strings of this harp were thirty in number, and were of brass ; whilst the tuning key ' was made with a wooden handle, tipped with steel, like the modern piano key.' Regulations Regarding the Harp. As the harp without a key must ever remain silent, very strict regulations were made concerning it, "and penalties exacted from those who did not return it, if it had been lent. Harps when not in . use, were kept in cases, usually made of otter-skins. The professional harper, it. need scarcely bo remarked, was a very important personage ; indeed, he 'was honored above all other musicians.' And that he was thorough master of his art is proved by the records of Giraldus Cambrensis, who, after listening to the Irish harpers in 1135, thus writes: 'They were incomparably more skilful than any other nation I have ever seen. For their manner of playing on these instruments . .' . is not slow and harsh, but lively and rapid, while the melody is both sweet and sprightly.' The intensely spiritual temper of the Irish people shows itself in their music, sometimes joyous, but often tenderly sad, with an undercurrent of melancholy, which is one of the special characteristics of the "Celt. This melancholy shows itself •even in those exquisite 'slumber songs' wherewith, in days gone by, old as well as young were sung to sleep. Of course there are many airs fascinating on account of their joyousness, yet it must be admitted that in these also the gaiety has much of the heartstirring wistfulness of the caged blackbird, mingled with the thrilling ecstasy of the soaring lark: and Who can tell, ah ! who can tell How sweet it is in spring, Above the bogs in Ireland To hear the skylarks sing ? Truly the melodies of Erin possess a wondrous charm, and the harp, most graceful" of all instruments, is a perfect medium for expressing that charm. As its soul-stirring music falls upon our ears, we seem to see once more the radiant sunshine and silver showers of the land we love the best. Violet shadows are creeping down the mountain sides ; from the thatched roofs of peaceful homesteads the peat smoke rises high and blue in the clear air, and recalling these things, we echo the words of the poet: O Erin, thou broad spreading valley, thou well watered land of fresh streams, When I gaze on thy hills greenly sloping, where the light of such loveliness beams, When I rest on the rim of thy fountains, or stray where thy streams disembogue, Then I think that the fairies have brought me to dwell in the bright Tirnanogue.