When I took up the Celtic harp in 1987, I knew I’d embarked on an amazing journey. The harp to me was the quintessential magical instrument (and that’s saying a lot, because for many years previously oboe had held that enchantment in my heart). Celtic harps appeared in Arthurian legend-derived tales. The Celtic harp was enjoying a renaissance in Celtic folk music, finding its voice in the hands of harpers like Alan Stivell and like Maire Brennan of Clannad.
I took up the harp, found some harpers with which to play (the South Bay Folk Harp Society, which morphed through a couple of incarnations to eventually birth the Harpers Hall & culinary society, a folk harp group which I helped to found and which is still thriving today).
Within a couple of years I formed a musical partnership with Debra Knodel. We produced a few CDs, performed nationally–including partnering onstage with Celtic harp luminary Kim Robertson and with Celtic harper & storyteller Patrick Ball. We also created bardic performances, and these shows were enjoyed by young and old alike, and we enjoyed our own modest circle of fame.
Eventually, life and different directions led us to focus elsewhere, though Deb and I continue to play harp together now and again (look for our upcoming performance with Celtic guitarist, Steve Baughman in early October!). Deb continues to play harp and perform in California. I do the same up here, but not so much in the past decade or so on the big stage.
During the “young” part of my harp journey, I lived and breathed and loved the harp. I practiced furiously and worked hard, and stretched myself creatively and musically. My world revolved around the magic of the harp … until … it didn’t.
Maybe it was because I was a mom with a young child. Maybe it was just time to adventure into other realms. Whatever the reason, there was a funny stretch when I didn’t play much harp — and actually physically couldn’t play much harp! My hands during that time felt stiff and clumsy. I was bewildered by my inability to play accurately. Since starting the harp, I’d always improvised (it was how I could keep up with players who were more experienced). But now I turned desperately to improvisation to help me bridge the gap between what I longed to be able to play and what I actually, at the time, could play.
In time facility with my hands returned, and I found that my fingers were more relaxed than they’d ever been. And in the process, I’d developed some improvisational skills that felt distinctly my own.
In the past year, I’ve returned to working on music in a more active way, and realizing that in 27 years, I’ve met a lot of really amazing tunes and songs! At my bookshop gig the other night, I realized something else. Not only did I have a (potentially) huge repertoire of music (if I took the time to work a chunk of it back up), but in addition to stories I’m telling already, I have a mountain of stories to go along with the tunes I play.
And I have a bundle of questions I’d love to ask my audience in relation to those tunes and tales and the magic within their own lives.
Suddenly I’m pulling music binders out of storage, and yanking mp3s out of my archives. My harp and myself are enjoying a good workout. I have gigs in the next couple of months, and ideas for a new harp adventure I might try.
Oh, and have I mentioned yet that I’m “expecting” a new harp this month? A large lovely wire-strung Luna by Triplett harps. I’m a little nervous (Will I love, love, love this harp as much as I love my other harps? Will I get used to the slightly larger spacing or will it bother my hands? It’s a big, heavy harp — compared to my others. How’s that going to work for me?). But I have to trust how I felt playing a Luna at the Harpers Hall Retreat From The World weekend last Feb. It was amazing!
Ahhh, no such thing as too many harps ….
Once again, I am truly a harper.
As if I had ever truly stopped.
What passion have you parted company with, only to find that it has knocked again on your door, making sweet and total sense again in your life? Tell me about your magic!
