![]() ![]() the Utrecht Psalter) from early 9th-century France. : 290 A harp with a triangular three-part frame is depicted on 8th-century Pictish stones in Scotland : 290 and in manuscripts (e.g. While the angle and bow harps held popularity elsewhere, European harps favored the "pillar", a third structural member to support the far ends of the arch and soundbox. See also: Medieval harp and Ancient Greek harps The harper on the Dupplin Cross, Scotland, circa 800 AD Individual sheet music for a seventeenth century baroque harp The ancient veena survives today in Burma, in the form of the saung harp still played there. Some Samudragupta gold coins show of the mid-4th century CE show (presumably) the king Samudragupta himself playing the instrument. ![]() Īnother early South Asian harp was the ancient veena, not to be confused with the modern Indian veena which is a type of lute. One of the Sangam works, the Kallaadam recounts how the first yaaḻ harp was inspired by an archer's bow, when he heard the musical sound of its twang. Iconographic evidence of the yaal appears in temple statues dated as early as 600 BCE. Variants were described ranging from 14 to 17 strings, and the instrument used by wandering minstrels for accompaniment. The works of the Tamil Sangam literature describe the harp and its variants, as early as 200 BCE. An arched harp made of wooden brackets and metal strings is depicted on an Indus seal. ![]() Mesolithic era paintings from Bhimbetka show harp playing. At the height of the Persian tradition of illustrated book production (1300–1600 CE), such light harps were still frequently depicted, although their use as musical instruments was reaching its end. In the last century of the Sasanian period, angular harps were redesigned to make them as light as possible ("light, vertical, angular harps") while they became more elegant, they lost their structural rigidity. īy the start of the Common Era, "robust, vertical, angular harps", which had become predominant in the Hellenistic world, were cherished in the Sasanian court. The Chang flourished in Persia in many forms from its introduction, about 4000 BCE, until the 17th century.ġA Sassanid era mosaic excavated at BishapurĪround 1900 BCE arched harps in the Iraq-Iran region were replaced by angular harps with vertical or horizontal sound boxes. These murals show an arched harp, an instrument that closely resembles the hunter's bow, without the pillar that we find in modern harps. The oldest depictions of harps without a forepillar can be seen in North East Africa on the wall paintings of ancient Egyptian tombs in the Nile Valley, which date from as early as 3000 BCE. The earliest harps and lyres were found in Sumer, 3500 BCE, and several harps were excavated from burial pits and royal tombs in Ur. The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide range of variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe's colonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America.Īlthough some ancient members of the harp family died out in the Near East and South Asia, descendants of early harps are still played in Myanmar and parts of Africa other variants defunct in Europe and Asia have been used by folk musicians in the modern era. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa, and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3000īCE. History The Harps of Chogha Mish Iran are considered to be the world's oldest surviving stringed instruments, 3300-3100 B.C.E Harps have symbolic political traditions and are often used in logos, including in Ireland. Distinct designs also emerged from the African continent. Harps were found across the Americas where it was a popular folk tradition in some areas. By medieval times harps had spread across Europe. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal attachments.Īncient depictions of harps were recorded in Mesopotamia, Persia (now Iraq and Iran) and Egypt, and later in India and China. ![]() Its most common form is triangular in shape and made of wood. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or concerts. The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard the strings are plucked with the fingers. ![]()
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