top of page

Study Early Harps

Private Lessons, Workshops & Masterclasses with Andrew Lawrence-King
online and in-person.
​​
​Download a free Continuo Poster here

​Or ​contact us for a free high-resolution version.​



Free download here: how to practise​


Free download here: introduction to historical harp technique​​
 
There are many relevant videos on The Harp Consort's channel, here.

Medieval harp
Medieval double-harp

Free download here: introduction to Medieval harp​


Renaissance ("Gothic", "Bray") Harp

Free download here: introduction to Renaissance harp​

Psaltery
​​
Italian Baroque triple harp â€‹arpa doppia 
Monteverdi Orfeo
Free download here: introduction to Italian harp
​
A series of videos on historical technique for Italian harp starts here.
​
Free download here: introduction to Continuo
on Italian Baroque triple harp
​​
Free download hereLa Musica (Prologue to Monteverdi's Orfeo)
​
A series of videos about Continuo on Italian harp starts here.
​
Spanish Baroque double harp
Fantasia de Luduvico, Luz y norte
​Free download here: introduction to Spanish harp
 
Free downloads from Luis Milán El Maestro:
Fantasia I here                Fantasia X de consonancias y redobles here
 
Pavana I here

Anglo-Welsh triple harp 
Free Download: Handel Harp Concerto original print, 1st movement here
2nd & 3rd movements here
 
French 18th-century 'single action' pedal harp
​CPE Bach Sonata, Mozart Flute & Harp Concerto
 
The original MS score of the Mozart concerto is here.
 
Introduction to historical technique for Single Action harp here
 
Cousineau (1784) Méthode de Harpe here
 
If you are interested in 18th-century music, you'll want to be familiar with the three great mid-century treatises. They are written for three different instrument-types, but they broadly agree and it is easy to apply their advice to the harp or other instruments.
 
Leopold Mozart's 1756 treatise on the Violin has a lot of information relevant to Wolfgang Amadeus' Concerto. The German original is here, An English translation is here.
 
Make sure your flautist has studied Quantz's 1752 treatise on  the Flute, and read it for yourself too, here. You'll find an English translation in a good music library, or on Amazon, here. There are two examples of how to play an Adagio: one shows how to vary the dynamics note by note, according to the intensity of dissonance/resolution; the other shows how to realise ornamentation, varying the dynamics note by note, even within each ornament.
 
CPE Bach's 1753 treatise on Keyboard instruments, extended in 1762 with a section on Continuo, is here. Your library should have an English translation, or find it on Amazon here.
 
Mary Oleskiewicz's essay on the CPE Bach Sonata discusses the work in the context of period instruments, the Italian triple harp, the French 'single-action' pedal harp, with some unexpected suggestions for performance options. Read it here. Ann Griffiths' article on the Sonata is here.
 
There is a wealth of detailed information about Ornamentation in the three great treatises and in late-18th-century Methods for harp. As a starting point, I've summarised all that information into Three Commandments. 
 
1. Ornaments are on the beat (not before).
2. The auxiliary note is usually long 
3. Most ornaments decrescendo
 
There are some ornaments  that start fast (e.g. upward slides) contrary to my 2nd Commandment. Quantz and CPE Bach give complex dynamics for individual notes within ornaments (way beyond my 3rd Commandment). So treat these Commandments as a starting point, and go to the historical treatises for more detail.
 
18th-century Methods admit that trills are difficult on the harp (even more so, on high-tension modern harps). Don't try for too many iterations, rather concentrate on the Three Commandments. 
 
Beat Wulf 's highly informative Single Action harp Timeline is here.
 
 
Irish harps (medieval/renaissance, 17th-century chromatic, 18th-century) Ancient Gaelic repertoire, Lawes Harp Consorts, Carolan
 
A series of videos on historical techniques for Irish harp starts here.
 
A series of videos on Irish ornaments starts here.
bottom of page