Royal strings – harp, lyre, psaltery

The harp and the lyre are considered to be some of the oldest instruments in the world and have inspired the imagination of singers, storytellers and artists with their enchanting sound and beautiful shape since the earliest times. In traditional tales and ballads all over the world, the harp appears in a variety of different motifs. Harp sounds can save lovers. They can put people to sleep and evoke feelings of sadness or cheerfulness. They can force people to dance without restraint, even make them fly into a rage. But harp sounds can also calm fury, just as David, the king of harpists, once calmed Saul. The harp, lyre and psaltery are often mentioned in connection with kings and are therefore regarded as royal instruments.

This lecture concert is a journey with the royal strings through land and time – from the oldest musical notation in the world from Mesopotamia (ca. 1400 BCE) and the oldest known notation for harp from medieval Wales, from the "clairseach" of Scotland and Ireland, hollowed out of a piece of wood and strung with brass, to the European "snare harp" of the Middle Ages and the various forms of zithers and psalteries of the 20th century. All this will be shown using pictures, instruments brought along and instruments from the collection.

Participation

The lecture concert will take place in the Study Collection Musical Instruments & Media at Residenzplatz 2A (entrance at lecture hall III - Studiensammlung Musikinstrumente & Medien).