Clarsach Teacher Notes Concepts Parts Audio Files Inventing Project Resources

Some history... In Scotland and Ireland harps first appeared around about the 9th century. Unlike the modern clarsachs many old harps had metal strings and the sound box was usually made from a single log. The word clarsach comes from the Gaelic clar seileach which means willow board. There were originally two types of harp in Scotland: the one that was played in the Highlands, which was smaller with metal strings, and the Lowland small harp strung with gut.

Most early harpers were men. Harpists were professional people employed by clan chiefs to compose tunes for them and play at banquets and special occasions. Rory Dall Morison was one such harpist, and was born on the Isle of Lewis c1660. He was the bard (singer and song-writer) to Macleod of Dunvegan in Skye. He was also known as An Clarsair Dall - the blind harper. Rory Dall lost his sight when he contracted smallpox as a student in Inverness. Music was a recognised profession for blind people at that time, so he chose it to make his living both in Scotland and in Ireland. Ireland is another country with an important clarsach tradition. Turlough O’Carolan was perhaps the most famous Irish composer for the harp and many of his tunes are still played today in Scotland as well as in Ireland.

Old harp tunes were called ports. Port means a lesson in music, but has come to be used loosely to mean tune. These tunes had an irregular timing and structure and were not used for singing or dancing to, unlike the repertoires of many of the other instrumental traditions. They were however sometimes used for reciting poetry to.

Here is a recording of a port from Skene Manuscript. Follow the score which you can find in the Parts section.

Now listen to these two tunes from a collection of Gaelic music called the Angus Fraser Collection. The arrangements here are played on clarsach and cello. Again, the score for the clarsach can be found in the Parts section; try to follow it as you listen.

A Mhòrthir Bhòidheach/Gruaimean an t-Seann Duin (clarsach - Fraya Thomsen, 'cello - Fiona Hunter)

Clarsachs today
Modern clarsachs are strung mostly with sheep gut, metal in the lower octave. They generally have 30-34 strings with different colours to identify the Cs and the Fs. They are tuned diatonically, like the white notes on the piano. They have blades at the top to raise or lower each string pitch by a semitone. There are other kinds of harp used for playing traditional music: the metal strung harp which has no blades and is played with the fingernails, the Bray harp where the blades touch the strings so that they buzz, the Paraguayan harp which is very tall with no blades and the Electro harp, a relatively new invention from Brittany. This is nylon strung and plugged into an amplifier to give a much louder sound. There is also a Welsh triple harp which has three rows of strings.

Most teachers and players of the clarsach are accomplished at creating their own arrangements of Scottish and other tunes. Listen to these recordings of Scottish, Irish and Shetland tunes arranged for the clarsach, noticing the techniques used to create the accompaniment: bass lines, broken chords, playing in different registers. Also notice the rhythmic interest created by where accents are placed. There is a score for Da New Rigged Ship in the Parts section.

Glenlivet/Planxty Irwin (clarsach - Jennifer Port)

Da New Rigged Ship (clarsach - Jennifer Port)

Where to hear the Scottish harp
In 1935 Comunn na Clarsaich (The Clarsach Society) was founded. The Society's branches are very active in arranging opportunities for learning and performing clarsach music. It also organises the Edinburgh Harp Festival every spring, where harpists come from all over the world to learn and perform.

Here is a recording of the clarsach playing an old Scottish tune, Cutty Sark (clarsach - Phamie Gow)

Today the clarsach is used in many contexts; for song accompaniment, for sets of dance tunes (see the recordings of the duo Sileas for good examples), to add colour to folk or folk rock groups such as Ceolbeg. Teachers and arrangers such as Alison Kinnaird promote the early indigenous harp repertoire. There are also innovative contemporary composers such as Savourna Stevenson, who draws on jazz and many other musics in her playing.

Here is a recording of the clarsach accompanying the ballad Fine Flowers in the Valley (voice - Jo Miller, clarsach - Fraya Thomsen); this song is also known as The Cruel Mother. The clarsach player has devised her own accompaniment - a skill modern harpers need to use often! Follow the score in the Parts section and if possible, try performing the song in class.