TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘“Some consorts of instruments are sweeter than others”

T2 - Further light on the harp of William Lawes’s Harp Consorts

AU - Cunningham, John

PY - 2008/4

Y1 - 2008/4

N2 - William Lawes’s Harp Consorts are scored for violin, bass viol, theorbo and harp; however, scholars disagree whether Lawes composed for the gut-strung triple harp or the wire-strung Irish harp. In this article, the three harp sources of the collection, in the Bodleian and Christ Church libraries, Oxford (GB-Ob, Mus. Sch. MSS B.3 and D.229; GB-Och, Mus. 5), are examined to determine the harp range. The results suggest that Lawes composed for a retuneable, partly-chromatic Irish harp with at least 38 strings. Lawes’s Harp Consorts are also discussed in relation to other harp consorts.

AB - William Lawes’s Harp Consorts are scored for violin, bass viol, theorbo and harp; however, scholars disagree whether Lawes composed for the gut-strung triple harp or the wire-strung Irish harp. In this article, the three harp sources of the collection, in the Bodleian and Christ Church libraries, Oxford (GB-Ob, Mus. Sch. MSS B.3 and D.229; GB-Och, Mus. 5), are examined to determine the harp range. The results suggest that Lawes composed for a retuneable, partly-chromatic Irish harp with at least 38 strings. Lawes’s Harp Consorts are also discussed in relation to other harp consorts.

KW - Irish harp; William Lawes; source studies; Music and culture in England

M3 - Article

VL - 61

SP - 147

EP - 176

JO - Galpin Society Journal

JF - Galpin Society Journal

SN - 0072-0127

ER -