How does a harp work? Harp Lesson, Meet a harpist! ~ Harpist Chantal Dube Atten: Music Teachers

Toronto Harpist and Recording Artist Chantal Dube has created this video as a teaching tool to help others learn about the harp, and how the harp works. This was filmed by Chantal in her home and edited by Vincent Andres. www.vincentandres.com Several years ago Chantal participated in a school program called, 'Meet the Musician.' She gave presentations just like this to students in public schools through the Peel District School Board. Her hope is that you will learn things about the harp you didn't know and grow in appreciation and respect for the instrument as well as the detailed craftsmanship that goes into making a pedal harp.
Please visit the Lyon and Healy website for more information about the history of the pedal harp and details about the craftsmanship. They have an amazing factory in Chicago that offers tours if you want to learn more. Visit them at www.lyonhealy.com
Correction from the video: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_h... Pedals were first used in 1697. The harp found its early orchestral use as a solo instrument in concerti by many baroque and classical composers (Handel, Mozart, Boieldieu, Albrechtsberger, Schenk, Dussek, Spohr) and in the opera houses of London, Paris and Berlin and most other capitals. Hector Berlioz began to use it in symphonic music, but he found performances frustrating in countries such as Germany, which had few harps or sufficiently proficient harpists. Franz Liszt was seminal using the harp in his orchestral music. The French and Russian Romantic composers particularly expanded its symphonic use. In opera, the Italian composers used it regularly, and Puccini was a particular master of its expressive and coloristic use. Debussy can be said to have put the harp on the map in his many works that use one or more harps. Tchaikovsky also was of great influence, followed by Rimsky-Korsakov, Richard Strauss and Wagner. The greatest influence on use of the harp has always been the availability of fine harps and skilled players, and the great increase of them in the US of the 20th century resulted in its spread into popular music.