After the famous Strata Florida Abbey, I went down to the Teifi River Valley. I sat in the sun waiting for someone to pick me up for a very special day out of my route.
What is the collective name of a group of harpists?
KD owns at least three harps and plays the famous Welsh triple harp. This harp has not one but three rows of strings. He had agreed to meet me and take me to a special harp meeting, about an hour’s drive away. Along the way we talked about all things harp and shared some of our harp experiences. We arrived, KD used a secret code to open a box containing the keys to a community hall, opened the doors and just like that, in walked the harpists with their prized harps. They are medium-sized harps, with levers to change the notes and can also be called Clarsach. This Scottish Gaelic word means “willow board” and alludes to the fact that ancient harps were made from hollow willows.
There is no agreement on the collective name of a group of harpists! Options include a Twangle (which sounds unpleasant to me), a pluck (inaccurate…we squeeze and release and never pluck), a harp string, even a harp melody. I think there are more words too. I’m going to settle for a “harp friendship,” since all the harpists I know are very nice.
We settled into a wonderful workshop with the truly inimitable Welsh harpist Shelley Fairplay.
Shelley is a true harp enthusiast and helps everyone develop at whatever level they are at. Her harp education is truly world class, whether in person or in her online courses. We were very lucky to have her with us. We spent time going down some wonderful rabbit holes of harp technique, before tea and cake!
The beauty of simplicity
After tea, Shelley used his own composition to demonstrate how simple notes, played with feeling and attention to sound, could evoke an entire world of sound. We play the notes with tenderness and concentration and evoke that moment of sunset when the sky can have so many special qualities. In fact, it was a great lesson for the harp. His approach also spoke to me about how simplicity is also beautiful in life. I enjoy living with less stuff and it’s also been nice to live with fewer complexities, limitations and responsibilities for a while. Part of my purpose here is to feel clearer about what is important in my life. I don’t think my life will be any less complicated after this walk, I will still be happy to fully participate in many activities that bring me purpose and joy. What I learned from the harp session was to approach everything more simply and openly.
The wonderful Teifi harps
The Teifi River runs from the Cambrian foothills to the sea, and a famous harp maker named his harps after the river valley. Almost all of my fellow harpists had a Teifi harp, and in fact I have one waiting patiently at home. Sometimes they are painted (mine has Celtic knot patterns) and this one has little medallion-shaped images on the soundboard… that came from America.
Tomorrow I will take the Teifi River trail. This will take me down the river valley to the sea,
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