The
Offogerty harp is a wire strung Irish (or Celtic)
harp that dates from the 17th century. These instruments
have a magical, ringing voice with a long sustain;
their sound lies somewhere between a harpsichord and
a bell.
This
is a print of my digital painting of the Offogerty
Harp - it's 16 by 20 inches in size at 300 DPI, and
the image is based on a photograph from Robert Bruce
Armstrong's "The Irish and Highland Harps".
Purists may note that I have taken a couple of small
liberties with the painting. Here the harp is superimposed
over a bold Celtic Knotwork border; faint interlace
designs also appear in the background margins and
the backdrop, behind the borders.
Once
the property of Cornelius O'ffogerty, this harp is
of the type we call a "large, low-headed"
Irish harp, which is typical for the seventeenth century.
It is not highly decorated but its lines are both
striking and unusual among surviving examples - the
large scroll at the end of the harmonic curve is its
most distinctive feature.
Its
soundboard was pierced for thirty-six strings, while
the harmonic curve never carried more than thirty-five
tuning pins. Because only thirty-four string holes
are visible in the photograph I've chosen to string
it with thirty-four strings - hopefully not further
adding to the confusion.
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