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Copyright of Magazine of Historical Studies & Archaeology is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

By means of a case study, the submitted article describes the solution of a single part of a larger research task. In the submitted article, we deal with the process of creating 3D models of three selected cultural heritage objects (ceramic vase of Pozdišovce, traditional mangle board and traditional music instrument - jaw harp) using two different methods - manual modelling and photogrammetry. As a conclusion, we need to find the method, the use of which leads to better and higher quality results, taking into account the time consumption and other factors. We will use the created virtual 3D equivalents of real objects later in the next phase of research when they will become part of a small test scene of a „virtual museum“. In the museum, the final 3D objects will be presented to the participants in the following phase of our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to describe, summarize, and evaluate the main contributions of a translation of the Psalter titled Harp of Israel, made by Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos Saraiva, an old professor of Mackenzie College. The translation was published in 1898 by Rev. George W. Chamberlain. The article is not mainly a historical assessment of the subject, but an exegetical appraisal of the translation and the so-called discrepancies between the Portuguese translation of Antônio Pereira de Figueredo (based on the Vulgate) and Saraiva's translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firefly Elegy uses a 12-note melodic theme, which through the course of the piece undergoes a series of transformations - mirroring the metamorphosis that takes place over a firefly's brief life span. The piece comprises four sections that reflect the four life stages of the firefly. During the motionless egg stage, some types of fireflies glow dimly; the opening section of the piece (following a short fanfare of flashing-light) is likewise static and calm, while at the same time features an internal motion hinting at subdued energy. The following groovy section is at times aggressive, not unlike the firefly during its larva stage, when it is hunting and digesting insects using special enzymes. The firefly hibernates through the pupa stage - reflected in the third section of the piece by seemingly everlasting sustained chords in the strings. Like a flash of light, each new phrase begins with an ascending scale, while the harp provides groups of repeated notes, recalling the synchronized flashes that are found in groups of tropical fireflies. Firefly Elegy ends with an elegy in which the now mature firefly looks back at its life. It has gone through such an extensive journey but only long enough to mate and lay eggs, sometimes without feeding during its adult stage. In the summertime, I often watch the firefly in his lonely flutter, flashing about and looking for a mate so he can complete the sole purpose of his short life before dying away. He must sometimes look back and wonder: was it all worth it? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Luciano Berio's (1925–2003) Sequenza II (1963), many composers have tried to find new ways to approach the harp as a medium for contemporary music. When asked about writing for the harp, modern composers tend to express a reservation about the complexity of the mechanisms of the instrument itself. Do the very heavy aura and subtext that the instrument carries with it influence the composers as well? While the idioms of other classical instruments commonly used in contemporary music have already been analysed many times over, the uses of the harp in the modern repertoire have gone comparatively unexamined. Using analyses of recent compositions for harp by Heinz Holliger, Marc Andre, Ansgar Beste, Jonathan Bell, Georges Aperghis, as well as interviews with these composers, this study aims to examine how composers of the last fifty years deal with the suggestiveness of the harp in their use of the instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sounds of shimmering glissandi and resonant arpeggios combine with romantic and angelic imagery to form a stereotype of the modern pedal harp as an instrument capable of a relatively narrow band of expression. Similarly, its fundamentally diatonic design gives rise to issues with chromatic music that its pedal system addresses without fully negating. Taking pitch and timbre as means through which to reconsider the instrument, this paper presents an approach that reflects and celebrates the inherent properties of the harp whilst redefining what idiomatic writing might be. A reappraisal of the instrument's sonic qualities contrasts typical sounds with alternative approaches to timbre. The pitch limitations of the harp inform a new method for localised and structural pitch organisation that is rooted in the pedal mechanism of the instrument. These new modalities and alternative timbres are illustrated with a range of compositional examples throughout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of our research is to provide harpists with the tools to control and transform the sounds of their instrument in a natural and musical way. We consider the development of music with live electronics, with particular reference to the harp repertoire, and include interviews with six harpists that use technology in their professional performance practice. We then present HarpCI, a case study that explores how gestures can be used to control and transform sound and light projection in live performance with the electric harp. HarpCI draws on research from the areas Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Music Interaction Design (MiXD) to extend the creative possibilities available to the performer, and demonstrates our approach to bridging the gap between the performer/composer and the harp on one side, and the technology on the other. We discuss the use of guitar pedals with the electric harp, and the limitations they impose, and then introduce the MyoSpat system as a potential solution to this issue. MyoSpat aims to give musicians control over auditory and visual aspects of the performance through easy to learn, intuitive and natural hand gestures. It also aims to enhance the compositional process for instrument and live electronics, through a new way of music notation for gesturally controlled interactive systems. The system uses the Myo® armband gestural controller, a device to control live sound processing that is non-invasive to instrumental technique and performer. The combination of these elements allows the performer to experience a tangible connection between gesture and sound production. Finally, we describe the experience of Eleanor Turner, who composed and performed The Wood and the Water (Turner 2016) using MyoSpat, and we conclude by presenting the outcomes from HarpCI workshops delivered at Cardiff Metropolitan University for Camac Harp Weekend, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire's Integra Lab and Southampton University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines methods, considerations, and challenges for composing and performing with harp and electronics, investigated over the last five years. My background is in Irish traditional music and in experimental, contemporary, and computer music, as a composer, programmer, performer, and sound engineer. The harp, as a resonant and multiphonic instrument, presents specific challenges for the design of interfaces for computer sound control. I explain in detail my motives, approach, and decision-making in developing new technologies and music for harp and electronics. In particular, I present conclusions drawn from working with Camac's MIDI harp, and I consider questions of rhythm and flexibility in electronics control that are particularly relevant to traditional dance musics. I conclude with my most recent work on the control of electronics via microphones and movement sensors to exploit an existing playing gesture. I highlight the importance of considering performance, composition, and technological questions in parallel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Crown of Ariadne, R. Murray Schafer's work for solo harp positioned within a large percussion set up, has become a gem of the solo harpist's contemporary repertoire. However, it is one that still brings up multiple questions with regards to modern performance practice for the twenty-first century harpist, as both a theatrical and a technical work. The aim of this article is to explore the performance practices associated with The Crown of Ariadne, especially the purpose and implications of the choreography. Does the written-out choreography serve a theatrical purpose, or is it used to illustrate the desired instrumental technique? If the choreography is purely technical, what are the implications of a performer not from the Salzedo tradition performing the work, and do the motions therefore become contrived or unnecessary? If it is theatrical, should the harpist approach learning the work as an actor, as well as a musician? The discussion will be divided into two main sections: the technique and performance styles of different harpists, and suggestions on how to prepare this work as an actor. My research has stemmed from comparing the written gestures to those found in dance notation, a series of interviews with harpists that have both performed and taught the work, discussions on the Carlos Salzedo and Marcel Grandjany traditions, and excerpts from Salzedo's literature. In addition, I will discuss how to approach this work as an actor and performer by analysing different acting techniques, discussing the role of The Crown of Ariadne in Schafer's larger work Partia V: The Crown of Ariadne, and examining the Patria cycle with regards to Schafer's role in the environmental theatre movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composition involves a continuing process of engagement and dialogue with influences from the past and the present: it is impossible for a composer to work in isolation from a legacy of any received canon. This paper outlines the compositional elements of the recent piece for lever harp, Chromatétude by Anne-Marie O'Farrell, which acknowledges and develops received musical materials from previous sources. Outlining contextualisation and drawing comparisons with similar approaches by Alfred Schnittke, Peter Maxwell Davies, and Judith Weir, the article demonstrates the paraphrase of harper-composer Denis Hempson's ricercar Faigh an Gléas, collected by Edward Bunting at the Belfast Harp Festival in 1792, along with use and transformation of all twelve transpositions of Scriabin's quartal hexachord, and Slonimsky's twelve-tone quartal chord from his Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns of 1947. These compositional resources show the capacity of the lever harp as a vehicle for a twelve-tone pitch set without the use of levers or scordatura. The combination of these elements creates a harmonic language not normally heard on this instrument, since much of the development of Western classical musical language and thought through the centuries has, for a variety of reasons, been reflected in the repertoire of other instruments and of other types of harp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harp is, first and foremost, an instrument like all others: a source of sound, the value of which is determined by the cultures within which the instrument operates. This double action harp had superior technical possibilities, and its ability to play with a much expanded chromaticism than before meant that the harp could move from the drawing room onto the concert stage, and into the ranks of the modern orchestra. The Harp, a History of the Harp throughout the World, Harp Notation. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the role of the harp in the creative work of 20th century Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera. Topics covered include Ginastera's collaboration with Argentinean harpist Augusto Sebastiani in works such as "Cantos del Tucumán Opus 4," and the "Sonatina," and his commissioned work for Philadelphia Orchestra soloist Edna Phillips in "Harp Concerto."

The article offers updates related to harp music and harpists from around the world. The Nueva Escuela Argentina de Arpa (NGO) has organized the Buenos Aires Harp Week 2015 at Argentina capital city. The 1st Central Conservatory of Music International Harp Festival (CCOM), which was organized by Central Conservatory of Music, lasted for six days from October 20-25, 2014.

The article lists the compendium of the World Harp Congress between 2004 and 2014 on topics including its previous congresses, membership options and history of harp.

Copyright of Magazine General Union of Arab Archaeologists is the property of General Union of Arab Archaeologists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the myths, legends and tales of the harp contained in the treatise "Risalei Musiqi," written by Darvish Ali Changi. It considers the treatise as a source of information concerning music theory and practice in Central Asia around the turn of the 17th century. It also discusses the oral tradition of playing the harp. In addition, the article looks at testimonies invoked by Changi that confirm the connection between Zohra and string instruments.

The article presents updates on harp music-related events and new performances worldwide. It highlights the new recordings, awards, competitions, news, courses, events, and performances in countries across the globe such as Canada, England, Germany, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Singapore and the Netherlands.

The article presents news briefs of interest to harpists. The 3rd Australian Harp Festival will be held in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory from September 26 to 29, 2008. The 11th World Harp Congress will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2011. Erica Goodman was featured in a solo recital at the Scotia Festival Music which was held in Halifax in May-June 2007.

Prior to the nineteenth century, written references to the Jew's harp are scarce and mention of named players is extremely rare. One source, however, that describes individuals and their circumstances can be found in criminal trial records. In fact, the first three players of the instrument whom we can definitely identify were tried, convicted, and executed for one crime or another. That the accused were associated with the Jew's harp was coincidental and it had nothing to do with their convictions, but it was considered sufficiently unusual to be noted at their trials. This article considers what we know about the trials and how confident we can be that the information contained in court records and contemporaneous written accounts is correct. It also looks at the historical context in which each of the accused lived and the circumstances of their arrest, and how and why the Jew's harp was mentioned at the trial. It explores what tunes might have been played, how much Jew's harps might have cost and where they could have been purchased, and describes archaeological finds that show the kinds of instruments available. The overall evidence suggests that the Jew's harp was a widely distributed musical instrument throughout the period, but that exceptional performance skills on it were sufficiently unusual to invite comment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses approaches to the use of musical iconography in the reconstruction of late Medieval, fifteenth century, sixteenth century, and seventeenth century Renaissance music in Wales. Ideas of inferential statistical analysis are applied to the study of harp technique. Illustrations of the Trinity College harp and Mostyn harp are presented.