Within the broader history of postwar counter-cultural movements, the folk music revival has had a lasting impact on popular musical culture across North America and internationally. Peaking in popularity during the ‘60s but with roots in the earlier twentieth century, the folk movement was connected to progressive political activism and a renewed interest in ethnic traditions, both those distinctly American and those deriving from European precedent. Alongside growing attention in the period to specifically Anglo-Irish musical culture, the folk harp became a significant sub-thread of the folk discourse, building on mytho-historical notions of the bardic tradition in Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany.
Folk harps (sometimes called neo-Celtic or lever harps, distinct from the classical pedal harp and its academic associations) are now well-established in amateur and professional musical communities alike. However, despite some exploratory scholastic treatment of this revival from an ethnomusicological perspective, little attention has been paid to the harps themselves as tangible conveyors of both musical and cultural meaning. In this talk, I will explore the history of the folk harp in North America through an aesthetic and material lens, focusing on the objects and makers that have participated in the remarkable revival and ongoing evolution of a distinct musical culture.
Drawing on interviews and correspondence with living harp-builders, as well as commercial literature and other ephemera, I will examine how the instrument developed formally and technologically over the late twentieth century. I will also posit that the rich body of theory and scholarship on twentieth-century studio craft provides a particularly useful framework for understanding the aesthetic debates, workshop practices, and community dynamics of folk-harp building. Ultimately, I aim to show that close attention to the design, materiality, and workmanship of the instruments can lend important insight into the harp’s special appeal within the larger folk music revival.
About the presenterColin Fanning
Colin Fanning is the Curatorial Fellow in the Department of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He has previously held positions at the American Federation of Arts and the Museum of Arts and Design, both in New York City. He holds an M.A. in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center, where his research focused largely on the material culture of childhood, twentieth-century studio craft, and European graphic design.