The first day began with symposium contributions and a concert-lecture addressing the topic of Harp at the Time of Haydn, to in the afternoon address The Tyrolean Folk Harp, including a roundtable discussion and, finally, the concert An Evening of Folk Music.
The second day morning session saw symposium contributions on the topic of Regionalities, and a concert-lecture. The afternoon was devoted to Single-Action Harp: Construction and Playing. The day was rounded off with the evening concert Tullochgorum – Haydn – Harp – Scotland.
Report on the Convening in Roma
14-16 December 2016
Bernhard Schrammek's report offers a concise account of Harfenlabor's interdisciplinary international symposium Convening around the Barberini Harp Project, which took place on 14-16 December 2016, in Roma, in collaboration with the Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti Musicali, Istituto Storico Austriaco a Roma, and the Deutsche Botschaft Rom, bringing together musicologists, harpists, harp and string makers, and art historians.
What We Know, and What We still Do Not Understand about the Barberini Harp
Chiara Granata and Dario Pontiggia present findings and analysis related to new facts about the Barberini Harp. By integrating technical and historical research, they offer facts as well as open questions about this sumptuous musical instrument and its contexts. Unlike the other analyses presented by Harfenlabor, Granata and Pontiggia posit that Giovanni Lanfranco's painting Venus Playing the Harp does not depict the Barberini Harp.
“Venere che sona d’arpa e due amori”:
Marco Marazzoli at the Barberini Court
Giovanni Lanfranco’s painting Venus Playing the Harp depicts a harp very similar to the Barberini Harp. Elisabetta Frullini shares analysis and archival research to propose that Lanfranco might have indeed depicted the Barberini Harp, on commission by his friend, the harpist Marco Marazzoli. Frullini’s research highlights the aesthetic and social importance of this precious instrument and the representations of it.
Who was Luc Antoine Eustache, the Inventor of Three-Course Harp according to Mersenne?
Dinko Fabris presents his research into Luca Antonio Eustachio, described in Marin Mersenne's Harmonie Universelle (1637) as the inventor of triple harp. Whilst Eustachio’s role in harp development remains unclear, Fabris clearly establishes that Eustachio did exist and offers significant insights into his role of a musician and cameriere segreto to pope Paolo V.
Designs for Musical Instruments
A drawing titled Progetto per un’arpa, in the collection of the Uffizi, presents a project for a harp with a richly decorated column. Ursula Verena Fischer Pace presents arguments stating that not only was this a design drawing for the Barberini Harp, but also that the drawing ought to be attributed to Giovanni Battista Soria. Soria had worked for the Barberini; his hand is clearly recognisable in this design for a harp.
Marzia Faietti provides art historical context for music iconography and its relation to mythological figures within the graphic art of the 16th and the 17th century at the Uffizi. Faietti's analysis of a preparatory drawing for a richly decorated harp, often attributed to Giovanni Battista Soria, offers a fascinating insight into the aesthetic, political, musical, ceremonial and economic importance of such an instrument.
Master string maker Mimmo Peruffo is one of the very few remaining makers of musical gut strings. He has learnt this secret art from an old master from Abruzzo through oral transmission and teaching of gestures. In his workshop in Vicenza, Peruffo demonstrates elements of this ancient technique and its simple tools, and offers insights as to why gut string making has been such a closely guarded secret for centuries.
In this Harfenlabor online zoom lecture, Anne Marie Dragosits, harpsichordist, brings “New information on Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger - with special focus on his material for the basso continuo”; Michele Pasotti, lutenist, conducts close reading and analyses of manuscripts and transcripts in “Passaggi per suonare sopra la parte. Kapsperger and other 17th century Italian sources for basso continuo on the theorbo.”
Michele Pasotti, musician, lutenist, conductor, researcher and philosopher shares fascinating insights into his musical passion, the “medieval music,” in particular the musical style known as Ars subtilior. Thrilled by the refinement, elegance and complexity of this music, moved by its dulcedo and sensuality, Pasotti shares his discoveries of the layers of subtle information between the lines in the manuscripts of the period.