Cláirseach has been played in Ireland and Scotland since the 10th century to the 19th century. Set on a blue background, it is the national emblem of Ireland.
Many features make this instrument unique. Its strings are made of metal (brass and noble metals), thus requiring a different technique to that of the classical harp. The strings are struck with the fingernails (not plucked with fingers), and dampened with the fingertips, thereby achieving an unusual reverb and harmony.
Just like the harpers mentioned in the old literature, I keep my instrument on my left shoulder (contemporary harps are held on the right shoulder), so that the left hand plays the melody and the ornament, and the right hand accompanies it by playing the bass strings and only occasionally takes over the accented notes of the melody.
My harp also recreates the historical tuning – it has two strings with the same tone (na comhluighe), which form the conventional boundary between the bass accompaniment strings and the soprano melody strings.
I am currently playing on Mairi – a replica of the Queen Mary’s Harp exhibited in Edinburgh, and made by Leszek Pelc of Rzeszow, Poland.
My previous instrument – Shirka – was imported from the USA and assembled by Mirosław Baran, a luthier from Poznań.
