My Harp’s Delight, vol. 1 (LHS)

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                “Alonso Mudarra was one of the most important composers in XVIth Century Spain.  He was an accomplished player of both the vihuela (old Spanish guitar) as well as the harp.  The music for the vihuela was meant not only for this instrument but, also, for the harp and keyboard.  A “Tiento” is a short instrumental piece of music.

                “My Lady Carey’s Dompe” is one of the first instrumental pieces in variation form…

                Jan Pieterszoon Sweelink was a Dutch composer and organ player from Amsterdam of international fame.  His “Volte” is a dance.  It was intended for the lute but, as was the practice in those days, much lute music was played on other instruments…

                “The Purth Clarseach”, from Bunting’s Collection, is an XVIIIth Century lesson for the old Irish harp.  Bunting, who collected a great deal of Irish music in the XVIII and XIX Centuries, does not mention the origin of this piece…

                Turlough O’Carolan was the last important harper-composer in the Irish tradition.  He was fond of Italian music (Corelli o.a.).  The story goes that Carolan had heard Geminiani (1680)-(1762), who lived for many years in Dublin and died there, play the violin.  Carolan boasted the he also could make music in the “Italian Style”.  To follow up this boast, he improvised and played what is now called “Carolan’s Concerto”.  It is a very pleasant piece of music… Italian sun in an Irish landscape!

                The “Andante” by Fernando Sor (probably Sors), who was a famous guitar player and composer, is a short piece written originally for guitar…

                The last piece in this album, my “Pavane”, was written some years ago.  I was trying to write something difficult for the left hand, therefore, the left has to play two staves.

                Much pleasure to everybody!” A. van Campen