Edinburgh's International Harp Festival goes global as it reinvents itself as a virtual online event

While the Fringe, International Festival, Book Festival and Tattoo may have all been forced to take a year out due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, one Edinburgh festival has determined to take place come what may. With the simple addition of the word ‘Virtual’ to its title, the 39th Edinburgh International Harp Festival is all set to go ahead on Friday 3 April, and run until Wednesday 8 April... albeit in a very different format to that originally planned.

As in previous years, the festival was due to take place at Merchiston Castle School, but on 5 March organisers received the news that the school had been forced into cancelling their booking due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Despite their disappointment, organisers determined that, in the best of entertainment traditions, the show must go and that they would present the festival in an online form for 2020, the first of the Capital’s annual calendar of festivals to do so.

The online incarnation of the event is the brainchild of Rachel Hair, now the coordinator of the Virtual Edinburgh International Harp Festival, who says, “We are so excited to bring a taste of our 39th Festival to the world, online and to the safe environment of everyone’s homes. We hope it will help bring a smile to the faces of harpists and music-lovers worldwide, inspiring them to keep playing music whilst supporting our Virternational Harp Festival’s artists and tutors.”

The annual five-day event is run by The Clarsach Society and celebrates every kind of harp, music and friendship. Regularly attracting more than 500 players and students from around the globe, the 2019 festival brought harp enthusiasts from 25 countries to the Capital for a programme of concerts, courses, workshops and late-night music from some of the world’s finest harpists.

With some 70 events planned for 2020, this months event had been set to be the best yet with attendees enjoying a series of top rated concerts in the magnificent ‘Harry Potter’ style Memorial Hall of Merchiston Castle School. Forty-two courses and 20 workshops were also set to take place along with one of the world’s biggest harp-maker’s exhibitions, displaying faithful historical reproductions alongside the very latest developments in harp construction.

Instead, the Virtual Edinburgh International Harp Festival will give music lovers in the Capital and around the world the chance to watch performances and engage in online workshops with 18 of the harpists who were originally booked to appear at the Festival. The virtual event will feature three workshop and concert videos each day, all of which will be uploaded to the EIHF Facebook page, YouTube channel and website. Starting this Friday evening, concerts will be uploaded at 7.30pm nightly with workshops going up at 1pm and 4pm daily.

Patsy Seddon, joint artistic advisor of the Festival, says, “This is virtually the best idea we’ve heard in a long time. It may even herald in a new era of our future festivals where some events are in situ and others online or even both. As hoped, our wonderfully supportive artists are flocking to take part and we look forward to enjoying EIHF in splendid isolation in the comfort of our own homes.”

Those performers include Ireland’s Cormac de Barra, Germany’s Tom Daun, America’s Lily Neil and Scotland’s Gillian Fleetwood. Also on the bill are Elinor Evans and former harpist to the Prince of Wales, Anne Denholm. Welsh jazz pedal harpist Ben Creighton Griffiths will also join the line-up by attempting a transatlantic video meet-up with his duo partner violinist Adrien Chevalier, currently locked down in the USA.

For those looking to hone their own musical skills, workshops will be taught on a variety of subjects, including the Scottish harp, Bulgarian harp, technique and harp-looping. These will be taught by teachers including Corrina Hewat, Wendy Stewart, Tsvetelina Likova, Eira Lynn Jones and Calum MacLeod.

Another highlight of this year’s programme will be two Mass Harps Music Concerts, next Tuesday and Wednesday. Harpists at home will be given the opportunity to join in with an orchestra of 100 harpists as the Virtual Festival showcases the video premieres of Farewell to St Kilda, by Isobel Mieras, and Rachel Hair’s Mannin Aboo.

Farewell to St Kilda, on Tuesday, is the final movement in Mieras’ St Kilda Suite. “St Kilda is a group of islands which rise dramatically out of the Atlantic 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides,” says Mieras.

“The largest island, Hirta, was inhabited for thousands of years by folk who created their own unique way of life, fishing and harvesting both the small amount of fertile land and the huge colonies of seabirds on nearby Soay and Boreray. Their way of life and culture came to an end in 1930, when the last remaining 36 islanders left. I was fortunate enough to visit this amazing place in June last year. Hearing its poignant history and experiencing its dramatic seas, landscapes and unique atmosphere led me to compose The St Kilda Suite.”

On Wednesday, harpists at home will be invited to play along with the premiere of the video Mannin Aboo, which features music from the Isle of Man, arranged by Hair.

Those playing along at home will join in with the Manx section of the concert.

Hair explains, “I’ve entitled this mini suite Mannin Aboo!, which roughly translates from Manx Gaelic as Hooray Isle of Man!.” Those wishing to play along will be able to download the music in advance to practice ahead of the concerts.

Other online highlights include a chance to view videos on harp maintenance from festival founders Pilgrim Harps, one of 18 harp-makers who were set to exhibit at this year’s event.

Mieras, who is also Joint Artistic Advisor of the Festival, adds, “Heartfelt thanks to all the performers and teachers who have so enthusiastically supported us. Our thoughts are with them as we all face these new challenges. Meanwhile, enjoy a taste of what we all looked forward to so much, and we’ll see you all at the 40th Festival which will run from 9-14 April 2021.”

To enjoy the ground breaking festival, all you have to do is check into one of the Festival’s aforementioned social media platforms. All are free to access although organisers would be delighted if those viewing could make a donation to Edinburgh International Harp Festival or purchase the music of the performers and tutors, who are giving their time and pre-recording their videos at home. Established in 1931, the Clarsach Society’s main aim is to promote the clarsach and its music in Scotland and in the wider world harp community.

For more details, to download music, or to watch and take part in the Virtual Edinburgh International Harp Festival online go to www.harpfestival.co.uk or www.facebook.com/EdinburghInternationalHarpFestival or www.youtube.com/edinharpfest

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