Scott

Harp Builder Timothy Des Roches for Harp Talk (Interview)

/ mrbaxteria2008 / Leave a comment

Plus: The High Kings and Festival Interceltique de Lorient

Timothy Des Roches: The invisible noodle(string)

The harp  fascinated me since childhood. I owe that to the movies and also the late  Japanese jazz harpist Tadao Hayashi (in grade school) who started me in this path. He made me realize that the instrument can create a lot of sound  textures depending on the player.

With my journey to the discover of Celtic music, it was not hard to fuse the past and the present. Hearing the instrument gives you deeper meaning when you know its history and its construction. How or why does it make such sound? As what poet  Lao Tzu says about traveling..”A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” And also “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” –– Robert Louis Stevenson. Learning is a great journey -by knowing the harp more.

You have to realize this didn’t take place in one day. Tim and I just sent messages and ideas back and forth as we went along:

I got a brilliant idea for the interview. Why don’t we make a picture discussion. I will go ahead and post pictures from your picture  gallery and let you explain further. We will make it as informal and chatty as possible.

Or if you prefer we will make it on the main conference with Scott(Hoye). Anything that makes you comfortable.

After sometime….

He said: This may be mildly interesting to you. I’ve been discussing the build of a traditional wire strung harp with someone for some time now. This person desires a replica harp with an English Walnut pillar and column (the sound box is to be carved from Linden/Lime ,latin: tilia. Our conversations started over a year ago. Well, after about one year I came upon a proper log for the carved sound box (the wood needs to be green/wet), and after countless hours of searching I just found the English walnut in the right thickness (rare) in Southern Poland. Enough for many harps and pleasantly priced – WAAAAY cheaper that it would be from a US vendor, even though the wood is actually more common here than in Europe. It’s very odd to me how these things seem to make themselves available when I’m close to being ready for them even if the odds are stacked against me. Money is always an issue – I have little and wood and transport are costly – and transport is always challenging as I haven’t a car.

In the picture the shorter lengths are about 1.5 meters long and 7 cm thick, the rest is 5cm thick and about 3 meters long. The wood has “seasoned” naturally for five years. Commercial wood is usually kiln dried, which is less desirable for musical instruments.

Now this is a great thread starter 😉

Hey, I know that pic (referring to the picture below).

Let us discuss about wood carving in this picture. How long did it take for you to finish this one?I am actually in your album now.

Hmmmm, 80 hours maybe. But “in the round” like that is a real pain and I never clamped that piece while working on it. Or rather, I clamped it with my left elbow while carving with the right and left hand.

You seem to take harp making a step further by adding intricate designs. How do clients react to your finished products?

The design took longer than the carving – I can take a long time to settle on a design. When it’s for me, as this harp was, I want something I can live with, something that fits the harp. If a carving is for someone else THEY decide; that makes things easier.

What clients? Thus far it’s all for my wife, except one small wire harp. They liked the carving a lot, it made the harp more personal. For myself, I enjoy finding what the wood has within and adjusting to the grain. Thankfully, every piece of wood is different so even if you’re making the same design over and over there’s always something new, but hand carving adds another layer to that.

Interesting!

I didn’t know you have so many” weapons” ( see picture). How did you get into harp building?

I like “les armes blanches!” There’s absolutely no such thing as too many chisels. Grab and air-sickness bag, love got me involved. It was my 5th anniversary that was approaching and I wanted to give Magda something special. The fifth anniversary calls for a wooden gift so I set myself to thinking. I remembered that she had once told me that as a little girl her dream was to play the harp, but in Communist Poland that was beyond the grasp of all but the luckiest of talented youths, so she opted for classical guitar. So, I researched and bought a harp kit from Musicmakers; it was a 26 string Limerick harp in walnut. I did some simple carving to to make it truly hers and found an interest in both harps and carving. Later I made a connection with the harp maker Rick Kemper of Sligo Harps and have been enjoying a kind of intl. apprenticeship with him. Rick’s harps are awesome and he’s been very patient and kind to me. It’s now four summers that I’ve been cluttering his shop with myself and one harp project or another.

That is the best gift I have ever heard in ages!Look at these gorgeous harps she got.These are wire strung harps right? How many of these are in your house now?

Actually Magda has an irrational preference for nylon or gut strung harps. Those floor harps in the picture are nylon strung (there’s no money in my piggy bank for gut). On the left is the second harp I “built” for her, a Muscimakers Voyageur (another kit) on which she wanted carved dragons. On her right is a cross-strung harp that was the result of my second summer spent in the company of Rick Kemper. So, that’s two, then there’s my little 19 string wire harp (bronze strung) of lime and cherry, a nineteen string wire harp of cherry and maple (strung in brass), the 32 string Lamont strung in bronze and silver, and a small 22 string nylon harp bought before I decided to build a kit harp. That makes 6, and I’m currently working on a triple strung harp (81 strings) for Magda because there’s still room to throw a cat in the music room. Oh, and we live in flat that’s right in the middle of Lodz.

That one is really tiny. I haven’t seen a size like that before.

Small wire-strung, that’s the lime/cherry – fruit flavoured! Except that lime/linden trees aren’t fruit bearing and the cherry is a wild and rather unpalatable fruit bearing variety – better for cabinet making than jam making. That is actually the first harp I made all on my own. The wood for the soundbox came from a tree being felled on my way to work.

Let us talk about construction. What are the yes and no of making levers and of the kind of materials you use?

Whoa! I don’t make levers and wouldn’t want to. Levers are made by elves and dwarves in unknown lands (I do fear that some of this activity takes place in China – at least component manufacture, but I may be wrong…I hope I’m wrong. I have installed levers, and shall likely do more of it in the future although it’s not my preferred way to spend time. The levers in the picture are Camac levers and are very popular for their quality of tone and ease of use – by the harpist. Other brands exist: Truitt, Delacour, Peter Brough, Loveland, Robinson… Each type has it’s advantages and disadvantages.

Peter Brough Brilliant bronze semitone levers

Thanks!

Nylon and steel strings…the difference in sound, construction and the challenges making each?

Wow, esoterica. Interestingly enough, nylon and steel strings both call for just about the same vibrating length. Wire harps are strung (usually) with brass or bronze. Brass and bronze call for shorter (significantly so) vibrating lengths for a given note than than nylon. Nylon, gut, nylgut (a synthetic), or fluorocarbon strings all produce a “typical” harp sound with some being darker, some brighter, some punchier… Brass and bronze strings sound closer to a harpsichord when played with great technical skill. The wire strings have a greater sustain and typically less volume from the harp although in some ways the sound carries better. Steel strings sound more like little bells, more tinkly.

Nylon harps are lighter built than wire harps and requiring a greater length of string material for any given note. Given a wire harp and a nylon or gut harp with the same range of notes, the nylon/gut harp will be bigger. Wire harps tend to be styled after existing historic harps or harps depicted in stone carving or period illustrations. There is a greater freedom of form and materials used that can be perceived in the nylon/gut strung harp arena. Many lever harp players cry out for lighter and lighter harps, one builder even builds in carbon fiber – ultralight. You’re more likely to hear wire harp types clamoring for archaic dry joinery (no adhesives) and specific woods. All types of harps have their merits and uses.

For more on string theory, try to get your head around my friend Rick Kemper’s brilliant explanations:
http://www.sligoharps.com/string.html

Tim, if people are looking for great harp manufacturers, where would you refer them?

Who are they? WHERE are they? What kind of music do they want to play?

Generally I’d tend to go with one woman/man operations. You get more of a dialog, more personal service. USUALLY a better instrument. Big name companies are more interested in NOT having to perform warranted repairs and that forcibly affects building strategies and sound. It’s nice to buy local. If not, make sure a competent luthier lives within a couple of hours drive. A floor harp can be expensive to ship for repair work!

Timothy Des Roches is the guy you might want to look for if you want a harp builder. His bio says:

I live in Lodz (woodge), Poland with my wife, Magda, my son, Mieszko (myeshkoh), and my dog. Life just keeps getting better.

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Featured video: The High Kings – “The Rising Of The Moon”

Check out the new video “The Rising Of The Moon”, from Ireland’s ‘Best Folk Group of the Year’ THE HIGH KINGS. Their new album “Memory Lane” is out now in the US.

Get your copy at Amazon here – http://amzn.to/h53CHG

My appreciation to Christi for posting this on her network. One of the best Irish groups!

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Today in Pictures: Festival Interceltique de Lorient Grande Parade 2012

Copyright Michel Renac- FIL2012

Black Rose by Scott Hoye(Track by track album review)

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 5 Comments

Black Rose: An album  of moods, textures and layers.

I am listening to Black Rose, a Cláirseach harp and vocal album by the  American Celtic  musician Scott Hoye. It has all the satisfying elements that you can find in a traditional album. Yet it has the experimental quality of a New Age  or Ambient album. There is a good balance between instrumental and vocal tracks  here. We find songs that are familiar, including Eleanor Plunkett. His track by track arrangement is eclectic. I hear strains of Liszt in Ultima Thule while other tracks like Oh Rainy Night  just oozes with folk/rock vocal harmonies. Black Rose is an album filled with elegance and emotional beauty. And his influences are very refreshing.

Eleanor Plunkett is played the way I remember Clannad did it in the 70s. It has that same down to earth appeal yet with elegance in its simplicity. It is tied up to Fanny Poer which has percussion and whistle. The ambiance is live. This is exactly the  kind of sound you hear on live acoustic performances.

Scott used to be part of a rock band the  Seranati. Think of Jethro Tull and Traffic. This is evident in his powerful voice that has the crunch of an electric guitar with its remarkable range. But he is being subtle here as he incorporates the Irish Sean Nos style of singing .The Flower of Magherally is rendered in a capella. I heard several versions. One is by Altan and the other is by Anuna. I have to confess Scott’s singing stops you in your tracks.

The South Wind takes us into another instrumental journey. This time we hear the delicate playing as his fingers move from one string to another with an experienced grace. The notes off the harp twinkle like little crystals. Then the tune moves into the poignant melody of Carricfergus. Here the whistle has never been so bitter-sweet. I love how these two instruments complement each other with such subtle ardor.

Black Rose which is the title track is another a capella tune. Again we hear Scott’s strong but expressive voice where he dips from woeful highs to smoldering lows. Partly Gregorian, partly rock, his singing is really magnificent.

A Neansai Mhile Gra  begins and ends with the kind of delivery that is expressive and simply beautiful. This track is very visual. This is the same kind of element you can find in his Celtic band The Spriggans.

Oh Rainy Night takes us into a rock twist with its engaging vocal harmonies. This is the style where he shines. Scott isn’t really for tamed emotions when it comes to singing. Like a wolf that needs the wild, his voice is a force of nature, so stormy yet beautiful with its power.

Where Time Stops is gentle as of a balladeer telling a story. “ I can show you a place where the time stops”..he sings with such ease of expression that when he moves to the chorus with layered voices it becomes epic. I’d call for more rainy afternoons with this song. Like a walk in the fields when the downpour stops, watching the leaves glisten. This is  the  kind of beautiful imagery this song brings to mind.

Sad Nika brings back that Sean Nos air that track 2 and 4 have. With varying arrangements, Scott has created an album  of moods, textures and layers without having to call for a lot of collaborations.

The last track Ultima Thule is a long piece with an almost operatic quality. It is dreamy, hypnotic and it is the kind of music you would like to hear when you are waiting for the rain to stop. I think without this track Black Rose would sound incomplete. Everything about Black Rose simply go together like  forks, knives and spoons. Dinner has been served. And yes it is a rewarding listening experience.

The composer at work.

Blurb about Black Rose from liner notes:

Black Rose has been many years in making. Several of the tracks were written long ago for two other projects, Seranati, a progressive rock group, and The Spriggans, a Celtic ensemble. Both groups performed and recorded in the 1990s in the Detroitarea. These songs did not see the light of day then, and they have simmered on the back burner of my mind over the years. I have re-imagined them for this, my first solo recording. Black Rose has slowly taken shape, like a musical journey with many vistas along the way. It is a fusion of many of the things that impassion me: traditional Celtic, pop, folk, and ambient musical styles.

Black Rose, the tune, was written for a friend when she had hit upon some sad times. I had initially imagined it as a prelude to a tune called Beauty’s Daughters (a.k.a., Lord Byron’s Stanza’s for Music II) crafted by my self and guitarist Patrick Penta, and played by both The Spriggans and Seranati. The refrain was written without my knowledge of the term Black Rose being attributed to Ireland; a sort of code word for the longing for a independent country during the British rule. This was a happy accident, and I humbly offer it up as a new, Sean Nos, or “old style,” a cappella song, like those popular in traditional Irish music. Two other songs here fall in this category: The Flower of Magherally (a traditional Irish tune) and Sad Nika. My friend, singer-songwrite John Hammink, wrote Sad Nika after a hiking trip in Europe. He wrote it for me to sing while I was a member of The Spriggans. I am exceedingly happy to be making it available here now. Thanks so much for waiting, John. Hope you aren’t disappointed with the effort.

Oh Rainy Wind and A Place Where Time Stops were both written for Seranati. Oh Rainy Wind describes my life walking to and from bars with various women, or just walking into and out of pubs on long nights. It was written at the behest of the keyboardist, Stefan Economou. Stefan desperately wanted to sing more bright, pop, rather that dark, blues influenced tunes. Here is your “Beatles” tune, Stefan, re-figured as a three-part, a capella, drinking song.

I like to think A Place Where Time Stops was influenced by Sufi and Hindustani religious, devotional poetry and spiritual traditions. I was also between girlfriends when I wrote it, so I can’t deny the process of sublimation in its inception. Singing in a rock band did have some fringe benefits, I suppose.

Ultima Thule is an improvised theme with multi-tracked harp and whistle. My friend Bryan Moore, sculptor and director of HP Lovecraft film and fandom fame, inspired it, naming his new home after the term. “Ultima Thule” is an idea from the ancient Greeks—the most distant, northerly island, geographically, from their perspective. Perhaps Hibernia? Albion? Who knows? By the time the Romantics referenced it in poetry and lieder, when the world had been fairly well mapped, it was an imaginary country; a land of the dream realms. I thought the pentatonic setting would give it an ancient flavor, as well as lending itself to improvisation.

Eleanor Plunkett/Fanny Poer: two tunes attributed to the 17th century, Irish harper, Turlough O’Carolan. These were both written as slantes, or tributes to two of his patrons. I attempted to give a more “archaic” sound to the arrangement with the inclusion of the descending arpeggios. The second tune includes whistle and djembe, an African hand drum, rounding it out with a full ensemble quality.

The South Wind/Carrickfergus: The first tune is attributed to O’Carolan, but sounds more like a simple folk tune to me, so he may have just grafted his own poetry to an older tune, or it was never really a part of his repertoire. Carrickfergus is a permutation of the Scottish tune, “The Water is Wide.” Dominic Behan, Brendan Behan’s brother, first recorded it, and attributed it to, of all folks, Peter O’Toole who learned in, of all places, a pub; fine couple of folks for a harper to be vicariously connected to.

A Neansaí Mhíle Grá: is a simple instrumental version of this Gaelic love song for the harp.

Thanks to the following for their support and inspiration: Ma & Da and clan Hoye; Dick Anderson of Woodsong Musical Instruments for creating a superior harp that has held up all these years; Eric & Cynthia Cathcart, Rachel Hair, Steve Toth, & Chris Caswell for recording tips, and encouragement; all Spriggans great and small (you know who you are); wirestrungharp.com, my Soundcloud cronies and FB harp associates; John Hammink for writing such a great tune and waiting so long; Regina Harris-Baiocchi for kind words and perspective; Delhi street food vendors, just because you deserve recognition, and Atul Mohan for pointing me in their direction, and providing encouragement for this project; the worldwide Khanna tribe (cheers!), and, especially, my wife Shabnam.

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You can purchase the album here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/scotthoye

visit: https://www.facebook.com/SCOTTHOYEMUSIC

https://www.facebook.com/groups/celticharp/

and http://www.wirestrungharp.com/