Music by The Harp Circle

A harp insemble comprosed of local harpists will present a concert of folk music at the Farwell Creamery.

Come see/hear The Four Harps (Judi Dahlseng, Karen Kirckof, Annette Helder and Laurie Musselman) perform lively pieces of Americana, Celtic and World Folk music. Also includes Julie Hanson on the hammer dulimer, Karen Kirkof on the bowed psaltery and Sharon League is going and teaching Irish dance.

Bowed Psaltery

The bowed psaltery is a wooden, triangular-shaped instrument whose roots extend from Biblical times.  Psalteries are members of the zither family; they vary in size, are made of different types of wood, and can easily be played even with little musical experience.  This particular psaltery was made in West Virginia, has 25 strings and is chromatic--sharps and flats on one side and the diatonic notes on the opposite side.  It is played with the bow gently pushing or pulling across the strings.  The psaltery's sound is rich and pleasing to the ear, but there is also a haunting quality to it.

Hammered Dulcimer

The hammered dulcimer is thought to have originated many centuries ago in the Middle East, when the strings of the psaltery, a stringed instrument, were struck rather than plucked.  Hammered dulcimers in a variety of shapes and sizes became part of traditional/folk music in the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe, and somewhat later, in the United Kingdom.  In the United States, the hammered dulcimer became popular in the late 1800s.  Today, we expect to hear this instrument at bluegrass music festivals, Dutch Hop Polka dances, and other folk music settings.  But musicians are always experimenting with instrumentation; don't be surprised if you hear a hammered dulcimer when you're listening to classical, religious, jazz, or almost any style of music.

The hammered dulcimer that Julie plays is a 'Chickadee' chromatic dulcimer, made by Chris Foss of Songbird Dulcimers in Muscatine, Iowa.  Julie purchased the dulcimer in 2022, having long admired the sound and the beauty of the instrument, but life got busy and the dulcimer stayed in its case for a long time.  Julie appreciates the harp group members, who encouraged her to unpack the dulcimer and start playing!