Harriet Earis
Psychologists have a theory, that certain types of music are actually good for you. They claim, that some melodic acoustic music has a positive calming effect. This is the kind of feeling you get, while listening to Harriet Earis's lovely "Jumping Ahead" album. Harriet Earis, is one of the country's best harpist. She is classically trained to grade eight, and has been delighting audiences all over the world for over five years now. You can hear the title track of Harriet's album, by clicking below.
1) Jumping Head
1) You're regarded as one of the country's best harpists. When did you first take up the instrument?
I had the chance to try a harp on holiday in Wales when I was seven in 1987. I fell in love straight away and came back telling my parents ‘I’ve GOT to play the harp’. I adored the feel of it and the sound of it. I started having classical harp lessons with a very inspirational harpist in Winchester called Suzanne Bevis. Her house was always full of animals. Going for lessons involved locking ourselves in a room with the harp and a litter of puppies whilst six cocker spaniels, the occasional duck, several budgies, a few Russian hamsters and her two children called for attention outside! Being animal-mad I loved it!
I didn’t get into Irish music until I was 17. I had a gap year before university and was asked through a series of coincidences if I’d like to join a group of Irish musicians from West London who were going over to compete in a competition called the Fleadh Núa in Ennis in Ireland. I started going along to rehearsals, was asked to join a 6-piece band ‘Siansa’ that I still belong to, had a religious conversion to Irish music and I haven’t looked back since!
2) You're classically trained up to Grade Eight, which obviously requires enormous dedication. Do you still follow a rigid practice regime? What would a normal day consist of?
No, I don’t follow a ‘rigid regime’ at all! I hate monotony which is probably why I enjoy being a musician where every week is different! I’ve always played the harp for the love of it and it’s never felt like hard work. I don’t actually practice that much at all, to my shame! A lot of the time I’m on the road touring without much opportunity to practice in between performances. My typical day involves more hours driving in the car to gigs, than actually hours playing the harp. Even when I have the time, I prefer playing in sessions in pubs or going round to other people’s kitchens and sharing tunes. So much Irish and Scottish music is social music – tunes are there to be shared with other musicians or to accompany dancing. The classical music idea of locking yourself away for hours on end to practice just doesn’t seem right for this kind of music. I enjoy mucking about with tunes by myself if I’m trying to find variations or arrangements for concert sets or before recording, but otherwise I tend to play and learn tunes with other people socially or just play the harp at gigs. I love just sharing tunes with other people for the joy of playing – that’s the nicest kind of practice.
3) You have a love of Celtic music. What do like most about it?
The joy and the energy in the music. Playing and listening to this music can put me on a high every night. Also I love the associations Celtic music stirs up for me. These tunes immediately conjure up images of the past or of particular Irish and Scottish landscapes. I feel it’s a kind of minimalist music, pared down to the bare essentials. The melodies might be very simple yet they manage to express every aspect of life in a short 16 bars! The pathos and beauty of a slow air can have people in tears every time, whereas reels and jigs can be so lively that people can’t help but tap their feet to them. That’s powerful music! I also like the freedom of being able to improvise and arrange the tunes myself after years of having to stick rigidly to a written score with classical music. And finally I like the attitude of all the Celtic musicians I’ve met. People see music not just as a job or even a hobby, it’s a passion and a way of life, as natural as breathing and as essential. Friends pop into each other’s houses for cups of tea and get out their instruments as a matter of course and can end up swopping stories and tunes till four in the morning. It’s an addiction.
4) Some people say that certain types of Celtic music have an "almost spiritual" quality. Has this been your experience both as listener and performer?
I’ve come away from many, many Celtic music concerts either in tears or walking on air, breathless and overwhelmed by how wonderful the music has made me feel. I’d say that’s akin to a ‘spiritual’ experience. Any music that’s played with passion and conviction can be and should be incredibly moving - touching on deep emotions of joy, grief, hope, ecstasy. It certainly can lift the spirits – does that make it ‘spiritual’?! I know that when I play slow airs, if I play properly a stillness will descend and the whole atmosphere in the room can settle and change and it can seem a very profound thing both for me and hopefully for the audience too. These tunes can connect with something deep inside people and touch a nerve. Similarly there can be an explosion of energy if we get a key change right in a set of reels or suddenly launch into a fast jig – the joy I feel playing it suddenly seems to transfer to the audience and people start clapping along and smiling and getting carried away in the wild energy of the music and there’s a fantastic feeling of celebration. The trouble with the word ‘spiritual’ when applied to Celtic music is that it can imply the music is all rather vague and floaty and ethereal, cloaked in mist and sentimentality. True Celtic music for me awakens strong emotions in people but it’s also very much rooted in the landscape and in a strong sense of place – very down to earth in one way. It’s certainly powerful and evocative music though.
5) Which traditional songs have had the greatest influence on your own music?
I love traditional songs in Irish or Scots Gaelic, particularly slow unaccompanied Irish ones in the singing style called sean nos or ‘old style’. People seem to either love or hate sean nós. I love it, but some musician friends I’ve got can’t bear to be in the same room as a sean nós singer! I love the sound of the language and the phrases seem to last an eternity and notes are sustained for as long as breath will allow, so the particular sound and timbre of each and every note is savoured. The overall effect can be mesmerising and very powerful. I try to get the same total focus and stillness when I’m playing slow tunes. Most of the slow airs I play on the harp were originally songs and I always try to find out the words and follow a singer’s phrasing - imagining where they would breathe - when I’m learning the tunes. So even though I don’t sing myself, the lyrics are dictating the way I play the tune. I also love both the slow Hebridean songs and the faster mouth-music or puirt a’beul. I’ll listen to those to remind me of Celtic landscapes when I’m away from the UK in cities around the world. Those songs connect me back to the history and the culture where the music I play comes from.
6) You've played in bands such as "Siansa" "Chord", "Harpasonic" and "Luasca", how does this compare with playing on your own solo arrangements?
All of what I’ve learnt about Irish and Scottish music has come from playing with other musicians in bands, duos and of course in pub sessions. Almost all my ornamentation and approach to tunes on the harp started as an imitation of what my friends are doing on their instruments – on fiddles, flute, concertinas, accordions, uilleann pipes. Because I didn’t grow up with the tradition but have come to it later, I’ve had to absorb the whole approach to arranging and learning tunes from the traditional musicians I’ve been lucky enough to meet and play with. So my solo arrangements are very influenced by the other musicians I’ve played with. Most of the time I come up with solo arrangements by imagining what other members of the band might do if they were there and then I play their parts as well as my own! Sometimes playing solo allows me to be a little bit wilder and more experimental in my arrangements and variations though. It’s nice to have the freedom to do whatever I want without having to be diplomatic!
7) As well as being acclaimed in the UK you are now a highly regarded international artist. Which countries have you enjoyed playing in most?
I’ve toured a lot in Europe and America over the last few years – I’m just back from my ninth American tour playing as part of ‘The Irish Variety Show’ last week and I’ve travelled all around the States with that show which has been wonderful experience. I think my favourite foreign country for doing gigs in so far though has to be Germany. There’s so much Irish music interest in Germany! I’ve been asked over to do a lot of concerts in the Frankfurt area which have been organised by some wonderful German-Irish musician friends. The best thing about the gigs is that there are always all-night sessions after the concerts have finished with loads of local musicians. Having a chance to swop tunes and unwind by playing on after a gig is heaven! It’s always very inspiring and feels like a little bit of Ireland in the middle of Germany. I’ve also enjoyed playing in France – I did some gigs with a harp ensemble in Carcassonne which was a fantastic place with so much history.
However much I play abroad though, I do love bringing the music home too and playing around Ireland and Scotland. I organised a tour for 9 of us around the Hebrides in 2003 which was great – stunning mountains, sea and music is an irresistible combination for me. Playing duo gigs at Shetland Folk Festival in 2004 was very special too – an amazing 12 hour ferry crossing from Aberdeen with some wonderful musicians playing sessions on the boat all through the night. And of course you can’t beat Wales, which is where I’m based now. That’s my favourite country of all!
8) Traditional and Folk music seems more popular now then ever. Have you noticed this in terms of increased interest in your music and attendances at live shows?
Yes, there’s an explosion of interest in Celtic music at present. It’s great! I think so many people today are displaced in cities all round the world and they’re searching for their roots and for something that connects them to their past and also maybe to a more rural way of life. People are hungry for it. Going up to festivals like ‘Celtic Connections’ in Glasgow I’ve noticed a huge increase in the audience numbers over just the few years I’ve been going. People are queuing for hours to get in to the unticketed events and at most events people have to prebook now where a couple of years ago they could just turn up on the night. So many people want Celtic bands for parties and weddings too. Celtic music is becoming popular and mainstream in a way that people early in the 20 th century would have thought totally impossible. Then it was music associated with poverty and a history people wanted to forget. Now it’s associated with fun and energy and a history that people are yearning to reconnect with. It’s a very exciting time to be playing Celtic music!
You can get more info on Harriet at www.harrietearis.com
A Selection of Forthcoming Gigs:
9 th April
”Siansa”(http://www.siansa.com)
6-piece London-Irish Band concert in Farnham Maltings Arts Centre, Surrey http://www.farnhammaltings.com/
28th and 29th April
”Celts @ The Quay” – 2-night run of a 4-piece show of music, song and dance from Ireland and Scotland with Harriet Earis (Celtic harp), Anna Nic Raith (Scots Gaelic vocals), Colman Connolly (uilleann pipes, flute, low whistles) and Denis McDermott (Champion Irish step dancer, accordion, whistles)
Quay Theatre, Sudbury, Suffolk http://www.quaytheatre.org.uk/
Box Office 01787 374745 boxoffice@quaytheatre.org.uk
14th May
“Harriet Earis and Colman Connolly”
Celtic Harp and Uilleann Pipes/flute/low whistles duo - lunchtime recital
Horniman Museum, London http://www.horniman.ac.uk/
1st June
“Harriet Earis”
Solo Celtic Harp Recital (organised by Live Music Now! Wales – http://www.livemusicnow.org)
St Davids Cathedral Festival, Llanrhian Church, Pembrokeshire http://www.stdavidscathedral.org.uk/festivals.htm#programme
24th June
”Siansa”(http://www.siansa.com)
6 piece London-Irish band – concert and ceili
Medmenham Village Hall, nr Henley on Thames
14th July
”Siansa”(http://www.siansa.com) 6-piece London-Irish band concert
Henley College, Henley on Thames
15th,16th and 17th August Welsh Tour
“The Magic of a 1000 Strings” – harp ensemble concert tour with 40 harpists organised by Harriet Earis and Luisa-Maria Cordell
15th – Pontrhydfendigaid Pavilion, Ceredigion
16th – Abergynolwyn Community Centre, nr Dolgellau
17th – St Asaph Cathedral, North Wales
(http://www.harrietearis.com)
19th August
“Harriet Earis”
Solo Harp Recital, Nanteos Mansion, Ceredigion, Mid Wales
Mid Wales Music Week
22nd August
Harriet Earis and Colman Connolly
Celtic Harp and Uilleann Pipes/flute/low whistles duo concert
Green Man Folk Club, nr Basingstoke
http://www.greenmanfolkclub.co.uk/
