In 1995, a harp made by Jean-Henri Naderman was found in the attic of the Bourbon-Busset castle. This harp belonged to The Viscountess du Beaumont, an 18th century French aristocrat and amateur harpist. Jean-Henri Naderman made harps for many in the court of Louis XVI, likely including Marie Antoinette herself. Like many objects designed and created in the 18th century, this harp and the music performed on it reflect aristocratic values. These values continue to inform contemporary music utilizing the harp. The Viscountess du Beaumont’s harp is a 36 string pedal harp, made of spruce and maple. It is just over five feet tall, and at the bottom, the soundboard is about one foot wide (figure 1)[1]. The soundboard is decorated with symmetrically placed floral and vegetal forms painted on either side of the strings. The painted decorations culminate in a landscape scene framed by sculpted acanthus leaves at the bottom (figure 2). The carved wood is varnished in red and is gilded in some areas. The design is typical of moderately priced harps during this time period. Harps for musicians of higher social standing were more elaborately decorated and expensive. Naderman likely designed the harp below for Marie Antoinette (figures 3 and 4). Like on the Viscountess du Beaumont’s harp, floral and vegetal forms dance down the soundboard. However, other embellishments reflect the higher social standing of the client for whom it was made. For example, nearly the all of the wooden surfaces on this harp are gilded. There is also a liberal use of detailed sculptural elements, including a spiraling strand of flowers and leaves ascending the column. At the foot, there is a sculpture of two putti riding hippocampi. These details give this harp a much more excessive aesthetic, and suggest that it was designed for a client higher in social rank than the Viscountess du Beaumont.Given its aesthetically pleasing appearance, it is not impossible to imagine the harp functioning as a decorative piece in the home. The treatment of the decoration on both harps is reminiscent of pieces of furniture at the time. Floral rocaille patterns were ubiquitous decoration in rococo-era interiors. Swooping curves and spiraling patterns often manifested in the legs of chairs, tables, on candlesticks, and chandeliers. These harps are no exception. The placement of the Viscountess’ harp next to a chair and dresser in the Musée du Palais Lascaris suggests that the harp was treated like a piece of furniture (figure 1). A similar configuration is seen in the exhibition Dangerous Liasons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004, figure 5). A large-scale musical instrument such as the harp, could also have had a social function in 18th century France akin to that of furniture. Both harps and couches, for example, are used or occupied by the entire body. The harp requires hands to pluck the strings, and the feet to press the pedals, which change the pitch of the strings. Because chairs and couches must support the weight of the body, they must be similar in scale to the harp. Seating fixtures were also designed to affect posture and composure, thus affecting the perception of the person.[2] Similarly, the harp requires a specific posture in order to be played correctly. Delicate, precariously designed pieces of furniture were employed to give the impression of grace in the owners. For example candlesticks were often placed on tall, narrow tables. Avoiding a collision with such a piece required caution when moving through the space. The inverted triangular shape of the harp gives it heaviness at the top, and thus a sense of imbalance, analogous to the candlestick table. More complicated pieces of furniture implied wit and intelligence in the owners. For example, configuring a multi-surface game table for a desired function required specific knowledge about the piece. Like the game table, the playing a harp requires skill, both in terms of technique and in the ability to sight-read music. Much like understanding the design of the game table gives one the ability to utilize it to its full potential, understanding of harps and music theory in general allow the harpist to perform music of increasing complexity. Another similarity between harps and the game table is their association with the upper class value of leisure. The main purpose of playing games is entertainment. Music was also considered a leisurely activity in the 18th Century among amateurs. The amateur French harpist, Madame de Genlis said of her 1780 journey to Genoa: “we made music every evening for two or three hours, we talked, and the time passed in a pleasant manner,” suggesting that performing music was a social activity that was both interesting and enjoyable.[3] The music produced by the harp also evokes the sense that performing was a leisurely activity. The light airy music produced by the harp is analogous to the spiraling swirling, floral patterns of rococo furniture, interior decoration, and the decoration of the harp itself. For example, see this performance of Sonate Pour la Harpe, Op. 8 composed by Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz, one of several pieces discovered in the music book in the Viscountess’ harp case. Typical of many harp pieces, this one melodic, joyous, relaxed, and airy. The harp lends itself to this style. Harpists often allow lower strings to ring out as a bass line, or chord progression, which gives the music a relaxed, even lazy tone. One could play the harp in a more staccato manner, by muting strings quickly after they are plucked. However, letting the notes ring out and fade naturally makes the instrument much easier to play. Contemporary music still contains the harp, though much less frequently than in the 18th Century. Modern uses of the harp continue to play on ideas surrounding the instrument in the 18th Century. One example of this is on the Smashing Pumpkins 1995 album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Track number ten on this album “Cupid de Locke” utilizes an arpeggiated harp line throughout the length of the song. The relaxed beautiful, relaxed tone, and the title of the song may make it seem as though it is an innocent love song. Romance being a ubiquitous theme in 18th Century French culture, the use of the harp in the song is not surprising. However, the lyrics take on a dark overtone, typical of alternative music. The album continually uses rococo iconography to demonstrate the theme of contrasting romance and darkness. From track-to-track, the album alternates between lighter, more relaxed songs such as “Cupid de Locke,” and intense, borderline heavy metal songs such as “Bodies,” (the lyrics to which include a less subtle refrain relating to the theme of love and darkness) The album cover by collage artist, John Craig also juxtaposes these darker themes with French images (figure 7). In a 2015 interview, Craig revealed that the figure on this cover is a collage, utilizing the head of the woman in Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s, The Souvenir (figure 8). The body of this figure comes from Raphael’s St. Catherine of Alexandria. In the “frontispiece” of the lyric booklet, we again see a decorative floral pattern surrounding the album’s title (figure 9). For another interesting example of contemporary harp music, listen to the work of Mary Lattimore, who has performed as a solo artist: and in groups with the likes of Kurt Vile: and Jeff Ziegler: [1] Adelson, Robert. "The Viscountess de Beaumont's Harp and Music Album (1780)." The Galpin Society Journal 62 (2009): 159-197.
[2] Hellman, Mimi. "Furniture, sociability, and the work of leisure in eighteenth-century France." Eighteenth-Century Studies 32, no. 4 (1999): 415-445. [3] Adelson, Robert. "The Viscountess de Beaumont's Harp and Music Album (1780)." The Galpin Society Journal 62 (2009): 164.
1 Comment
Arthur Psaltis
12/20/2018 08:09:31 am
Found a 1820 Jean Henri Naderman harp in my mother in laws
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