Disclaimer: The information given here is supplied by the makers themselves, it is neither a complete nor authoritative list and inclusion here does not mean the endorsement of the Wire Branch.

Violaine Alfaric

The clairseach I offer are made of trees from my local countryside. All of them are made in one piece of wood. Walnut, poplar, willow, maple, it depends on what is available. Each harp is unique. The overall shape is always based on the ancient harpers' instruments, but each one has its own character and personality. The design of the carving is never the same, it comes only from inspiration, so you are sure you will never see the same harp as yours. All the work is hand made with all my heart. If you want to contact me, you can visit my website, or come to my workshop in France

.Ardival Harps

Ardival makes historical harps and traditional harps. The historical harps use authentic construction methods: hollowed-out soundboxes and gut or brass wire strings as appropriate. We make medieval gut-strung Pictish-style harps. Our wire-strung clarsachs follow the Scottish and Irish traditions. We also make Renaissance bray harps, often called gothic harps, and modern folk harps with sharping levers.

Claude Bioley

Claude Bioley has made Irish harps since 1998, designed in collaboration with Catherine Delavier. He also makes Celtic, Baroque, Renaissance, Gothic and Romanesque harps. He enjoys working in collaboration with musicians, in order better to satisfy their needs and preferences.
 

Denis Brevet

I make copies of Irish and Scottish harps, hollowed from a single piece of wood, or assembled from planks in the case of 18th century models, always respecting traditional construction principles.

I also make Welsh triple harps strung with gut or nylon.

Busy Mole Harps has been set up with the idea of producing economically priced musical instruments, using modern techniques and materials. These instruments are ideal for beginners who want to explore early and folk music. Our harps are typically hardwood construction with a plywood soundboard and nylon strings but we are interested in wire harps and are developing a line with brass strings and all-hardwood soundboxes.  All harps are made to order and so we can offer a high degree of personalisation for each customer.

 Guy Flockhart
15 Kyveliog Street, Pontcanna
Cardiff  CF1 9JA
Wales, UK
Tel. +44 (0)29-2041 0834

Jöel Herrou

The wood used for the chest is  red willow, which was traditionally used in Ireland, and produces a unique quality of sound. The forepillar and neck wood could be: yew, oak, wild cherry, walnut, pear tree... each one gives a different personality to your instrument. Strings are bronze, spaces between them are 11mm wide as on the original.

Glenn Hill

I specialize in building one of a kind clarsach, and other types of harps. For my wire strung harps, I do not carve them out of one solid piece of wood, but instead build them up in the method of violin building. The resulting harp is built to very closely resemble a harp carved from one log, or not, as each harpist so desires. This method of construction is almost totally resistant to splitting.

Since I build each and every harp for the individual harpist, all aspects of the design, size, number of strings, carving and other decoration, can be customized to have the harp fit the player, rather than the other way around. I welcome orders that require me to adapt the style of any ancient surviving clarsach, to fit the modern players individual needs. I look forward to bringing your dream harp to life!

Klangwerkstatt Markt Wald

We are working in the tradition of small, light and portable instruments for travelling musicians. Our priority is to conserve the fine and silvery sound of historic harps.
We mainly hold courses where people can build their own harp, or other instrument, under our supervision, so they can have the confidence that their instrument is good quality and plays well.

David Kortier
1231 E. 9th Street,
Duluth MN 55805
USA

Lynne Lewandowski

Chad McAnally Historical Harps
 

Macdonald Harps Skye

email

Norbert Maier

"Brian Boru" model, after the harp in Trinity College Library, Dublin.

Typical for this Celtic harp from the late Middle Ages is the slowly fading bell-like sound of its wire strings, which the bards produced by plucking the strings with their fingernails. The soundbox is made "from a single block of wood" just like the original.

Davy Patton
Glenballythomas
Tulsk
Co. Roscommon
IRELAND

Frank Sievert & Tanja Zeps

The 17th Century original of this harp resides in the National Museum of Dublin. With the help of the former HoD, John Thean, who provided all necessary information and measures, the first of my Sirr harps came into being in 1992/93 (assisted by Jochen Vogel).

I have made several variations of the Sirr Harp, each of which is unique in its realisation.

 George Stevens

I have been making early stringed instruments, including harps, since 1989. All my instruments are made using the best materials and are constructed using a combination of modern and traditional methods. The brass strung clarsachs have their sound boxes hollowed out of a single piece of wood (traditionally willow) onto which a separate backboard is subsequently fitted.

The Stoney End clarseach is designed for authentic traditional Irish wire strung harp players. It has 26 closely spaced brass strings, no bridge pins and no levers. The unique shape closely mimics the oldest Irish harps as seen on every Irish coin.

 Jay Witcher

Jay makes a wide variety of harps, including historical copies of the old Irish and Scottish harps that have survived (Trinity, Sirr, O'Ffogerty, Lamont, Queen Mary, others). He makes triple- and double-strung harps, as well as a standard line of nylon- and wire-strung harps.

Please note that there is a waiting time for a Witcher harp.

Jay Witcher does not have a website; this illustration and description is from the harp dealer Harp & Dragon.  

 HOME