It's a Rosebud in June - for 2 Harps

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's an English folk song, which dates from before 1715.  This version was arranged in 1916 by Cecil J. Sharp, and I transcribed and adapted it for 2 harps.  It makes a lush, harpy backdrop for some lovely pictures with roses.  The video runs about 2 minutes.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Rose Island, book illustration from Greenhouse Flora of Europe, circa 1866
2 - Juin, print from calendar by Samuel Grasset, 1896
3 - Growing Buckbee's American Beauty Roses, Victorian trade card, circa 1911
4 - Rose Garden, painting by Charles Vetter, 1926
5 - Roses, painting by P.S. Kroyer, 1893
6 - Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, painting by John William Waterhouse, 1909
7 - Girl with Rosebush, painting by Hugo Kauffmann, 1904
8 - Early Lovers, painting by Frederick Smallfield, 1858
8 - God Speed! detail of a painting by Edmund Leighton, 1900
10 - The Soul of the Rose, painting by John William Waterhouse, 1908
11 - Rosa Triplex, watercolor by Gabriel Rossetti, 1874

The Holly and the Ivy - for Harp and Ukulele

One of my favorite Christmas carols, The Holly and the Ivy is arranged here for harp and ukulele.  It runs about 1 minute.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Window with Ivy Tendrils, German stained glass, circa 1819
2 - Heigh Ho Holly, book illustration by Walter Crane, 1900
3 - Battle for Wesnoth, elvish style digital portrait, 2011
4 - Holly, book illustration by Laura Coombs Hills, 1890
5 - Pia de Tolomei, detail of painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, circa 1870
6 - Janvier, print from calendar by Samuel Grasset, 1896
7 - Scribner's for Xmas, poster print by Louis Rhead, 1895
8 - Harper's Bazar Xmas 1894, magazine cover, 1894
9 - Winter, book illustration by Florence E. Dudgeon, 1800s

Amazing Grace - for 2 Harps

Arranged for 2 harps, this version of Amazing Grace is just over 2 minutes long.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Studies of a Woman Praying, detail of a drawing by Ludwig Emil Grimm, 1836
2 - Old Woman Praying, detail of a photo by Rudolf Erickemeyer, Jr, circa 1890
3 - Man Saying Grace, fragment of a painting by Joseph Geirnaert, circa 1830
4 - Grace, photo by Eric Enstrom, 1918
5 - 'Slum Sisters' Singing Grace, magazine illustration by Georgina A. Davis, 1893
6 - The Vespers Hour, detail of a book cover illustration by H.H. Emmerson, 1881
7 - The Grace, painting by Michael Ancher, 1919
8 - The Thankful, painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1894
9 - The Prayer Before Supper, print by Claes Janssen, circa 1640
10 - Blessing Before Supper, painting by Charles de Groux, 1861
11 - Study of Women and Men Saying Grace Before a Meal, drawing by Hubert von Herkomer, circa 1880
12 - Children Saying Grace Before Lunch - refugees near Paris, photo, circa 1917
13 - School Lunch Program - in Depression-era U.S, photo, 1936
14 - Skippers' Children Praying Before Eating - Dutch photo, 1955
15 - New England's Own Delivers Thanksgiving Dinner to Patrol Base Boldak, Afghanistan, U.S. Marines, photo by Cpl Katherine Keleher, 2011
16 - Grace, stained glass window in German Church of Stockholm

Revelation: Variations on Christus Resurgens - for Harp

This is a 12th-century Gregorian chant, Christus Resurgens, that I arranged for 2 harps in the form of 4 themes with variations.  Why call this "Revelation" when the original melodies were about the Resurrection?  We are in times that appear to be apocalyptic, and the world could use a resurgence of Christ's teachings.  The video runs just over 4 minutes.

Pictures in Video -

Apocalypse paintings by Gebhard Fugel, 1933
1 - Angel with Book
2 - Eating the Book
3 - Before the Apocalypse
4 - Book with Seven Seals
5 - Woman and Dragon
6 - Michael's Fight
7 - By the Waters of Babylon (circa 1920)
8 - Beast from the Sea
9 - Babylon the Great
10 - Court of Justice Announcement
11 - Horsemen of the Apocalypse
12 - Angel with Seal
13 - Angel with Stone
14 - First Trumpet
15 - Bowls of Wrath
16 - Falling Rocks
17 - Abyss Opens
18 - The Last Dish
19 - Final Battle
20 - Satan Shackled
21 - Souls at the Altar
22 - Great Flock
23 - The New Jerusalem

The Lark in the Morning - for Harp

The Lark in the Morning is a folk song that dates back to at least 1778, made popular in the 1970s by The Dubliners.  Here's a harpy romp through things Irish (and one Swedish).  It runs about 2 minutes.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Colleen in Kinsale Cloak, post card, 1905
2 - 101st Anniversary Dinner, detail of program illustration, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, 1885
3 - Shamrock Dear, magazine cover, 1907
4 - 117th Annual Banquet program, Hibernian Society, 1888
5 - Leprechaun, journal illustration by Jean Noel Lafargue, post 1968
6 - On the Seventeenth, magazine cover illustration, 1911
7-Lucky Way, detail of Christmas card by Jenny Nystrom, pre 1947
8 - The Sweet Little Shamrock, post card, circa 1910
9 - The Shamrock, post card by Ellen H. Clapsaddle, 1908
10 - Wearing of the Green, post card by Ellen H. Clapsaddle, 1907
11 - Lismore Castle, post card, 1903
12 - Castle Connell, post card, 1903
13 - Eire, print, 1865
14 - Let the Golden Harp Play, post card, unknown date
15 - Erin go Bragh, detail of post card, unknown date

Barbara Allen - for harp

Here's a traditional love song, which has a beautiful melody for harp, even though it is a sad story. The video runs about 3 minutes, and it helps to know the story or read the lyrics so the pictures will make sense:

"Barbara Allen" Lyrics

All in the merry month of May,
When green buds all are swellin'.
Sweet William on his deathbed lay for love of Barbara Allen.
He sent his servant to the town,
The place where she did dwell in.
Saying, 'Master dear has sent me here if your name be Barbara Allen.'
Then slowly, slowly she got up and slowly she went to him,
And all she said when there she came was, 'Young man, I think you're dying.
'Don't you remember the other night when we were in the tavern?
You drank a toast to the ladies there and slighted Barbara Allen.'
He turned his face unto the wall,
He turned his back upon her.
'Adieu, adieu, to all my friends.
And be kind to Barbara Allen.'
As she was wandering on the fields she heard the death bell knellin'.
And every note, it seemed to say,
'Hard-hearted Barbara Allen!'
The more it tolled the more she grieved,
She bursted out a-crying.
'Oh, pick me up and carry me home.
I fear that I am dying.'
They buried Willy in the old church yard and Barbara in the new one,
And from William's grave, there grew a rose, from Barbara's, a green briar.
They grew and grew in the old church yard,
Till they could grow no higher,
And there they tied in a true lover's knot,
The red rose and the briar.

Pictures in Video -
1 - garden catalog illustration, 1899
2 - Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush, book illustration, Ian Maclaren, author, 1899
3 - Woman at the Virginal, detail of a painting by Jan Miense Molenaer, circa 1635
4 - Boy with a Pipe, painting by Jan Miense Molenaer, circa 1630
5 - Happy Company, detail of a painting by Jan Miense Molenaer, 1615
6 - Cruel Barbara Allen, songbook illustration by Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, circa 1920
7 - Pastoral Scene, painting by Jan Miense Molenaer, 1632
8 - The Young Lady Bellringer, painting by Otto Plitz, 1875
9 - To Edgar Alan Poe, detail of a lithograph by Odilon Redon, 1882
10 - Bonchurch, Old Church Near Ventnor, book illustration by A. Heaton Cooper, circa 1840
11 - funeral holy card illustration, 1896
12 - In the Cemetery of the Deaconesses Abbey, journal illustration, 1871
13 - The Young Lady Bellringer, (filtered effect) painting by Otto Plitz, 1875
14 - Provence or French Rose, engraving by Henry Joseph Redoute, 1917

How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee - for Harp

Here's another Bach chorale for the Christmas season. "How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee" is from the Christmas Oratorio, and it runs about 2 minutes.

Pictures in Video -

(A European collection of sacred art--for a more ethnically diverse set, see my "What Child Is This?" video.)

1 - border from The Nativity of Our Lord, book illumination by Alfred Trevor Crispin, 1873
2 - The Angels Approaching the Shepherds, book illumination by Alfred Trevor Crispin, 1873
3 - The Adoration of the Magi, book illumination by Alfred Trevor Crispin, 1873
4 - The Nativity of Our Lord, book illumination by Alfred Trevor Crispin, 1873
5 - The Adoration of the Shepherds, book illumination by Alfred Trevor Crispin, 1873
6 - The Annunciation to the Shepherds, illumination by Willem Vrelent, circa 1460
7 - Nativity with Harps, post card from Germany, 1907
8 - The Adoration of the Shepherds, painting by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622
9 - The Birth of Jesus Christ, book illumination by Alfred Trevor Crispin, 1873