Victorian Fairy Harp Music

During the nineteenth century a musical genre arose in England that beautifully captures the spirit of the age. This sublime little art form evolved out of the Victorian obsesssion with fairies which in turn was the result of so many opposing aspects of nineteenth century society: the decline of religion, the first wave of feminism, the rise of Spiritualism and Theosophy, anthropology, antiquarianism, the reaction against Darwinism, the relentless advance of the middle classes, the repression of sexuality, the nostalgia for a rapidly vanishing rural past and the awakening of interest in our folklore heritage. The harp's long associations with the Otherworld was well placed to absorb these factors. At the time it was the favoured instrument of every respectable drawing room and there was a voracious appetite for a beguiling repertoire. Victorian Fairy Harp Music was the result. It is the quintessence of Victorian romanticism and one of its best-kept secrets.

Contemporary accounts describe audiences listening "with breathless pleasure upon the exquisite effects...entranced as if in some blest dream they heard the witching melody of heaven."

Harp of WIld and Dreamlike Strain is the first opportunity to hear this music in modern times. Read full article.

"This is music intended to transport the listener to a realm far more magical and beautiful than the mundane world. The overall effect is all that could be asked for."

- Music Web Review