The harp, whose lineage can be traced to the time of the pharaohs, is enjoying a revival of sorts these days. Revered by many folk cultures, it’s been snubbed for almost two centuries by most European composers, who preferred the volume and versatility of the similar-sounding harpsichord (although a few Romantic composers like Berlioz employed it now and then for color). The current interest in early music has given the harp a new lease on life. At this week’s confab of the Historical Harp Society in Evanston, a variety of topics–from genealogy to performing practice–are on the docket, but for those uninterested in scholarly minutiae the Saturday recital promises to be the most interesting. The performers are some of the world’s finest pluckers: Mara Galassi of Milan is an expert on the Italian double harp, popular during Monteverdi’s time, which sports two rows of strings, allowing for chromatic flourishes; Judit Kadar of Berlin specializes in 14th- and 15th-century harp repertoire; William Taylor and Ann Heymann are virtuosos of the clarsach, a triangle-shaped Gaelic harp plucked with fingernails; and Ron Cook and Cheryl Ann Fulton are harpists with expertise in medieval music. Saturday, 7:30 PM, Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University, 700 University, Evanston; 275-2824 or 708-584-5259.
