It was in the early 1970s that the Gaelic harp revival really started, with makers such as Jay Witcher building measured replicas of the historical instruments and musicians like Ann Heymann applying the instructions preserved in historical sources to learn how to play the replicas. Before this a few pioneers realised that "Celtic" harps in earlier times used metal strings instead of the usual modern gut, but whether they really count as part of the Gaelic harp revival is a moot point.
See also my appendix for other recordings connected with Gaelic harp music but not on Gaelic harp.

Alan Stivell
Flower Power
Fontana 460244, 1968
Alan Cochevelou started playing a gut-strung harp in 1953; his first record was the EP "Musique Gaëlique" (Mouzh Breizh 4597, 1959; still available on CD combined with his 1961 LP "Telenn Geltiek" under the latter's title). In 1964 he started playing a wire-strung harp; in 1967 he took the stage name "Stivell". He released 2 EPs, in 1968 and 1969, though I understand he was dissapointed by the pop-hippy image and sound promoted by the record label.

Mary Rowland
[Trinity College harp]
BBC, 1961
An unreleased recording. In 1961, the 15th Century Trinity College harp was restored by the British Museum and restrung by Joan Rimmer, and Mary played 2 tunes and some experiments on it. She obviously struggled with the left orientation, unfamiliar string spacings and unstable tuning, and the harp itself seems too lightly strung to sound good. This recording occasionally gets broadcast on the BBC.

Mary Rowland
[Songs with Minstrel harp]
RPL LP 25995, 1960
An unreleased LP, in the BBC archive. Mary sings and plays a 1930s Briggs lever harp which she had restrung with wire strings "in the ancient minstrel style"¹. Strident fingernail playing. This must be the first reconstruction of the old Gaelic harp repertory from Bunting (Scotts Lamentation).

Mabel Dolmetsch
Translations from the Penllyn Manuscript of Ancient Welsh Harp Music
Ancient Welsh Music Society, c.1937
Arnold Dolmetsch published transcriptions (which are not considered very accurate today) of the 17th Century Robert ap Huw manuscript. He also built a number of gut- and wire-strung harps modelled loosely on the historical instruments - his drawing for the book cover (illustrated here) shows one. A set of three gramophone records were recorded by his wife playing the "translations", apparently using the reconstructed fingernail techniques on a wire-strung harp.

Ordering instructions: I carry a number of Gaelic harp books and CDs in stock at the Emporium. I am happy to try and source out-of-print or hard-to-find items not currently in stock. Go to the Emporium homepage for more details.

I also will buy secondhand copies of many of these items. Contact me with details of what you have and we can discuss terms.

Simon Chadwick