Robert ap Huw Courses 2025
The music in the Robert ap Huw manuscript contains the earliest harp music from anywhere in Europe. The pieces were composed in the Late Middle Ages, taught aurally for several hundred years, written down in the 16th century and copied by Robert ap Huw himself in the early 17th century. We will learn how to read the tablature, allowing us to interpret both the letters, giving the names of the strings on the harp, and also the signs indicating the figuration. These provide instructions for moving between the strings, using a rigorous damping technique to distinguish between more-important and less-important strings.
The Wire Branch continues to offer online courses via Zoom with Bill Taylor in playing music from the Robert ap Huw manuscript. As in previous years, these will consist of six sessions on Saturdays. The courses will accommodate two playing levels, welcoming both players who are new to the manuscript, as well as intermediate players, who have had some previous experience learning and playing from the tablature.
The six dates for the 2025 course will be announced soon.
All of the sessions will be recorded as videos, which can be viewed or downloaded. If you are unable to join us for a live session you can always catch up via the videos. Students will receive study audio recordings throughout the course to support the material examined during each session. Students are invited, and encouraged, to send recordings to evaluate progress.
Each course will be available to Wire Branch members at £100; non-members pay £120. Payment can be made via Paypal, bank transfer or cheque. Non-members may wish to join the Wire Branch via the Clarsach Society to obtain the member discount.
You can download a free copy of the manuscript from lulu.com. Please also download and print a free copy of Bill’s booklet Sources for Fingernail Technique from Wales & Ireland.
To reserve a place, or for more information, please write to Bill Taylor wirebranch@gmail.com