The Hag Stone

New tunes written in traditional style and arranged for wire-strung harp by Karen Marshalsay.

This book contains 16 tunes, written over the years, for wire-strung harp, in traditional style. There are slow airs, a waltz, a jig, marches, strathspeys, reels, and a variation set. Some of the tunes were written for Beatrix Potter characters, for students and friends, and for a tortoise. Other tunes celebrate the seasons, the full moon, moving house, and life’s challenges and joys.

Everything is playable in a C tuning. Some tunes have two versions, for smaller or larger harps, and are written down from Karen’s performance repertoire. Grace notes, fingerings and dampings are included. Techniques and abbreviations are explained, and there are performance notes and information on each tune.

SCROLL THROUGH THE PHOTOS FOR SOME SAMPLE SCREENSHOTS OF THE PIECES

CONTENTS

The Hag Stone  Slow air  / Simeag Tunnag-Lòin Bhochd (Poor Jemima Puddleduck) / Mgr Ieremiah Iasgair agus am Breac (Mr Jeremy Fisher and the Trout) Slow Strathspey / Ruidhle Bheniàmin Coineanach    (Benjamin Bunny’s Reel) / With Gentle Work  Slow air / The Contemplation Tunes / The Contemplation Strathspey & Reel / The Knitting Triquetrum Jig / Full Moon at Taigh Chearsabhabh (with variations) /Leaving Bellevue Waltz / Latha Ùr /Aristotle’s Welcome to Clovenstone ~ Tunes / Latha Ùr  (A New Day) Slow air / Aristotle’s Welcome to Clovenstone  March / Coiseachd as t-Samhradh / The Russet Path ~ Tunes / Coiseachd as t-Samhradh (Walking in Summer) March  / The Russet Path Strathspey / The 21st Reel Reel / Ellenabeich Reel  / Abbreviations and techniques used / Performance Notes

About this music

This collection features some of the tunes I’ve written on my wire-strung harps over the years. As a traditional musician it feels right to continue creating new tunes and adding to the repertoire, as players have done over the centuries. It seems especially important to do this for the wire-strung harp, or clàrsach, and have it seen as a traditional instrument with a role in today’s traditional music scene in Scotland, rather than as a historical instrument played solely within an early music genre or ethos.

I also strongly feel that harpers should play tunes and think of them as tunes which are interpreted by the player in the moment of performance, rather than ‘harp pieces’ which are set in a fixed score and always played the same way. This is why I have published the tune itself as well as an arrangement. Everything can be played in a C tuning. Some times there are versions for both smaller and larger harps.

There are some performance notes given at the back of the book, but above all I hope you enjoy playing these tunes and making them your own.

Karen Marshalsay

Crail 2025