Camac Blog
Countdown to Belfort…discover Maestral!
News
September 27, 2018
There are still one or two pedal harp enclaves that view the lever harp as a student instrument, from which one “progresses”. You can certainly decide that you like classical music and you are therefore going to play pedal instead of/as well as lever harp, but the latter is unquestionably an instrument in its own right, across the board of traditional, jazz, world, electro – and even, sometimes, contemporary classical music, as in the works of Pierick Houdy or Bernard Andrès. It is not only a vivacious, energetic harp, but also a highly mobile one, effortlessly crossing genre boundaries, and finding all sorts of voices in the musics of today.
On this blog you’ll find lots of reportage about the lever harp, particularly in Brittany where Camac has always been based. The Celtic-Jazz fusion quartet Maestral released their first album in 2016 – and you can hear them live at our Belfort festival in a couple of weeks! Their concert will take place on Friday, October 19th at 21:30. On Saturday 20th, you can also either participate in, or listen to, a workshop with Maestral’s harpist Anne Postic.
A lever harp specialist with strong Breton roots, Anne studied in Douarnenez, Lorient and in Quimper, where she obtained her Traditional Music Diploma in 2003. She has won prizes at the Kan ar Bobl competition in Pontivy, the UFAM in Paris, the Jakez François International Lever Harp Competition in Nantes, and the Lever Harp International Competition in Caernarfon, Wales. A committed teacher, she is professor of lever harp and traditional music at the Maison de la Musique du Pays de Landerneau, and the Ecole des Musiques du Pays de Daoulas in the Finistère part of Brittany. She teaches courses and gives concerts of Breton and Celtic music throughout Brittany, France and further afield.
To celebrate how much we’re looking forward to hearing Maestral, your devoted Camac artist relations team has a **free CD** of “Confluences” to give away: first-come, first-served by writing in with postal address to [email protected]. If you don’t get there first, you can buy your own – and even get it signed – at the Belfort concert! Registration is free, but you need to sign up in advance via this online form.
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Maestral: Confluences
March 10, 2016
Confluences is the new album from Breton-jazz combo Maestral, out now! Read more…
Is “Celtic” a myth? The Lever Harp in Brittany
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It is no coincidence that our factory is based in Mouzeil, Brittany, for Brittany has become a lever (or "Celtic") harp centre. Read more…
The Breton Harp Anthology
April 3, 2015
Tristan Le Govic's three-volume collection of Breton lever harp music - an indispensable addition to your Celtic library, exclusively available from Camac Harps. Read more…