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Sylvia Woods Harp Center
December Newsletter
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A Personal Note from Sylvia
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Last month we lost yet another beloved Texas harpist and multi-instrumentalist. Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni passed away from a brain tumor on November 12, 2019, at the age of 65. My thanks to Mary Radspinner of Melody's Music for letting me know, and sending me this
link to her obituary. Although I never personally met Evelyn, she has been one of my customers since 1993, purchasing lots of music books, CDs, and gift items over the years.
Evelyn was a driving force in the Scottish Harp Society of America, and compiled numerous collections of Scottish music. She also specialized in creating music for harp and a variety of other instruments. I have been selling
Evelyn's beautiful harp arrangements since 2014. In her honor, all of her PDFs are part of this month's 15%-off sale. Some of them are new to my site in the past few weeks. As I suggested in the article about Louise Trotter last month: "Help celebrate the life of an amazing woman by spreading her music throughout the world."
In the November newsletter I announced our "What Do You Love?" review contest. The results are in, and you can read all about the winners below. All of the products in the winning reviews are also part of our December sale.
Happy and "harpy" holidays to you all.
Sylvia
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Here are the ten winners of last month's "What Do You Love" contest drawing. They each have received a $10 Harp Center gift certificate. I'm including an excerpt from their amazing reviews.
"This is a gorgeous book -- I've recommended it to many of my students as it contains music that ticks the box of background and performance repertoire. I love that it's available as a PDF (immediate validation on my purchase!!!) and it is well laid out on the page. A nice range of keys, a few lever changes and it all fits nicely into a 34 string lever harp."
"I use this for my own practice and I require this book for my students. Great exercises to build up your finger muscles and aglity."
"I love this book! It is very informative and does not move on too quickly. I also have your DVD, and I love it. Thank you!"
"I just love playing this piece for myself and others -- but mostly myself! It's such a peaceful, lilting song that brings good to your mind. We all need more peace and good. Thank you for a beautiful arrangement."
"These colored rings make tuning so much easier. You'll make no mistakes tuning the wrong string. They look nice on the harp. I've seen other harpists color their tuning pegs with nail polish -- oh no! These tuning rings are so much nicer and look professional."
"Rhett Barnwell is one of my favorite composers.
Angel's Hymn is a very pretty, sweet piece. I love to slow it down and play it bedside.
Angel's Hymn and
Lullaby are my two favorites of Rhett Barnwell."
"The book has a varied selection of almost 50 songs in arrangements that are simple yet stunning. The music flows easily. Hearing these old tunes coming (magically) to life from under my fingers can put me into tears! I recommend this book for anyone who grew up with, and loved, 60s music. Also, in writing this review I have discovered two pages of "Sixties Fun Facts" in the back of the book, which is delightful -- and typical of Sylvia's ability to put music into context."
"If you are looking for a great collection of Irish music, this book and Book #2 are both fantastic! Grainne has great notes on each tune, and also gives information on ornamentation, tempos, phrasing, etc. When I began playing harp, there were some more simple tunes I could play -- particularly the slow airs. As I have progressed, I have learned more of the tunes -- with still more to challenge me. BUY THIS BOOK and Book #2 also!"
"This book is so fun to play! The two versions of the songs make it easy for even newer players to add some holiday music to their repertoire. This one is a must-have!"
"Helpful tips and considerations for deciding on fingering, for smoother and faster playing. Good for beginners but may also be helpful for more experienced players."
All of these items are part of this month's sale!
Congratulations to the winners, and my thanks to all of you who submitted your reviews!
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This month's sale is in two parts.
#1. Books, PDFs, and other products recommended by our "What Do You Love" contest winners.
To get the 15% discount on the products below, enter the code word
EVELYN in the Promo Code box on your shopping cart page and click "Enter Code" by December 23, 2019. For more information, see the "How to get the 15% discount" section at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Harp Fingering Fundamentals
by Sylvia Woods
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp
by Sylvia Woods
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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50 Christmas Carols for all Harps
by Sylvia Woods
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Groovy Songs of the 60s
by Sylvia Woods
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Beauty and the Beast
by Sylvia Woods
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Exercises for Agility and Speed
by Deborah Friou
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Paris Once Again
by William Mahan
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Angel's Hymn
by Rhett Barnwell
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Traditional Irish Music #1
by Grainne Hambly
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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Color Rings for C & F Tuning Pins or Levers
15% off with
EVELYN
code
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When guests come to visit me from the mainland, I love taking them to the Wai‘oli Hui‘ia Church (aka the "green church") in Hanalei for Sunday services, because we get to sing hymns in Hawaiian. It is a fun challenge to sing beloved hymns in a different language.
Would you like to impress your friends and family this Christmas? Why not learn to sing "Silent Night" in Hawaiian! This translation was created by Rev. Stephen Desha Sr. (1859-1934).
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Pô la‘i ê, pô kamaha‘o
Maluhia, mâlamalama
Ka makuahine aloha ê
Me ke keiki hemolele ê
Moe me ka maluhia lani
Moe me ka maluhia lani
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Pô la‘i ê, pô kamaha‘o
Oni na Kahuhipa e
I ko ka lani nani no
Mele nâ ‘anela "Haleluia"
Hanau ‘ia Kristo ka Haku
Hanau ‘ia Kristo ka Haku
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Pô la‘i ê, pô kamaha‘o
Keiki hiwahiwa aloha ê
Ka lama la‘i mai luna mai
Me ka lokomaika‘i makamae
Iesu i kou hanau ‘ana
Iesu i kou hanau ‘ana
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Kapono Beamer, the instrumentalist on this video, is a member of one of the most influential Hawaiian musical families. His great-grandmother Helen Desha Beemer was a prominent Hawaiian songwriter and musician. She was the matriarch of a musical dynasty that includes her grandson Mahi Beamer, granddaughter Winona (Nona) Beamer, and Nona's two sons, Keola and Kapono. She was also the niece of Stephen Desha, who wrote these Hawaiian lyrics.
Besides listening to the video, these hints can help you learn this carol. The Hawaiian language has only 12 letters: the seven consonants h, k, l, m, n, p, and w, and all five vowels a, e, i, o, and u. Consonants are always followed by a vowel, and each vowel only has one pronunciation.
a = “ah” as in "father"
e = “ay” as in "way"
i = “ee” as in "see"
o = “oh” as in "so"
u = “oo” as in "noon"
Each vowel is pronounced separately; there are no diphthongs. The ‘okina ( ‘ ) is a glottal stop that separates two consecutive vowels. The ‘okina is sometimes omitted in printed words, but is always used in speaking. For example, the town of Kapa‘a (or Kapaa) on Kauai is pronounced kah-pah-ah.
Mele Kalikimaka! (Merry Christmas!)
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How to get the
15%
discount
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15% off select sale items when you use the code word
EVELYN
Our newsletter promo codes are redeemable online and are only valid for the items featured in the sale section of this newsletter. They are not valid for phone or email orders. This month's code word is
EVELYN
, and it is valid for 15% off the select books, PDFs, and rubber rings in the
sale section
above. Just because an item is mentioned somewhere in this newsletter doesn't mean that it is on sale. It must be in the sale section.
#1. Put the items you want to purchase in your cart.
#2. On the page where you view the items in your cart, type this month's code word
EVELYN
in the "Promo Code" box, and click on "Enter Code."
The actual price of the featured sale products on this page will then automatically change to reflect the discount. You'll also see a note below the Promo Code box saying the name of the promo code you entered, and the percentage amount of the discount.
REMEMBER: you must enter this month's code word
EVELYN
in the Promo Code box and click "Enter Code" on your shopping cart page by December 23, 219 to get the discount!
Offer expires at the end of the day on December 23, 2019.
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Sylvia Woods Harp Center
Princeville, Hawaii
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