My sister Sheryl has lived in France since 1970. She and her husband, Jean-Pierre, travel extensively throughout Europe and the world. She sends me photos whenever they visit a church with statues, paintings, carvings, or stained-glass windows depicting harps.

Last year, she sent me this photo of King David's statue in the Cathedral Notre Dame of Amiens, France.

In this issue, I'll share some beautiful harp-themed stained-glass windows.

I hope you enjoy this "colorfully stained" newsletter.

Sylvia

Sheryl sent me these photos from her recent visit to the Cité du Vitrail, a museum in Troyes, France, dedicated to the art of stained glass. The museum opened in December 2022 and features 25 works of stained glass from the 12th to the 21st century – all visible at eye level.

This large window is a 2021 reproduction of the Tree of Jesse window from the Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens church in Laines-aux-Bois, France, dated 1510-1520.

King David, shown here in the close-up, is found at the top left of the center vertical section of the window.

And here is a photo of the only stained-glass window I ever made! It is about 17" x 26" (43 x 66 cm) and hangs in my dining room window. Here's what I said about it in my May 2020 newsletter,

Way back in the early 1970s, I took a stained glass class at the Santa Monica recreation center. At the end of the first class, the teacher told us to bring a drawing of what we wanted to create. Everyone else brought in a design with 6 or 8 pieces. My project was a replica of the Guinness harp with over 100 pieces! The teacher tried to discourage me from doing such a complex project, but I stood my ground. I think I did a pretty good job, considering I hadn't a clue what I was doing!

The stained-glass image of angels in the New Products section below is from the cover of the key of C version of The Brook Boddie Hymnal Volume 2. The window, from the late 19th century, is in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland.

Here are some of the PDFs I've added to harpcenter.com this past month.

Brook Boddie

The Brook Boddie Hymnal Volume 2 - Two PDF versions are available: lever harps tuned to C, and lever harps tuned to E-flat. Pedal harpists can play either version.

Rhett Barnwell and Brook Boddie

Good Shepherd Medley - My Shepherd Will Supply My Need and The King of Love My Shepherd Is, arranged for harp ensemble.

Tiia Purhonen

Ballads and Folk Songs from Finland - 22 arrangements for lever or pedal harp by Finnish harpist Tiia Purhonen.

Joy Slavens

America the Beautiful - an advanced beginner / intermediate arrangement for lever or pedal harp in the key of C major.

Blissful Day - This happy original composition has a fun dotted rhythm.

Joy of Easter - Volumes 1 and 2 - Each volume includes 6 hymn arrangements for advanced beginner to early intermediate players.

Mountain Mist - An original composition for late beginner lever or pedal players.

Sunita Staneslow

Psalms for Peace and Healing - meditative solo harp arrangements of five psalms.

Please note: The PDFs in this section are not part of the monthly sale.

Thom Dutton is our featured arranger this month. Here's what he has to say about himself and his music.

My journey with the harp began almost a decade before I began playing. I was a music education major in college. We had to learn how to play all the different instruments in case we had to teach them someday. There was a concert grand pedal harp at the school, but no one was there to teach it. I thought it might be fun to try someday . . .

After graduating from college, I was asked to sing for the wedding of a good friend of mine. The organist also happened to be a harpist, and she asked if she could accompany me on the harp rather than the organ. I was instantly smitten by the sound. When I moved from Upstate New York to Cape Cod, I couldn't take my piano with me. After a couple of years without an instrument to play (and nine years after laying my eyes on a harp for the first time), I called the Cape Cod Conservatory and inquired about harp lessons. I signed up with aspirations of playing Debussy's preludes on a concert grand pedal harp. I couldn't afford such a harp, and not knowing if this would pan out, I decided to rent a lever harp. After about six months of lessons, my teacher said that if I was going to be playing an Irish harp for the time being, I should learn some music that was written for it. She plopped Kim Robertson's The Castle Of Dromore arrangement on the music stand. I took it home and played it for four hours. I had never heard anything like it before. That one piece of music truly changed the direction of my life. My interest in pedal harp quickly waned. I immersed myself in the music, history, and culture of the Celtic nations. I purchased my first lever harp four months after beginning lessons and played my first gig about a month later.

My playing has taken me to:

• the 10th hole of J.J. Clamps Miniature Golf Course on Nantucket
• the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island
• the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport, Massachusetts
• Cabra Castle in Cavan, Ireland
• playing for the Lord Mayor of Chester, England (see photo)

I have been a member (and, in some cases, director) of every early music group on Cape Cod. My love of early music and theater eventually led to a unique series of gigs -- playing live background music for theatrical productions. Prerecorded music is rigid, while live music can flow with changes in the actors' performances. It started by playing period music for Shakespearean plays. It eventually expanded, leading to awards from the Association for Community Theater Excellence for the play Eleemosynary and the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters for Three Tall Women. The most interesting (and fun) experience was creating the character Sir for the comedy Who's Who. The script called for a string quartet for the pre-show music. The director thought that harp throughout the play would be better. As rehearsals progressed, I began to react to the action on stage, which lead to more and more interaction with the actors. I was nominated for an Evie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design and also for Best Supporting Actor in a play!

One of my favorite concert venues is Willard Chapel in Auburn, NY (shown in this photo). It is the only existing room designed and decorated by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

My musical background led me to start arranging music for the harp. When my arrangement of Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary appeared in the Folk Harp Journal, Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher of Dragonflower Music contacted me. She said it was the best arrangement of the piece she had seen and offered to publish it in her upcoming Dragonflower publication, Classic Festive Preludes. As our friendship developed, she encouraged me to begin publishing my own arrangements, and my company Cape Side Music was born.

It's been a wonderful journey. I can't imagine what the past 35 years would have been like without the harp. I look forward to the journey continuing for a good long time!

This month's sale includes arrangements by our featured arranger, Thom Dutton.

And, in honor of King David, I'm also adding my Songs of the Harp PDF because it includes the song "Little David."

Little David, play on your harp. Hallelu! Hallelu!

Little David, play on your harp, Hallelu!

Little David was a shepherd boy,

He killed Goliath and shouted for joy.

To get the 15% discount, enter the code Dutton in the "Enter Promo Code" box on your shopping cart page and click "Enter Code" by July 31, 2023. See the "How to get the 15% discount" section at the bottom of this newsletter for more information.

Let the Trumpet Sound

arranged by Thom Dutton

PDF

15% off with Dutton code

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Celtic Christmas Volume 1

arranged by Thom Dutton

PDF

15% off with Dutton code

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Celtic Christmas Volume 2

arranged by Thom Dutton

PDF

15% off with Dutton code

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Baroque Tunes for Two

arranged for harp duet by Thom Dutton PDF

15% off with Dutton code

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A Dozen Doubles

arranged for double-strung harp by Thom Dutton

PDF

15% off with Dutton code

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Songs of the Harp

arranged by Sylvia Woods

including Little David

PDFs

15% off with Dutton code

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15% off select sale items when you use the code word Dutton

Our newsletter promo codes are redeemable online and are only valid for the products listed above in the monthly sale section. They are not valid for phone or email orders. This month's code word is Dutton.

Here's how to get your newsletter discount at harpcenter.com:

#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 Dutton in the "Enter Promo Code" box and click "Apply."

The actual price of the featured sale products on this page will then automatically change to reflect the discount. For example,

   Unit Price: $9.95 (the original price)

   Total Price: $8.46 (the discounted price)

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 Dutton in the Promo Code box and click "Apply" on your shopping cart page by July 31, 2023, to get the discount!

If you forget, or if you have trouble adding it to your order, email Sylvia immediately.  

This offer expires at the end of the day on 7/31/2023.