Harp music?

At the risk of self-promotion, I started off this mix with one of the most beautiful harp pieces I've ever heard, Giovanni Maria Trabaci's "Toccata Seconda & Ligature Per L'arpa":

http://musicophilia.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/one-off-still-1630-1999/

And while the piece that follows it has no harp, I still found the synergy between the two amazing, given the centuries, miles and styles separating them. The Sundanese music later in the mix featuring the Kacapi, another remarkably harp-like instrument, sonically--is decidedly non-Western, but feels deeply spiritual to me.

If anyone's interested, there's some nice harp stuff on this:

http://www.discogs.com/Gail-Laughton-Harps-Of-The-Ancient-Temples/release/2022445

It's where "Bicycle Riders" from the Blade Runner soundtrack comes from.

Bumping for anymore recommendations aswell?

I agree that is a shamelessly pretty record

I recommend Andrew Lawrence-King: The Secret of the Semitones - music of Johann Sebastian Bach for Baroque Harp

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Of-Semitones/dp/B000026CJM

bonus points for being in period tuning

Thanks, I'll search for that.

Gail laughton Lp is good, a few tracks sound a bit kitschy though.

Yeah that's what I was getting at by shameless. I don't spin it all the way through each time but the liner notes positing each track as a representation of music from famous cities of antiquity, going backwards in time to Atlantis 21,000 BC = admirably cosmic liner notes

I said "a bit kitschy". I wanted to say "extremely kitschy". Yeah, hats off to someone who can teleport back to Atlantis in 21,000 BC and convey that mysteriously intuitive 'ambience' that we can all relate to, on wax.

This is a good one from the liner notes, Pompeii 76 AD (the Blade Runner track).

"Shifting moonbeams fall upon the splendid fountain in the rotunda of the temple of Isis, glinting occasionally on the golden coins and trinkets tossed there so lightly by the carefree youth and maidens of Pompeii. As the beautiful city dreams, Vesuvius smolders"

I totally agree though, its shameless. You can kind of listen to it with the liner notes and those intentions, or without, which is a bit harder but possible. It's like the opposite of how I see Brian Eno's music, in that he (I think) wanted to make music that is blank and open to the listeners interpretation, maybe not with tracks like "Dunwich Beach, Autumn, 1960" but you know what I mean.

Well funny you should mention him on this thread, maybe we'll finally learn exactly which record of 18th century harp music she put on his stereo that fateful day

http://www.3ammagazine.com/litarchives/oct2001/interview_judy_nylon.html

Good read, I'm going to try and listen to 'Harps of the ancient temples' with the sound turned down and wait for it to rain.

If anyone's bothered, I want to expand the recommendations so it doesn't just have to be harp music. Any sickly, pretty music similar to Budd's 'Pavillion Of Dreams'? Choral even? Preferably mid 20th century onwards.

Maybe harps aren't that popular.

for Celtic harp stuff, try Alan Stivell - Renaissance de la harpe celtique (Renaissance of the Celtic Harp)

Several weeks ago my favorite local jazz program devoted an entire show to a jazz harpist called 'Destiny the Harpist'. The name was a turn-off for sure, but I was won over completely by show's end. She's rather new, so there's not much out there (a few Youtube vids, but all with terrible mixes - she plays in jazz combos and as you can imagine, is regularly drowned out by the other musicians). She has several tracks on a FB page and if you want something in the area of Alice Coltrane I think you'll be pleased: Destiny the Harpist (the facebook page).

Robin Williamson of Incredible String Band fame recorded an album 'Celtic Harp Airs & Dance Tunes' which is quite pleasant.