The Aeolian Harp
History-
In the Jewish Talmud (200BC) there is a reference to King David’s harp sounding by itself -
The Greek Commentary of Eustathius (1115-
Anasthasius Kircher was a 17thc musical inventor and experimenter, and he refers to the Aeolian harp throughout his treatise on music.
Literature-
In the late 18th and early 19th century a great many philosophers, artists writers and musicians were fascinated by it. During this era specially made rectangular boxes with 6 to 8 strings were constructed that would fit at the base of a standard window frame, enabling the house’s occupants to hear the sound of the wind blowing across the strings. Several poets were inspired to write poetry about this sound, including Samuel Taylor-
Science-
At the end of the 18th century a popular scientific theory was that human nerves were like instrument strings, they believed that vibrations sent messages to the brain. The Aeolian harp therefore became a model for the body, translating vibrations into human consciousness. Scientists like David Hartley (1705-
Modern times-
Today there are many excellent makers of Aeolian harps, which are designed for use in gardens and outdoor locations, and modern science tells us that the strings of an Aeolian harp are driven by the von Kármán vortex street effect. The motion of the wind across a string causes periodic vortices downstream, and this alternating vortex causes the string to vibrate.
Sarah is the only ‘Aeolian Harpist’-