The Castlerea Air, The Telegraphic Message for 5 harps

"The Castlerea Air / The Telegraphic Message"
Irish Traditional
Published in Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Vol. 18 (1921)

This monophonic air was transcribed by J. T. N. Lee from a fiddler in Castlerea, County Roscommon, in the west of Ireland. In Lee's manuscript, it bore the curious title The Telegraphic Message. It has a graceful, elegant quality-hannari, as the Kyoto dialect might describe it-and possesses an endlessly captivating charm, reminiscent of the Spanish Folia, making one want to play it over and over again.

Instrument Design, Construction, Arrangement, and Performance: Keisuke Teramoto
Cover Art "Moments of Reverie" (F15): by my wife Tomoko Nakai

Harps Used:

Paulownia wire-strung harp (op.253, 12 strings, G1-D3)

Maple wire-strung harp "Cinnamon" (op.347, 27 strings, G2-E6)

Hinoki cypress wire-strung harp "Dragon Harp" (op.311, 20 strings, G3-E6)

Yellow poplar wire-strung harp (op.345, 20 strings, G3-E6)

Two-row string linden/katsura carbon-strung harp (op.346, 40 strings, G2-E5, unison courses)