Soundscapes International Windharps and Acoustic Sculptures

The Aeolian Harp:
An Historical Perspective

Our modern wind harps, with their soothing, ethereal tones and contemporary designs, are in fact based on principles that date back to antiquity.

The Aeolian harp, usually a box-like musical instrument strung with several harmonically-tuned strings, dates back to ancient Greece, and was said to have been the instrument of Aeolus, the Greek god of wind. It was intended to be played not by human hands, but by the God of Wind himself. Its melodies and harmonies were not those chosen by humans, but were held to be the improvisations of Nature itself.

A contemporary Aeolian Harp by Soundscapes International

Aeolus
Leonard Bloomfield, 1887-1949

Ah, breeze, where sleep'st thou? Come, oh, come,
This languor of my frame dispel;
Arise -- thy own loved harp is dumb;
Arise and bid the chorus swell.

Stop not, but breathe with fresh'ning power
O'er full-blown roses in your way;
Wave the laburnum's pendant flower,
Yet stop not 'midst their sweets to play.

Sweep o'er the hayfield and the grove;
Thy own harp waits thee, come along;
Whose soft vibrations whisper love,
And fancied choirs of heavenly song.

Thanks, charming zephyr -- Hark! That tone!
Be true, sweet harp; hush all but thee;
Perform thy task untouched, alone,
And pour thy tide of harmony.