Dear colleagues, I am delighted to announce the publication of my new book The Erard Grecian Harp in Regency England by Boydell and Brewer. The book presents the results of my research project ‘A Creative Triangle of Mechanics, Acoustics and Aesthetics: The Early Pedal Harp (1780–1830) as a Symbol of Innovative Transformation’, which was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and was hosted at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, from 2016 to 2020. For more details about the book see: https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781783277728/the-erard-grecian-harp-in-regency-england/ The books is available in both print and Open Access form, which can be accessed and downloaded for free here: https://openaccess.boydellandbrewercms.com/?id=-259563 Below is a short description of the book from the publisher’s website: During the early nineteenth century, the harp was transformed into a sophisticated instrument that became as popular as the piano. This was largely the result of the harp’s intensive technical, musical and visual upgrading, which gradually led to the transition from the single- to the double-action pedal harp. A major figure in this process was Sébastien Erard (1752–1831), a tireless inventor and prolific manufacturer of harps and pianos operating branches in Paris and London. With the introduction in 1811 of the so-called ‘Grecian’ model, the first commercially built double-action harp, the Erard firm managed to establish the harp not only as a novel, state-of-the-art instrument, but also as a powerful symbol of luxury, wealth and status. Drawing upon a wide variety of primary sources, including surviving instruments, archival documents and iconographical evidence, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the development, production and consumption of the Erard Grecian harp in Regency England. The innovative approaches employed by the Erard firm in the manufacture and marketing of harps are measured against competitors but also against the work of leading entrepreneurs in related trades, ranging from the mechanical devices and precision tools of James Watt, Henry Maudslay or Jacques Holtzapffel, through the ornamental pottery of Josiah Wedgwood, to the clocks and watches of George Prior or Abraham-Louis Breguet. In addition, the book examines the omnipresent role of the harp in the education, art, fashion and literature of the Regency era, discussing how the image and perception of the instrument were shaped by groundbreaking advances, such as the Industrial Revolution, Neoclassicism, and the Napoleonic Wars. I would like to thank all those who kindly shared information during my research on Erard harps as well as those who helped me with their useful comments and suggestions in the preparation of this book. Kind regards Panagiotis Poulopoulos

Dear colleagues and harp enthusiasts, I would like to inform you that my article „So wenig kultivirt, so ganz vernachlässigt“: Die Pedalharfe in Deutschland um 1800 has been published in the “Open Access” journal Phoibos: Zeitschrift für Zupfmusik (University of Bayreuth). The article provides a comprehensive insight into the role and perception of the pedal harp in Germany in the decades either side of 1800. The study of this topic has been based on the investigation of numerous contemporary written sources, such as newspaper advertisements, concert reviews, exhibition reports, treatises and journal essays, articles in encyclopedias, as well as harp methods and manuals. The article also presents and analyses the most important reasons for the neglect of the pedal harp in Germany during this time. In addition, it includes information on surviving pedal harps of German manufacture in public and private collections, discussing their organological features and identifying similarities and differences to pedal harps built in Paris and London. The research for this article was part of my project “A Creative Triangle of Mechanics, Acoustics and Aesthetics: The Early Pedal Harp (1780-1830) as a Symbol of Innovative Transformation”, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (“Research in Museums” Programme) and hosted at the Deutsches Museum, Munich (2016-2020). You can access the article using this link: https://ojs.uni-bayreuth.de/index.php/phoibos/article/view/270/296 The complete current issue of this journal (Bd. 19 (2021): Digital Organology) can be accessed here: https://ojs.uni-bayreuth.de/index.php/phoibos If you have any remarks or comments about the article please contact me at: p.poulopoulos@deutsches-museum.de With best wishes Panagiotis Poulopoulos

Dear colleagues and harp enthusiasts, I would like to inform you about a new article related to Erard harps in the journal 'Studies in Conservation'. The article focuses on a detailed technological study of the decoration on the Erard harp No 2631 (London, 1818) at the Deutsches Museum, including references to similar instruments in other collections. Here is the link to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/9pgWxR3JhinwQWdSIdFm/full?target=10.1080/00393630.2019.1622317 The article details are: Panagiotis Poulopoulos, Marisa Pamplona, Luise Richter & Elke Cwiertnia (2019) Technological Study of the Decoration on an Erard Harp from 1818, Studies in Conservation, DOI: 10.1080/00393630.2019.1622317 The collaborative and interdisciplinary research for this article was supported financially by the Volkswagen Foundation (‘Research in Museums’ Programme) and was part of my current project ‘A Creative Triangle of Mechanics, Acoustics and Aesthetics: The Early Pedal Harp (1780-1830) as a Symbol of Innovative Transformation’ at the Deutsches Museum. For more details see: https://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/research/forschungsbereiche/wissenschaftsgesch/sonic-visual-exhibit/a-creative-triangle-of-mechanics-acoustics-and-aesthetics-the-early-pedal-harp-1780-1830-as-a-symbol-of-innovative-transformation/ and also: https://www.deutsches-museum.de/forschung/forschungsbereiche/sammlungen/restaurierungsforsch/pedalharfe/ I would be happy to know of similar publications or research intitiatives concerning historical pedal harps and I am also looking forward to receiving any feedback on the article. Best wishes Panagiotis Poulopoulos

Dear colleagues and friends, a report of the harp workshop in Munich, written by Elise Kolle, a harpist and currently a harp researcher at Stiftelsen Musikkulturens Främjande in Stockholm, has been published in the latest Newsletter of the American Musical Instrument Society: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/e1fc2d_6757f2afc3464e01a9aaf73a5b55af7b.pdf see pp.11-12. Best wishes Panagiotis

Dear colleagues and harp entusiasts, here is the link to an Open Access publication which includes a new article on Erard harps: http://woodmusick.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/COST_FP1302%20Book.pdf The article details are: Panagiotis Poulopoulos and Julin Lee, ‘A Synergy of Form, Function and Fashion in the Manufacture of the Erard Harp’ in Marco A. Pérez and Emanuele Marconi (eds.), Wooden Musical Instruments: Different Forms of Knowledge (Paris: Cité de la Musique - Philharmonie de Paris, 2018), pp. 367-398. The article provides a summary of the development of the Erard harp from c.1790 to 1840, with some new details concerning the serial numbers and manufacturing marks on Erard harps. The focus is on the London branch of the Erard firm, with brief references also to the Paris branch. The article is included in the final publication of the WoodMusICK initiative, for more details see here: http://woodmusick.org/ Best wishes Panagiotis Poulopoulos

Dear colleagues and friends, a report of the harp workshop in Munich, written by Daniela Kotašová, curator of musical instruments at the National Museum Prague, has been published in the latest Galpin Society Newsletter: http://www.galpinsociety.org/index2_htm_files/GSNFeb2019.pdf see pp.12-14. Also Helen Leitner from Camac harps, who attended the workshop, wrote a report in their blog: https://blog.camac-harps.com/en/latest/the-early-pedal-harp-as-a-museum-artefact-munich-november-2018/ In French: https://blog.camac-harps.com/fr/alaune/the-early-pedal-harp-as-a-museum-artefact-congres-a-munich-en-novembre-2018/ Best wishes Panagiotis

Dear colleagues and harp enthusiasts, a recently produced podcast focusing on the Erard double-action harp at the Deutsches Museum was published last week. It is available (Podcast No 2, only in German) here: www.deutsches-museum.de/forschung/podcast Some of the music heard during the podcast was kindly provided by harpists Masumi Nagasawa and Maria Christina Cleary, who perfomed the pieces during the international harp workshop at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, 29-30 November 2018. The podcast was produced by Ralph Würschinger, who also recorded the harp performances. Best wishes Panagiotis Poulopoulos