I offer a selection of new and secondhand books.
Please get in touch if you want more information, or recommendations for reading.
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Send an email to shop@simonchadwick.net, or phone or text me, telling me what you would like.
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The following titles are currently in stock; others may also be available.
Author | Title | Price | |
Abbie Betinis | Aililú, Ó Íosa, I. An Caoineadh | £5 | Score for harp, vielle and choir |
Alison Kinnaird | Reflections | £12 | Album of visual art, includes DVD. |
Andrew Lawrence-King | Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz, Luz y Norte Musical | £8 | Arrangements of tunes |
Andrew Lawrence-King | Der Hapffenschlaeger | £8 | Techniques for early harps |
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius | Fundamentals of Music | £120 | 1989 hardback first edition. English translation of “De Musica” by Calvin M. Bower |
Ann Heymann | Legacy of the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival | £8 | Arrangements of tunes |
Ann Heymann | A Gaelic Harper’s First Tunes | £50 | Secondhand paperback |
Ann Heymann | Off the Record | £8 | Arrangements of tunes |
Arthur O’Neill | Memoirs | £10 | Paperback booklet, reprint of the 1911 text from Annals of the Irish harpers |
Barry Cunliffe | The Celts – a very short introduction | £8 | 2003 paperback |
Bill Taylor | Early Scottish Airs for small wire strung clarsach | £15 | Arrangements of tunes |
Breandán Ó Madagáin | Caointe agus seancheolte eile / keening and other old Irish musics | £19 | Paperback with CD |
Cedric Thorpe Davie | Scotland’s Music | £6 | 1980 paperback first edition. A slim overview |
Charlotte Milligan Fox | Annals of the Irish Harpers | £150 | 1917 John Murray hardback reprint of 1911 original. Includes Arthur O’Neill, Memoirs, as well as extracts from Edward Bunting’s correspondence, and illustrations. |
Christine Y Delyn | Cláirseach, la harpe Irlandaise, aux origines de la harpe celtique | £10 | 1998 paperback in French |
Claire Polin | The ap Huw manuscript | £120 | 1982 hardback, published by the Institute of Medieval Music. Edition of the music |
Colm Ó Baoill | Bàrdachd Shìlis na Ceapaich, poems and songs by Sìleas McDonald | £23 | 1972 hardback |
Dáibhí Ó Cróinín | A New History of Ireland 1: Prehistoric and Early Ireland | £30 | paperback |
Daniel Tokar and Ann Heymann | Dialogue on historical wire for Gaelic harps | £13 | 2011 paperback |
David Johnson | Scottish fiddle music in the eighteenth century | £25 | 2005 edition. Includes historical commentary and editions of music |
Denis Rixson | The West Highland Galley | £5 | paperback, history of boats |
Derick Thomson | An Introduction to Gaelic Poetry | £5 | Secondhand paperback |
Donal O’Sullivan (not attributed) | Complete Collection of the Much Admired Old Irish Tunes The Original and Genuine Compositions of Carolan… suitable for most instruments | £20 | Secondhand paperback. 1984 reprint of the tunes from O’Sullivan’s Life Times & Music with a new introduction by Gráinne Yeats. |
Donal O’Sullivan with Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin | Bunting’s Ancient Music of Ireland edited from the original manuscripts | £120 | 1983 hardback. Editions of tunes with commentary |
Edward Bunting | The Ancient Music of Ireland | £350 | 1840 first edition |
Edward Bunting | General Collection of The Ancient Music of Ireland | £70 | 2012 hardback reprint of 1811 reprint of 1809 edition, published by the Linen hall Library |
Edward Bunting | A General Collection of the Ancient Irish Music… | £70 | 1996 Linen Hall Library limited edition paperback facsimile of 1797 original |
Edward Bunting | General Collection of The Ancient Music of Ireland | £350 | 1809 first edition in original printed boards |
Eugene O’Curry | On the Manners and Customs of the Early Irish volume 3 | £10 | Cheap modern paperback reprint of 1873 original (volume 3 of 3 only) |
Fintan Vallely | The Companion to Irish Traditional Music | £20 | Secondhand hardback, 1999 edition |
Frances Tolmie | One hundred and five songs of occupation from the western isles of Scotland | £5 | 1997 paperback reprint of 1911 edition. Song words, translations, tunes and commentary |
George Stevens | The Irish Harp, its History, Players and Technique | £17 | Spiral bound dissertation |
Gerald of Wales | The History and Topography of Ireland | £10 | Penguin paperback translation of Giraldus Cambrensis |
Gerald of Wales | The Journey through Wales and the Description of Wales | £11 | Penguin paperback translation of Giraldus Cambrensis |
Gráinne Yeats | The Harp of Ireland. The Belfast Harper’s Festival and the saving of Ireland’s harp music by Edward Bunting | £15 | 1992 paperback |
Helen Lawlor | Irish harping 1900-2010 | £35 | 2012 hardback. |
Hélène Witcher | Madame Scotia, Madam Scrap. The story of Héloïse Russell-Fergusson 1896-1970 | £12 | 2017 paperback |
Hugh Cheape | Bagpipes – a national collection of a national instrument | £16 | includes CD-ROM |
Huw Roberts & Llio Rhydderch | Telynorion Llannerch-y-Medd / The harpers of Llannerch-y-Medd | £10 | 2000 paperback edition. Unfortunately missing its accompanying CD. 19th and early 20th century Welsh harp traditions. |
James A. H. Murray | The romance and prophecies of Thomas of Erceldoune | £11 | 1991 reprint of 1875 scholarly edition of long medieval poem |
James Porter (ed) | Defining Strains – The musical life of Scots in the seventeenth century | £55 | 2007 paperback collection of essays |
Joan Rimmer | The Irish Harp – Cláirseach na hÉireann | £35 | I usually have various editions available |
John C Hines | Early Music for the Wire Harp | £15 | Arrangements of tunes |
John J. O’Meara (trans) | The voyage of Saint Brendan | £5 | paperback translation of medieval text |
John Magee | The Heritage of the Harp | £10 | 1992 paperback about the 1792 Belfast festival and associated events |
John Purser | Scotland’s Music | £100 | 1992 hardback first edition, also 2007 hardback second edition |
John T. Koch | The Gododdin of Aneirin | £110 | Secondhand 1997 paperback. Translation and edition of medieval poem |
Johnson & Boswell | A tour to the Hebrides | £15 | Old Oxford University Press blue hardback of R.W. Chapman’s editions of both texts. Includes map |
Julian Atterton | The last harper | £5 | Children’s novel, secondhand paperback |
Karen Marshalsay | Guid Scots Sangs | £12 | Arrangements of tunes |
Karen Marshalsay | Key Techniques for Harp | £12 | Method book |
Kuno Meyer | Sanas Cormaic (Cormac’s Glossary) | £5 | 1994 paperback reprint of 1913 Irish scholarly edition |
Liam P. Ó Murchú (ed) | Amhráin Chearbhalláin / The Poems of Carolan: Reassessments | £25 | |
Linda Gowans | Am Bròn Binn | £15 | Scholarly analysis of Scottish Gaelic ballad song |
Malachi McCormick | The Roots of Music: The Irish Harp in Poetry & Legend. | £30 | Three handmade booklets in slipcase. Poems and commentary |
Mark Everist | The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Music | £22 | 2011 paperback |
Martha Goodway & Jay Scott Odell | The Historical Harpsichord volume two: The metallurgy of 17th and 18th century music wire | £33 | Technical study of old strings |
Martin van Schaik | The harp in the middle ages: the symbolism of a musical instrument | £45 | Scholarly study of visual symbolism and depictions. 1992 first edition paperback. Also revised edition 2005. |
Michael Praetorius | Syntagma Musicum II De Organographia Parts I and II | £27 | Tranlated by David Z Crookes from the 17th century original. Includes the illustrations |
Mike Parker | Child of Pure Harmony – a source book for the single-action harp | £14 | 2005 paperback. A digest of early 19th century harp methods |
Murray Lefkowitz | Musica Britannica 21: William Lawes Select Consort Music | £75 | Large format paperback, 1963 edition of consort music |
Nancy Bond | A string in the harp | £5 | Children’s novel, secondhand paperback |
Nancy Hurrell | The Egan Irish harps | £43 | 2019 hardback |
Nicholas Carolan | John & William Neal, A Collection of the most celebrated Irish tunes proper for the violin, German flute or hautboy, Dublin 1724 | £40 | 2010 hardback edition, complete facsimile with detailed introduction, notes and commentary. |
Nora Joan Clark | The story of the Irish harp, its history and influence | £20 | Paperback |
Osian Ellis | Hanes y Delyn yng Nghymru / The Story of the Harp in Wales | £25 | 1980 paperback first edition |
Patricia Finney | A Shadow of Gulls | £20 | Children’s novel. Secondhand first edition hardback |
Patrick McDonald | The Patrick McDonald Collection: Highland vocal airs, Country dances or Reels of the north Highlands and Western Isles (first published 1784) | £19 | 2000 paperback edition from Taigh na Teud |
Peter Downey | Edward Bunting and the Ancient Irish Music: The Publication History of A General Collection of the Ancient Irish Music… Adapted for Piano-Forte (London, Preston & Son) | £16 | Scholarly study of the publication of Bunting’s 1797 book |
Robert ap Huw | Musica | £25 | Hardback facsimile of the 17th century manuscript |
Robert Bruce Armstrong | The Irish and Highland Harps | £150 | 1969 Praeger hardback facsimile of 1904 original. Includes fold-out plates |
Robert Phillips | Music for the Lute in Scotland | £11 | Transcriptions of Scottish lute music |
Roderick Cannon (ed.) | Joseph MacDonald’s Compleat Theory of the Scots Highland Bagpipe (c.1760) | £35 | Large-format paperback. 1994 edition of the original manuscript (2010 reprint) |
Ronn McFarlane | Highland King | £14 | Transcriptions of Scottish lute music |
Roy Johnston | Bunting’s Messiah | £10 | Musical biography of Edward Bunting detailing his diverse musical activities |
Russell Walton | A Harp of Fishbones | £25 | Myths and legends. Secondhand paperback |
Sally Harper | Music in Welsh Culture before 1650: A study of the principal sources | £110 | 2007 hardback |
Sandra Joyce & Helen Lawlor | Harp Studies | £40 | 2016 hardback. Includes Paul Dooley The Harp in the time of Giraldus, and Ann Heymann three iconic Gaelic harp pieces |
Séamus Ó Brógáin | The Wolfhound guide to the Irish harp emblem | £10 | Slim paperback |
Seán O Boyle | Ogam, the poet’s secret | £50 | 1980 paperback first edition |
Sebastian Virdung | Musica Getutscht | £28 | A treatise on musical instruments (1511) Edited and translated by Beth Bullard. Paperback |
Sharan Newman | The Dagda’s harp | £10 | Children’s novel. Secondhand ex-library hardback |
Simon Chadwick | Progressive Lessons | £20 | Sources for learning old Irish harp, includes CD |
Simon Chadwick | The Trinity College or Brian Boru harp | £10 | Illustrated Pamphlet |
Simon Chadwick | The Queen Mary harp | £10 | Illustrated Pamphlet |
Simon Fraser | The Airs and Melodies peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles | £14 | Spiral bound facsimile of 1874 piano collection |
Simon James | The Atlantic Celts – Ancient people or modern invention? | £12 | Secondhand 1999 paperback first edition (British Museum Press) |
Somhairle Mac Ghill Eathain (Sorley MacLean) | Dain do Eimhir agus Dain Eile | £150 | 1943 hardback first edition, ex-library. Modernist Scottish Gaelic poems with illustrations by William Crosbie |
Stuart Eydmann | In Good Hands – The Clarsach Society and the Renaissance of the Scottish harp | £13 | 2017 paperback |
Thomas Forest Kelly | Early Music, a very short introduction | £8 | Paperback |
Tom Maher | The Harp’s a wonder | £10 | Secondhand paperback, General overview |
Tomás Ó Canainn | Traditional music in Ireland | £10 | 1993 paperback reprint of very important 1978 overview text. |
Tomás Ó Máille (ed) | Amhráin Chearbhalláin: The Poems of Carolan | £42 | Hardback reprint, in Irish |
Wayne Cripps | The Straloch Manuscript | £25 | Transcriptions of Scottish lute music |
Wayne Cripps | The Rowallan Manuscript | £25 | Transcriptions of Scottish lute music |
William Donaldson | The Highland Pipe and Scottish Society 1750-1950 | £30 | Paperback. Excellent social history of music in Scotland. |
William Lawes | The Harp Consorts | £40 | PRB Viol Concert Series No. 62B, full score and parts |
William Matheson | The Blind Harper (an Clarsair Dall). The songs of Roderick Morison and his music | £23 | 1970 hardback |
Early Music 7/4 October 1979 | £10 | Includes Michael Morrow, the Renaissance Harp | |
Early Music 11/4 October 1983 | £10 | Includes correspondence from Hadaway | |
Early Music 8/1 Januray 1980 | £10 | Includes Robert Hadaway, the recreation of an Italian Renaissance harp | |
Early Music 11/1 January 1983 | £10 | Includes Robert Hadaway, A knot of harp strings | |
Early Music 9/3 July 1981 | £10 | Includes correspondence from Hadaway | |
Early Music 8/4 October 1980 | £10 | Includes observations from Hobrough | |
Early Music 11/3 July 1983 | £10 | Includes correspondence from Ann Buckley | |
Early Music 15/4 November 1987 | £10 | Includes correspondence from Layton Ring | |
Early Music 36/4 November 2008 | £10 | Includes Simon Chadwick, The early Irish harp | |
Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies, 42, Winter 2001 | £5 | Includes Sally Harper, So how many Irishmen went to Glyn Achlach? Early accounts of the formation of Cerdd Dant | |
Singing the Reformation | £4 | Edinburgh University exhibition brochure, 2011, about the Wode Partbooks | |
Hanes Cerddoriaeth Cymru – Welsh Music History 6, 2004 | £15 | Includes Frans Buisman, A parallel between Scottish pibroch and early Welsh harp music | |
Irish Musical Studies 10: Music, Ireland and the Seventeenth Century | £50 | 2009 hardback. Includes Adrian Scahill, Irish traditional music in the seventeenth century, and John Cunningham, the Irish harp in non-Irish contexts in the seventeenth century. | |
The Galpin Society Journal 65, March 2012 | £40 | Includes Karen Loomis et al, The Lamont and Queen Mary Harps | |
The Stirling Heads | £10 | 1975 guide booklet includes a small photograph of each carving | |
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society vol 102, 1997 | £33 | Includes Diarmaid Ó Catháin’s article: Revd Charles Bunworth of Buttevant, patron of harpers and poets | |
Irish Musical Studies 1: Musicology in Ireland | £30 | 1990 hardback. Includes Ann Buckey, Musical instruments in Ireland from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries | |
Hands – Harp Making DVD | £20 | DVD film by David Shaw-Smith, about harpmaker Peter Kilroy | |
Strangers to Citizens: The Irish in Europe 1600-1800 | £5 | National Library of Ireland exhibition papmphlet |