About ijhsnewsletter

Editor of the International Jew's Harp Society newsletter

Congratulations!

Posted on January 18, 2012 by ijhsnewsletter

To Daniel and his wife for the birth of Faber Lasse Hentschel

Editorial

Featured

Posted on January 18, 2012 by ijhsnewsletter

IJHS Newsletter 13
2011 was an eventful year, the highlight being the 7^th International Congress in Yakutsk in June. The news though, of the death of Fred Crane has rather put a dampener on the euphoria we all felt returning from Yakutsk. Since the news I have received numerous emails from people all recognising the important contribution Fred made to the Society and to those of us who had the pleasure of working with him, sharing his enthusiasm for research and playing our remarkable little musical instrument. I know I speak for all in sending our condolences to the family and have compiled a special supplement ‘Memories of Fred’.

Fred believed whole heartedly in the Society and the most notable thing that came out of the 7^th Congress (apart from the event itself, that is), was how strong the international Jew’s harp community is – enthusiastic, committed, keen to see the Society grow – all things we have come to expect when we meet as individuals, but strikingly more apparent when we are all together. How this energy can be channelled is the subject of discussions being held at the moment, but the key will be how many of you support the Society – both by continuing to keep up your membership, thereby helping with the finances, but also supporting those with the task of developing the Society so that it can provide something for the whole community.

Issues that will be discussed in this Newsletter include:

The official report on the Congress
The results of the competitions
Views of the 7^th IJHF from the participants
Regional News (with additional features)
A report from ‘Ancient Trance 2011’
PictureGallery (new format)
My Favourite Youtube (new)
plus the usual snippets of information I’m always glad to get.

On a personal note, since Yakutsk I’ve had a few personal issues and been overwhelmed with requests and opportunities to expand my writing and playing, so am having to consider how I’m going to cope. Whatever is the result, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed these past few years and am keen to contribute to the Society in any way thought appropriate (and time-constraints not withstanding). This new format will, I hope, allow anyone to input into the Newsletter in a more effective way, and not rely soley on any individual to keep you updated with the many exciting developments that is the International Jew’s Harp Society.
Michael Wright

FeatureArticle

Featured

Posted on January 17, 2012 by ijhsnewsletter

Find the old players and record them!

: Carlock Stooksbury at the Appalacian Mountain Museum, October 2011

Recently I was contacted by a colleague in our Hoboken office, New Jersey, who found out that I was a Jew’s harp player / researcher. She wrote: “I wanted to share with you that my grandfather, Carlock Stooksbury, actually plays the instrument (even with his now fake teeth J) and has given many presentations and has been interviewed on TV and by magazines on the history. His cousin John Rice Irwin founded The Museum of Appalachia in Tennessee where my family is from and him and my grandfather have done lots of work in TN and throughout the southern US to preserve the history of that area (Where the juice harp, mouth bow, etc are very popular). I thought it was a cool connection and never have heard of anyone else sharing the interest so I thought I would send you a note!” As far as I am aware, Carlock is not known outside his region and has not been recorded or interviewed, so the opportunity to discover a traditional player was not to be missed. After a series of fascinating glimpses into his activities, it was arranged for me to visit Knoxville in March, but just before Christmas Carlock became ill and died on 3rd January. The family are keen for me to visit anyway, so I hope to delve into the family’s archive to see what there is, but, of course, I’m very sad not to have met the man himself. My only consolation is that Carlock was very excited to learn of our interest (he thought he was the only player – where have we heard that before?), proudly told his friends about an English player with international connections and enjoyed the sampler CDs I sent him. Nevertheless, we have lost another traditional player before a proper study of his technique, performance and knowledge could be directly recorded.

So, we owe it to future generations to constantly keep an eye out for these players – many are ‘closet’ players as I discovered in Scotland – and at least encourage them to share their knowledge and enthusiasm.
Michael Wright