The Harper’s’ Escape Weekend was held October 16th, 17th and 18th in Spring Lake, New Jersey. Our gracious hosts were Pat and Jim Gatens, a fine Irish couple from the Bronx who 5 years ago took over the Spring Lake Hotel. They renovated the property and renamed it, the Spring Lake Inn, "a private place for one or a romantic spot for two".

Robin and I arrived late on Friday afternoon and the harps and Harper’s’ were starting to gather on the 80 foot Victorian porch. This beautiful Bed and Breakfast was originally build in 1888.

The food, festivities and weather were just this side of heaven, who would have thought it could happen in New Jersey. I’ve taken back every unkind thing I have ever said about New Jersey.

Now to the music, 26 harps and 22 Harpers. Eight of us had built our own harps and one gentleman, Lee Gayman had built 4, each one a masterpiece. One of the ladies, Jeri Garofalo brought a concert grand pedal harp built in 1811, all done with gold leaf. It sounded great no matter what was played on it. Everyone there had harp lust and all tried it , there were traditional Irish, Scottish, religious, Italian allegro and Paraguayan styles played on this baby and all sounded terrific. No two harps were alike in sound or looks. There were Harpers of all ages and from all over the country. The female Harpers outnumbered the males 2 to 1, all of these things made the company very enjoyable.

There was a camaraderie and support among the musicians that I had never felt before, although I’m new to this environment, it must have been there love for the harp and music. We practiced 4 songs, new to all of us, we were at it all day Saturday. This was after our Friday evening "Harper’s’ Circle". Where everyone introduces themselves and told about their harp and then played something from their repertoire. We must have gone around two or three times. What a great Friday evening. What a variety of music and talent. The four songs that we endeavored to perfect for Sundays’ concert were 2 Irish and 2 Scottish songs. This was all done playing by ear. Kathy De Angelo and Debbie Berwin-Wilson did not give us the sheet music until Sunday. This was part of our weekend, learning to play by ear, playing with others and accompaniment. All of which they taught us with the ease of two accomplished and seasoned instructors. I can’t say enough about Kathy and Debbie or thank them for their support and enthusiasm. These two ladies play together as "Harper’s’ Bizarre", WOW! What a treat it was to hear just the two of them play together.

Spring Lake is known as the Irish Riviera and after spending some time there I know now why it is named this way. The hospitality of our Innkeepers Jim and Pat Gatens and the spirit of the locals even down to the folks at St. Catherine’s Catholic church, make this beach front town a little bit of Erin this side of the sea.

The Sunday Concert was held at an old historic church and was lead by Kathy and Debbie doing several tunes, from traditional Scotch/Irish, to their tunes about the working women and a piece by Kate McGonigal, "Harps like a Wheel" [really Heart like a Wheel ]. Then we had 6 individuals play songs from their repertoires. Then one of the Harpers, Lee Gayman, joined Kathy on the fiddle while Debbie accompanied them on the harp to the song "Da Slockit Light", a Scottish tune by Tom Anderson. Well that almost took the roof off.

Then it was our turn, the entire harp orchestra playing "The Broom of Cowdenknowes", "Hector The Hero", "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" and "Welcome Whiskey Back Again". And then a fifth piece that we put together Saturday night, as we were all tired from our "harp till you drop session", a real vampy version of Gershwin’s "Summertime". Kathy and Debbie and the gang threw it all together in 15 minutes, the last thing Saturday night before we dropped. WOW! What a great concert, it all came off without a hitch. Then all the concert attendees were invited to come up inspect the harps and pluck the strings or try their hand at a glissando (running your fingers along the strings, one of the most familiar sounds of the harp). They enthusiastically responded to the invitation and spent some time inspecting, plucking and stroking the strings to their hearts content. Perhaps a future harpist among them.

Our weekend [ mine and Robins’ ] didn’t end there. We returned to the Inn for one more night, where we spent a beautiful evening in the company of a delightful Irish couple and an Irish couple from New York. Talking, telling stories and jokes until the late hours. And of course they persuaded me to play a little harp for them.

I was perhaps the least experienced harper there but was made welcomed as if I were O’Carolan himself. And I felt a bit of his spirit there among such wonderful and talented company. Somewhat like Bunting must have felt at the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival, but that’s for another time and another review.

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back to current menu (8th Annual Harper's Escape, 2000).

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