Sorry, didn't mean to imply The Waverly Consort were amateurs. It's a separate thought. C.
On Tue, May 10, 2016 at 8:07 AM, Christopher Stetson <[1][email protected]> wrote: Hi, Roger and all. I met Harold in the mid-1970's and owned three of his instruments. Wayne is correct in the details. There is still web evidence of Westover Harps in Holyoke, MA, but I suspect it's old and obsolete. It's about 10 miles south of me, so I really should take a drive and check it out. I owned a small "medieval" harp, a 5-string tenor vielle, and a custom made orpharion. Harold's goal was to provide affordable instruments for the "hippie" early music crowd (having been one of them, I use the term affectionately), so his construction practices were hardly historical. He was, at least when I met him, quite fond of 1/8" aircraft plywood. That said, his instruments were sturdy, serviceable, and didn't sound half bad, and were a godsend for aspiring amateur musicians with limited funds. If I remember correctly the Waverly Consort made several recordings using a variety of Westover instruments. If I can offer an anecdote, I got the harp by giving a friend a ride to pick up an instrument. When he found out I was also a musician, he offered me the small harp for $150. I demurred, being a lute player. He kept lowering the price until, at $40, I couldn't refuse. I got much joy from it until it met its fate when a cat knocked it from a high shelf. I still have the pieces, pretending I'll fix it sometime. However one took one's chances trying to move him away from his known areas. I specified that my orpharion should have a solid spruce top, and when I picked it up was dismayed to find it was, indeed solid; a quite solid full 1/4 inch thick. The harp and Vielle, though, his standard instruments, worked quite well. An aside, visits to his workshop were always quite pleasant and chatty, I remember him with fondness. His construction techniques may well have evolved along with the rest of us into the 1980's I can't remember when he died, but your lute (I assume it's the one recently offered on ebay) must have been made fairly late in his career. Anyway, that's what I know. Best to all, and keep playing. Chris. On Tue, May 10, 2016 at 6:38 AM, Wayne <[1][2][email protected]> wrote: I believe Harold Westover was a retired Unitarian minister in Walpole NH. He made harps, and other medieval instruments. You could try looking on the archives of the folk harp list. He had helpers who went on to make instruments on their own, including one who made two of my wife's harps. There were articles written about him in the local papers. Wayne > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Roger Landes <[2][3][email protected]> > Subject: [LUTE] Harold Westover Medieval Lute > Date: May 10, 2016 at 12:03:39 AM EDT > To: [3][4][email protected] > > I recently purchased a 5 course Medieval lute made in 1987 by Harold > Westover of New Hampshire. A google search brought up a couple of > messages on this forum about his work. Anyone here know anything about > Westover and/or the instruments he built? > Cheers, > -- > Roger Landes > [1][4][5]http://www.rogerlandes.com > __________________________________________________________________ > > [2]Avast logo > > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > [3][5][6]www.avast.com > > -- > > References > > 1. [6][7]http://www.rogerlandes.com/ > 2. [7][8]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=li nk&utm _campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient > 3. [8][9]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=li nk&utm _campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > [9][10]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > -- References 1. mailto:[11][email protected] 2. mailto:[12][email protected] 3. mailto:[13][email protected] 4. [14]http://www.rogerlandes.com/ 5. [15]http://www.avast.com/ 6. [16]http://www.rogerlandes.com/ 7. [17]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link &utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient 8. [18]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link &utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient 9. [19]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:[email protected] 2. mailto:[email protected] 3. mailto:[email protected] 4. mailto:[email protected] 5. http://www.rogerlandes.com/ 6. http://www.avast.com/ 7. http://www.rogerlandes.com/ 8. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm 9. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm 10. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 11. mailto:[email protected] 12. mailto:[email protected] 13. mailto:[email protected] 14. http://www.rogerlandes.com/ 15. http://www.avast.com/ 16. http://www.rogerlandes.com/ 17. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient 18. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient 19. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
