Harp Cover
Heather and Raquelle Sheen, the harp duo known as Joyful Harps, have recently released a new CD called Joyful Harps Yesteryear. This is their sixth CD and, like all the others, features their original arrangements for twin Celtic harps.


One of the unique pieces on Joyful Harps Yesteryear is a song that should interest all South Carolinians—the historic South Carolina state waltz known as the Richardson Waltz. This waltz originated with the Richardson family, one of the founding families of South Carolina in the colonial era. The waltz was passed down by ear for generations before finally being written down (by hand) in the 1980s. It became the official state waltz in the year 2000. To our knowledge, this is the first professional recording ever made of the waltz. You can enjoy a little piece of South Carolina history when you listen to this delightful tune!

Another historic piece on the CD is the hymn Come Ye Sinners. The tune recorded—different from the tune we sing that hymn to nowadays—is the hauntingly beautiful melody that the hymn was coupled with when it was published in The Sacred Harp. The Sacred Harp is a shape-note singing hymnal published in 1844 by Benjamin Franklin White. White was born in Union County, South Carolina, and wrote the tune to Come Ye Sinners, in addition to publishing the hymnal. The Sacred Harp was used in “singing schools” in the 1800s and is still one of the most popular shape-note singing hymnals in use today by shape-notesinging societies.

For the first time, Heather and Raquelle have also recorded some of their own original compositions—a piece called Yesteryear and another called Lee’s Farewell. Other favorites on the CD include Balm In Gilead, The Yellow Rose of Texas, Going Home (adapted from Dvorak’s New World Symphony), When You and I Were Young, Maggie, Be Thou My Vision, and many more. There are 18 tracks on the CD, for a total of an hour of listening enjoyment.

The CDs are $16.00 each, which includes shipping. You can order the CD online at www.joyful

harps.com or send a check (made payable to Joyful Harps) to: Joyful Harps, P.O. Box 1484, Taylors, SC 29687. Joyful Harps can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

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