The harp is the aristocrat of the orchestra. The instrument's history reaches back to Sumer and Ancient Egypt (around 3000 BCE). A modern concert harp has 47 strings of varying length and 7 pedals that alter the pitch of all strings at once — allowing play in any key.
The harp's sound is crystal-dreamlike, surrounded by a large overtone halo. Composers used the harp to create effects of magic (Wagner in Das Rheingold), water (Debussy in Danses), and celestial radiance (Mahler in his Symphonies). The Ukrainian academic harp school was developed by, among others, Viktoriia Poltareva (founder of the Lviv harp school). Among Ukrainian folk plucked string instruments the best known is the bandura — a member of the lute family, not of the harps.
