I come here on Wednesdays,its my job to play to people here with my harp. I played quietly for the next half an hour Eric smiled and grasped my hands as I left . I didn't play for Eric again, he was transferred to the local hospital as an acute patient and died two days later. But I had once again, felt the power of music to open doorways of healing, even the healing into death. The power of sound and music have been linked in creation myths and legends throughout human history.
Anthropologists suggest that hearing was more important than seeing to early humans.
Darwin and others suggest that the first languages were sung. Medically it is believed to be the last sense to leave us as we die. And the harp has been been my own doorway into music and healing work for some years now. I met Laurie Riley, through the Vashon Island Harp School, in my pursuit of information on Celtic harp building. We talked far into the night about the origins of the programme.