Lori Pappajohn

String folk is a contemporary folk style that foregrounds acoustic string instruments—especially violin/fiddle, viola, cello, double bass, mandolin, banjo, and guitar—arranged with the intimacy and counterpoint of small classical ensembles. It blends the songcraft and storytelling of folk with the textures and techniques of chamber music, favoring organic timbres, close miking, and detailed arrangement. You will often hear drones, pizzicato figures, interlocking ostinatos, and lyrical fiddle/cello lines supporting gentle vocals and fingerpicked guitar. Across the 2000s and 2010s, string folk took shape within indie-folk and chamber-pop circles, with artists and ensembles collaborating across the classical and folk worlds to create pastoral, cinematic, and emotionally resonant recordings.

Celtic harp is a genre centered on the traditional small harp of the Celtic nations (Irish cláirseach, Scottish clàrsach, Welsh telyn), today most often the modern lever harp. It features instrumental arrangements of traditional airs, planxties, laments, and dance tunes (jigs, reels, hornpipes, slip jigs), as well as newly composed pieces in a Celtic idiom. The sound is shimmering and bell-like, using arpeggiated accompaniments, drones, rolled chords, and rich damping techniques. Modal harmony (Dorian, Mixolydian, Aeolian) and pentatonic colors are common, and performers often change mode mid‑piece via lever flips. While rooted in folk tradition, the contemporary genre spans concert stages, folk festivals, and contemplative/new‑age settings, ranging from solo harp to small ensembles with fiddle, flute/whistle, bodhrán, and voice.