Music
The name of Samuel Milligan is one of the first names that beginning harp students encounter. When the Troubadour harp was developed in the 1960s, Lyon & Healy commissioned Sam to write an instruction book to go with their new harp, and the result was Fun From the First. Two volumes entitled Medieval to Modern followed a couple of years later, with a third volume appearing in 2014. These are considered standard repertoire for harp students, and several of the pieces in Sam’s books are found on repertoire lists for young harpists competitions and festivals.
Publications
Fun From the First (two volumes)
Medieval to Modern (three volumes)
Der Jolly Huntsman und der Kuckoo, for piccolo, harp and shotgun
Black & White Rag (George Botsford, arr SM)
Bourées from the Auvergne (Joseph Canteloube, arr SM)
Kol Nidrei, for cello, harp and organ (Max Bruch, transcription by SM)
Nine Sephardic Songs for soprano and harp
In preparation
Harp Music from the Spanish Renaissance and Baroque
Music for Multiple Harps
Sam’s music is available through most harp music outlets.
Sam performed his master oeuvre, Der lüstige Jäger und der Kuckuck, along with gamba (H. Woldt), sopranino recorder (D. Hart) and shotgun (L. Gwozdz):
Articles
Our man Sam has written a lot of interesting articles in his life — some of them historical, some of them informative, some of them opinionated and provocative. From historical harps to how to dye a string, from alcoholism (agin it) to Confucianism (fer it), over time this section of the website will contain Sam’s written wit and wisdom.
For starters, here is his article entitled Fanny Calderón de la Barca and her harp, which first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Bulletin of the Historical Harp Society. Click on the title to download the article in PDF format.