Famous Jew's harpists include the German musicians Father Bruno Glatzl (1721–1773) of Melk Abbey (for whom Albrechtsberger wrote his concerti), Franz Koch (1761–1831), who was discovered by Frederick the Great,[3] and, "the most famous,"[4]Karl Eulenstein (1802–1890).[3] "Four of the famous Jew's Harp virtuosos of the world,"[5] today are Svein Westad,[6]Leo Tadagawa,[7]Trần Quang Hải, and the late John Wright (1948–2013).[8][9] Other performers include Phons Bakx and the earlier Angus Lawrie and Patric Devane.[8] US country musician Jimmie Fadden played the Jew's harp on many albums.[10]
In the experimental period at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century there were very virtuoso instrumentalists on the mouth harp. Thus, for example, Johann Heinrich Scheibler was able to mount up to ten mouth harps on a support disc. He called the instrument "Aura". Each mouth harp was tuned to different basic tones, which made even chromatic sequences possible.
Johann Heinrich Hörmann: Partita for Jews Harp and 8 other instruments (c.1730). Recorded by Othmar Costa conducting the Innsbrucker Kammerorchester (1971).
Various: Khomus: Jew's Harp Music Of Turkic Peoples In The Urals, Siberia, And Central Asia (1995)[36]
The instrument features prominently in the opening theme and the score to the 1990s British animated television show, Oakie Doke. "[37]"
The instrument can be heard as part of the background music on the late 1970s / early 1980s American TV show Dukes of Hazzard, particularly during the chase sequences.
Various: Maultrommel Molln (1996), "Jew's Harp music from Austria and its neighbor countries"[38]
Trân Quang Haï: Jew's Harps of the World (1998), "This recording features jew's harps from Bali, Yakutiya, Bashkiriya, Austria, and Norway, and also from different peoples of Vietnam."[39]
Willie Kemp: "Glendarel Highlands", "Lovat Scouts", and "Monymusk", The Voice of the People Volume 7: First I'm Going to Tell You a Ditty (1998)[20]
Tapani Varis: Jews Harp (1998), "solo and accompanied Jew's harp...collection of Finnish and Norwegian folk tunes...variety of harps"[40]
Huun-Huur-Tu: "Sagly Khadyn Turu-La Boor (It's Probably Windy On Sandy Steppe)", Where Young Grass Grows (1999)[15]
The Jew Harp is used to play the theme song alongside the accordion in the Yugoslav movie Ko To Tamo Peva (1980).[41]
Svein Westad: Munnharpas VerdenGerman: The World of the Jew's Harp (2000)[42] "Traditional and contemporary Jew's Harp compositions from Norway, Ireland, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Japan, India and Kyrgyzstan performed by," Westad, Tadagawa, Trần, and Wright.[5]
Traditional Kazakh: "Kuu" (Nurlanbek Nishanov),[43] "Jew's Harp Melody" (Edil Huseinov), The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings #40438 (2002), "elaborate Jew's harp techniques of Kazakhstan"[44][15]
Maurer, Walter (1983). Accordion: Handbuch eines Instruments, seiner historischen Entwicklung un seiner Literature (in German), p.19. Vienna: Edition Harmonia.
"How Should the Jew's Harp Part of 'Washington's Birthday' Be Played?", Vierundzwanzigsteljahrsschrift der Internationalen Maultrommelvirtuosengenossenschaft 1 (1982): 49–57.
Chris Woodstra, John Bush, Stephen Thomas Erlewine; eds. (2008). Contemporary Country, p.36. Hal Leonard. ISBN9780879309183. The jew's harp is, "something you don't hear on many records these days, if ever."
