La passion à la française
Camac Belgium are the exclusive distributors of Camac harps in Belgium. Each Camac harp is a unique link in a long chain of savoir-faire, research and passion.
Camac are proud to make harps in France, with no reliance on outsourcing. They remain committed to domestic production, for reasons both of quality control, and social and environmental responsibility. In 2007, the French government declared Camac Harps to be an “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” (Enterprise of Living Heritage). This is an award for companies who underpin the economic and cultural identity of France.
Camac are passionate both about innovation, and about the finest traditions of French craftsmanship. Their New Generation concert instruments, launched from 1996, are a complete reconception of a traditional harp build. Their sound is clear, warm and even across all registers – what Jakez François has described as “the French sound”, and one regularly remarked upon and praised by conductors and sound engineers throughout the world. The New Generation harps were also redesigned to provide the greatest ease of playing, with a light weight and ergonomic string spacing based on the original spacing of the great Erard harps. The research necessary in realising these goals also led to the development of particularly accurate intonation, and a smooth, quiet and easy-to-regulate mechanism.
Camac Harps also have a very close relationship with the lever harp. The company was born in the midst of the Breton Celtic revival, and the Camac ateliers are still where they have always been, in the tiny hamlet of Mouzeil , near Nantes. Camac have always celebrated the lever harp as an instrument in its own right: Celtic, contemporary and even electric. The company has played an instrumental part in the development both of electric lever harps, and electroacoustic concert harps – the famous Camac Blue Harps, which are now a benchmark in the field. In 2009, Camac launched their MIDI concert harp in London. This sparked the commissioning of a concerto for the instrument by Graham Fitkin, performed by Sioned Williams with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2011, and the MIDI harp also won the Max Mathews Prize for Technological Innovation at the Seventh Qwartz Electronic Music Awards.
All Camac’s concert lever harp models are developed in collaboration with an artist, and individual musicians have also been the inspiration for Camac’s South American harps, and the DHC Blue Light electric lever harp, made for and with Deborah Henson-Conant. Camac Harps are also very active sponsors, and cite giving something back to the harp community as one of their greatest sources of pleasure and professional satisfaction.
It is equally important to Camac to honour responsible practice concerning the environment, and conditions of employment. There are various measures in place, such as using only woods that are certified sustainable-source, polyester-free varnishes, minimal use of solvants, and recycling. These considerations are an integral part of the company ethos.
Camac’s after-sales service is widely recognized as being the best a harp manufacturer can possibly offer. All our pedal harps now enjoy a complete guarantee for ten years, and regulation tours are regularly organised throughout the world. Each of our harps has been designed to simplify regulation and maintenance. Not only does this make it easier and faster for harp technicians to work on our harps, it also offers harpists a greater degree of independence. For example, you can use our rod tuner to improve the accuracy of your harp’s intonation, between professional regulations.