Abstract: The second half of the XVIII century is characterizes by the appearance of first treatises on mastering playing the harp; each of them contained information on the elements of music texture and techniques of playing the harp, as well as had individual peculiarities. Thus, the subject of this analysis became the evolution of the harp performance in the context of characteristics of instrument’s structure, aesthetic ideals and methodological trends of the harpists in the XVIII century. The goal lies in the need for theoretical interpretation of the role of harp pedagogy of the XVIII century in establishment of artistic performance. Methodology includes the interdisciplinary approach that allows attracting scientific theories and concepts from other fields of knowledge, such as philosophy, art history, culturology, psychology; historical-culturological for determination of factors contributing to alignment of the European culture with other cultures; system approach aimed at studying professional artistic performance as a result of the development of harp pedagogy of the XVIII century. The scientific novelty consists in complementing the knowledge, systematization of new information of the professional artistic performance as a result of the development of pedagogy of the XVIII century. The author underlines the need for further examination of the evolution of technical elements of harp performance in the historical context and the future. It is noteworthy to reveal the origins and peculiarities of establishment of different national harp schools.

Abstract: Progressive development of instrument design affected the establishment of harp as one of the instruments with potential for virtuosity. Therefore, the subject of this analysis is the evolution of harp in the context of instrument’s design, repertoire and performance art in the XVIII century. The goal of the research lies in the need to reveal on the theoretical level the specificity of the phenomenon of evolution of harp, as well as the peculiarities of playing harp during the period under review. The theoretical importance is substantiated by the characteristics of the concepts “evolution of harp”, “design of harp”, “peculiarities of harp’s didactics” in the context of the history of philosophical and art knowledge. The practical significance is acknowledged by the fact that the acquired results allow examining the role of evolution of harp in a broader sense, as well as tracing the correlation between the instrument’s design and performance practice of the XVIII century. The main research method became the method of analytical study of the sources to elucidate the logics and content of the concept of “evolution of harp”. The method of comparative analysis allowed determining the correlation between the problems of universal history of the European music culture and the concept of local cultures associated with the evolution of playing harp. The scientific novelty is that this article is first to systematize the existing knowledge on the questions of evolution of harp based on examination of the idea of the universal history of music and the concept of local cultures via studying the means of musical expression, design and repertoire of harp in the XVIII century. The author underlines that the evolution of harp in the context of instrument’s design, repertoire and performance art of the XVIII is a unique sociocultural phenomenon, manifesting itself through the system of spiritual values and the essence of spiritual life of multiple nations.

Abstract: A single-action pedal harp - harpe organisee - was created in 1720. The research subject in the article is its history, parts and speech peculiarities. The aim of the research is to theoretically reveal the specificity of playing a single-action pedal harp in the middle of the 18th century, when the first attempts were made to formulate the principles of harp pedagogics. Theoretical significance is proved by the characteristics of the terms “a single-action pedal harp”, “European music”, “the parts of a harp”, “a harp’s speech peculiarities” in the context of the history of philosophical and the study of art knowledge and the scientific methodology.
The practical importance is proved by the fact that the acquired results give the opportunity to broadly understand the role of a single-action pedal harp, trace back the correlation between harp technique with performing practice of the 18th century, define the place of harp within a system of the philosophy of culture and art of the 21st century. 
The research methodology is defined by the aim and tasks of the study and the uniqueness of the material under study. It is based on the method of analytical study of sources clarifying the logic and the idea of a single-action pedal harp; and the method of comparative analysis. The scientific novelty is defined by the very problem statement and proved by the fact that the author adds new facts about a single-action pedal harp to the Russian musicology, which helps to see the problems of its history, parts and speech peculiarities in a new perspective. The result of the research - the historical processes in harp performance and the specifics of a single-action pedal harp - is the topical scientific problem. Its solution would lead to better understanding of historic performance and dominants of meaning in harp music in the European civilization.