Israel's David, Greece's Orpheus and Hollywood's Harpo Marx are probably the three best-known harpists of all time. Nevertheless, in these effete times harp-playing is virtually a female monopoly, and 99% of America's 4,000 harpists are women.
This week 20 of them descended (20 more were expected) on the little seashore town of Camden, Me., which calls itself "The Harp Center of the Universe." From now until September, except for the short hours from midnight to dawn, the ring of their gold-plated harps will argue with the soft whisper of wind in the firs and the beat of the sea against the...