Am I a pre-Raphaelite anachronistically sexist twit?
I would really like to pigeon hole my identity one day .......
Tala, I sincerely doubt you're a twit. You're not alone here, if we can believe history this has been a trigger for male attraction for ages. See the truly fanatical following of Loreena McKennitt for example.
Possibly it's neurological overdose, beautiful music, talented attractive women??? I play harp and in my researches I keep coming across stuff like, " my heart aches for the long haired maiden with the harp" etc. especially in continental Europe. Louis the 16th was reported enchanted with young Antoinette in no samll part due to her highly polished harping. If he only knew what would become of it...
Interestingly, you don't find these same romantic connotations in the old Irish/Scots/Welsh histories, except in stories of Mermaids luring (and then sometimes eating) unsuspecting vicitms of either gender, with their harping. Maybe it was the brass strings??? Gaelic folklore was not for the weak of heart.
For them the harp had a decidedly professional association, as the harpers where in league with the poets, who were held with a combination of respect and awesome fear. Where in mainland Europe the harp was viewed as angelic instrument, the Gaels believed the harp fully capable of otherworldly powers.