March/April 2014

Transcription

March/April 2014

HarpColumn
March/April 2014
volume 22, issue 5
ISSN: 1083-6128
$7.95
practical news for practical harpists
French
pedagogue
Germaine
Lorenzini
inside:
spring cleaning
and
a performer’s
survival guide
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Harp Column
Published by Diamond Rock Productions © 2014
FOUNDING EDITOR
PUBLISHER
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•
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Hugh Brock
STAFF
EDITOR
•
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
• Patricia Adams Harris • Devon Haupt
• Mike Lewis • Elizabeth Morgan-Ellis
• Nadia Pessoa • Sunita Staneslow
• Alison Young
MUSIC REVIEW EDITOR • Jan Jennings
CIRCULATION MANAGER • Carol Ringenwald
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contents
features
the french teacher • 18
18
Legendary French pedagogue Germaine Lorenzini
shares her insights into teaching, French music, and
what it takes to be successful.
“My advice to young
harpists would be this,”
says Germaine Lorenzini,
“music has to be a vocation, so you will do everything it takes to survive
and to continue playing
your instrument. If you
don’t have this fire within
your soul, then you don’t
have to do it, because
goodness knows, there are
many other ways to have
a wonderful career and a
wonderful life.”
by Harp Column staff
survival guide • 28
When catastrophe strikes at a gig, do you have what it
takes to survive?
by Nadia Pessoa
spring cleaning • 34
Move over, winter, spring is here! Follow our tips to
clean, organize, and declutter your harp life.
by Elizabeth Morgan-Ellis
departments
from the editor • 6
advice • 16
Being prepared for anything.
Improving your counting is as easy as 1–2–3.
harp news • 8
CD review • 40
Two new harp concertos and recordings make their
debuts.
Valérie Milot and Carrol McLaughlin release
delightful new discs.
in memoriam • 10
music review • 42
Remembering Anne Adams and Ron Price.
Sparkling new arrangements from Stanley Guy,
Brook Boddie, and Ann Lobotzke.
sounding board • 12
From Indiana to India: Devon Haupt leaps out of her
comfort zone for the gig of a lifetime.
tech talk • 14
Mike Lewis kicks off a new series exploring all aspects of
harp care and maintenance.
strange but true • 44
Spa day.
classifieds • 45
from the editor
the show must go on
by Alison Reese
O
Harp Column
• March/April 2014
talk to us
6
Do you like something
you saw in Harp
Column? Do you wish
we had done a better
job? Is there a topic
you’d like us to write
about? We want to
know what you think.
Send your letters and
comments to areese
@harpcolumn.com.
Letters intended for
publication should be
addressed “To the
Editor” and include
your contact information.
One Wednesday evening several months ago I was
cooking dinner when my cell phone rang. It was the
personnel manager of a nearby orchestra. Their
harpist was having a medical emergency and he
needed a sub for Capriccio Espagnol on a concert at 8
p.m. I looked at my watch. It was 5:45—as in two
hours and 15 minutes until the downbeat. The personnel manager’s voice was growing more desperate
by the second, and with no plans for the evening I
was available, so I agreed to play the gig.
I immediately went into survival mode. I found
my part, located the recording in my iTunes library,
and sat down to listen to it. Thankfully there’s no
harp in the first two movements. I got the cadenza
back in my fingers and quickly went through the rest
of the part, only focusing on the most exposed parts.
The rest would have to be fine. I was playing the concert on the orchestra’s harp, so I threw on the only
orchestra black in my closet that was clean was out
the door by 6:30. I arrived at the hall by 7 p.m. so I
could get used to the harp. I was able to talk through
tempos with the conductor at 7:30. At 8 p.m. I was
performing Capriccio Espagnol. Not exactly where I
thought my evening would take me when I was cooking a bolognese sauce only a few hours earlier, but I
survived to tell the tale.
If you’ve played the harp for any length of time,
you’ve been there—whether it’s a broken string in the
middle of a performance or a duo partner that is late
to the gig, we’ve all been faced with that potentially
paralyzing harp emergency. These are the kind of
scenarios that would keep you up at night if only you
had an entire night’s forewarning. That’s the thing
about emergencies—they are immediate. You don't
have the luxury of time to mull them over and stew
about them. You can only react and survive. Nadia
Pessoa shares some great insights and strategies for
preparing for the unpredictable in “Survival Guide
for Harp Emergencies” on pg. 28.
Devon Haupt knows a thing or two about the
unpredictable. Haupt is in the middle of an eightmonth performing contract that takes her all over
India playing one crazy gig after another. In her article “From Indiana to India” on pg. 12, Haupt
recounts some of her adventures and shows us what
happens when you have to expect the unexpected. I
suppose there’s a reason the performing arts coined
the phrase, “the show must go on.”
Also in the this issue, Harp Column readers are in
for a treat—a rare look at one of the great harp
teachers in the world today, Germaine Lorenzini (see
“The French Teacher,” pg. 18). She comes out of the
storied French school, having studied with Lily
Laskine and Jacqueline Borot at the Paris
Conservatory. Tales of Lorenzini’s teaching precede
her, and her former students are some of the best
harpists performing today, including Isabelle Moretti
and Sivan Magen. So when we had the opportunity
to interview this living legend, we jumped at it.
Because of the language barrier, we used a translator
for the interview with Lorenzini. But if your French is
trés bon, you’ll want to check out the original French
transcript of the interview that appears on harpcolumn.com. It’s a wonderfully authentic picture of this
uniquely French teacher.
And finally, we’re excited to welcome back harp
technician Mike Lewis for a regular feature we’re
calling “Tech Talk.” Each issue Mike will break down
a harp maintenance issue in language we harpists
can understand. I think we can all count on learning
a lot and having a laugh or two with Mike’s humorous style. Hey, if you can’t have fun fixing a broken
pedal rod, when can you have fun?
Alison Reese is editor of Harp Column. She is a freelance performer and teacher in West Michigan. E-mail
her at areese@harpcolumn.com.
•
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harp news
Two new harp concertos unveiled
TWO NEW
CONCERTOS
OUT
Top (l. to r.):
Catherine Michel
and Floraleda Sacchi
perform new harp
concertos. Bottom (l.
to r.): Sivan Magen
and Remy van
Kesteren release
new CDs.
HARP
ARE
harpist
French
CATHERINE MICHEL premiered a Harp Concerto
by Michel Legrand last
month
with
the
Chamber Orchestra of
Philadelphia.
The
orchestra commissioned
Legrand, who wrote the
piece for Michel.
Legrand, famous for
his compositions for
film and television, is
an Oscar and Grammy
winner. Michel, former
harpist with the Paris
Opera, now tours the
world as a soloist and
teacher. Harp Concerto is
set to be recorded by the Chamber Orchestra of
Philadelphia on the EMI label.
Another new harp concerto was recently recorded
by Italian harpist FLORALEDA SACCHI. Written by
Manuel De Sica, Kojiki for Harp and Strings was recorded with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini on the
Brilliant Classics label and released in January. The
three-movement work for harp appears on the new
album Manuel De Sica: A life in music.
Harp Column
MAGEN AND VAN KESTEREN RELEASE NEW
CDS
8
for the latest
news
Between issues, find
the latest news from
The Dutch Harp
Festival and
Competition (Feb. 26–
Mar. 2) and the Wales
International Harp
Festival (April 20–26)
at harpcolumn.com.
Harpists SIVAN MAGEN and REMY VAN KESTEREN
both have new CDs out in early 2014.
Magen released his third album titled Fantasien on
the Linn Records label. The album includes arrangements of traditional compositions by J.S. Bach, C.P.E.
Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Renié, and Walter-Kühne, all
united by the theme of fantasy. Magen has won
numerous international competitions and awards,
including the 2006 International Harp Contest at
Israel. You can read Harp Column’s interview with
Magen in the January/February 2007 issue.
Van Kesteren’s new album, Memento, features
music from Spain and Brazil, and new works by composer Martin Fondse. Memento is currently available
on iTunes and on van Kesteren’s website at remy-
vankesteren.nl. Van Kesteren won the gold medal at
the 2013 USA International Harp Competition. His
interview with Harp Column appeared in the
September/October 2013 issue.
SUMMER CONFERENCE PLANS UNDERWAY
Registration is open for two big harp conferences
planned for this summer. The program is taking
shape for the 12TH WORLD HARP CONGRESS July 20–
26, in Sydney, Australia. Conference committee chair
ALICE GILES promises a program that “highlights the
harp’s broad and versatile repertoire, featuring all
genres of music, from the harp’s folk origins, through
to early and traditional classical, jazz, and the most
adventurous contemporary experimental music.”
The star-studded evening lineup includes (in order of
appearance) ALICE GILES’ SEVEN HARP ENSEMBLE,
DAN YU, ANN HEYMANN, NICOLAS CABALLERO,
RUDIGER OPPERMANN, STASA MIRKOVIC GRUJIC,
SIRIN PANCAROGLU, ASTRID HARRING, GWYNETH
WENTINK, MOTOSHI KOSAKO, ANAÏS GAUDEMARD,
REMY VAN KESTEREN, NAOKO YOSHINO, ISABELLE
MORETTI, ALISA SADIKOVA, BERNARD ANDRES,
CATRIONA MCKAY, FELICE POMERANZ, PAUL HURST,
MARIA CLEARY, ANDREW LAWRENCE-KING, NATALIA
MANN, SIVAN MAGEN, and LOUISE JOHNSON. Many
more daytime performances and workshops are also
planned. Registration is available online at
whcsydney2014.org.
The early bird registration deadline for the
AMERICAN HARP SOCIETY’S 41ST NATIONAL
CONFERENCE is March 15. The conference, set for
June 22–26 in New Orleans, will enjoy a “Harp
Carnivale” theme, loaded with jazz and harp ensemble, along with never before heard works. BALTAZAR
JUAREZ will give the opening recital. Other featured
evening performers (in order of appearance) include
CAROL ROBBINS, THE HARP ENSEMBLES CAFÉ DE LE
HARP, CHICAGO HARP QUARTET, MODERN HARP
QUARTET, MOTOSHI KOSAKO, PATRICE FISHER,
FELICE POMERANZ, ATHY, REBECCA BABIN, RIZA
PRINTUP, KIMBERLY HOUSER, PARK STICKNEY,
MARYEN MUNOS, MARCELA MENDEZ, EMILY LEVIN,
EMILY HOILE, HEIDI VAN HOESEN GORTON,
GRETCHEN VAN HOESEN, DEBORAH HENSONCONANT, ELEANOR TURNER, ELAINE BARBER, and
KERSTIN ALLVIN. Many other daytime performances
and workshops are also planned. Online registration
is available at ahsconference.org.
•
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in memoriam
Anne Everingham Adams
1919–2013
Harpist, Teacher, Leader
Harp Column
A
10
Anne Adams, performer,
teacher, and leader within
the American Harp Society,
died Dec. 9 following a long
illness.
Anne began piano lessons
at age 4. Her great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother were all concert
pianists. At the age of 9 she began harp lessons with
Annie Louise David after seeing her harp at the
Fairmount Hotel in San Francisco. She also started
harmony, theory, and ear training and began
attending concerts performed by the San Francisco
Symphony. Her dream was to be their harpist, which
she achieved.
In 1938, Marcel Grandjany came to Mills College
in Oakland, Calif., for a masterclass and invited
Anne to be in his first class at Juilliard. While there,
she performed the debut performance of the Aria in
Classic Style when Mr. Grandjany became ill. We call
this the “favorite family piece.” She performed the
work with organ, with string orchestra, and most
often with her mother on the piano. She also performed it for her mother’s wedding to her second husband, with me, her daughter Patricia, playing second
harp.
In l942 Anne married Burton Adams, a surgery
resident under her father. That same year she joined
the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Pierre
Monteau, as second harpist. In 1951 she became
Principal Harpist, and in l952 she joined the San
Francisco Opera. She played with many famous conductors including Arthur Fiedler and Seiji Ozawa,
with whom she toured Japan. Her husband Burton
went with her as the orchestra physician.
Anne was passionate about the harp. She loved
performing in the Symphony and Opera, as a soloist,
and in small chamber ensembles. She championed
new music and commissioned many new works
including the Sonata for Harp by Darius Milhaud,
which is a competition piece for the 2015
International Harp Contest in Israel. Anne also
taught harp for many years in her private studio and
on the faculty of Mills College. She was a teacher and
mentor to many who became professional harpists.
Anne Adams was a wonderful harpist and teacher
and a caring and special person. Her former student
Henry Spiller writes, “Her impact on me as a teacher
wasn’t limited to the significant steps forward in technique and expression on the harp that she fostered. It
is impossible for me to touch a harp without feeling
her behind me, encouraging me to ‘press’ the strings
(à la Grandjany). Each time I touch the strings, I
experience once again the incredibly sensuous friction of the strings against my fingers that I felt the
first time I finally understood what she was telling me
to do, and how the complex chain of gestures and
sensations produced such a glorious big sound—pure
magic.”
The American Harp Society was fortunate to have
her serve three terms on the Board of Directors, act as
custodian of the AHS tape library, and perform at
many conferences. In 1990 her husband Burton
established the Anne Adams Awards in her honor,
which encourage harp students toward excellence
and help many young harpists financially. The repertoire for the Awards always includes an orchestral
excerpt in honor of her many years of orchestral playing. In 2000 Anne and Burton were honored to be
included in the Harp Column’s list of most influential
people in the harp world. In 2006 Anne and Burton
received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
American Harp Society. Donations in her name can
be sent to the American Harp Society Foundation, 646
Worcester Ave, Cambria, Calif. 93428.
— Patricia Adams Harris
•
in memoriam
Dr. Ron D. Price
1940–2013
Healing Harps Founder
A
After suffering from a debilitating neurological
disorder, Ron Price noticed that his symptoms diminished when he played the harp. This discovery led
him to explore the benefits of playing the harp with
others who suffered from neurological difficulties.
The results were often profound and many harpists
showed improvement that went far beyond their
expectations. Dr. Price’s work was featured on
national television, and millions of viewers learned
about the therapeutic benefits of playing the harp.
Ron studied the French horn at Northern Illinois
University (NIU) and received his master’s and doctoral degrees in music and special education. He was
on faculty in the music department of both The Ohio
State University and NIU (DeKalb). In the 1980s he
began teaching harp to a group of severely disturbed
boys. The result was so positive that Ron began using
the same techniques with other groups and founded
Healing Harps. The organization, now based in New
Mexico, brought harpists into hospitals, clinics, hospices, and churches. Ron Price conducted several
medical and research studies including a study with
Sue Huhta that showed an improvement of reading
skills by fourth and fifth grade students when they
learned to play the harp. Ron and his wife, Carol,
developed a certification program for Professional
Service Musicians that was specific to the harp.
Ron and Carol Price were famous for organizing
“Monster Days” where
harpists of all levels, many
of whom suffered from
neurological
ailments,
would gather to play
together. The power of
music was obvious to all
who attended. Ron suffered
from many health ailments himself, and so
doing good helped him see
beyond his own self-pity.
Ron performed on the harp for years with the quartet Just Folk. Joined by his wife, Carol, on the hammered dulcimer, his daughter, Jennifer, on violin, and
Wally Koch on the bass, they explored the healing
power of music, often performing in places where people are challenged by illness and pain. Their recording, Spirit Within, continues to be used by many for
pain management and stress reduction.
Ron loved people and had many friends. He
enjoyed telling stories and always had a joke to share.
A spiritual man, he devoted his life to teaching and
helping others. Ron Price will be missed by many
around the world who knew him as a friend, a teacher,
and a man who inspired others and helped them benefit from the healing vibrations of the harp.
—Sunita Staneslow
•
“As one of the pioneers of the therapeutic harp movement, Ron Price will always be
remembered for his groundbreaking work
using the power of resonance on neurological impulses of the body. I will greatly miss
him and help to keep his legacies of playing
harp for therapeutic benefits alive.”
—Christina Tourin, director, International
Harp Therapy Program
“One thing I will always focus on is his
infamous saying, ‘Just get over it.’ I’ve had
numerous strokes, but I go on and get the
job done. Ron will forever inspire me.”
—Sharon Strange
“The special aspect of Healing Harps is
that it includes both active and passive heal-
ing processes with music. Dr. Price’s expertise
in special education played a significant role
in the development of Healing Harps and
will always be a component of our mission.
We are currently working with special needs
students at the New Mexico School of Music
in Albuquerque and are involved in a project
to develop a music curriculum for students
with autism. We also plan to establish harp
programs in hospitals and other clinical settings.” —Julietta Rabens-Moor, president of
Healing Harps
Harp Column
“Ron Price was a lover of humanity, a consummate musician, both passionate about his
craft and knowledgeable about research and
its application to the real world.” —Sue
Huhta
REMEMBERING RON PRICE
11
sounding board
from Indiana to India
Leaving your comfort zone half a
world away.
by Devon Haupt
Harp Column
W
12
“Would you like to live in India and play harp in
a bubble?”
There may have been a little more to the initial email I received, but that was what I got out of it. I
laughed. Why would anyone want to do such a crazy
thing? So I showed it around, and got a surprising
response from my husband, “You should do it!” he
said. A few more e-mails back and forth, a visa application, and a round of immunizations against things
like polio and typhoid, and I was on my way to an
eight-month performance contract in Mumbai.
From the moment I landed, it has been one adventure after another. Going through customs with a
harp cart in a giant cardboard box is not an experience I want to repeat! My first performance was two
days after I arrived, and on a borrowed harp. If you
think harp rentals are bad in the U.S., try getting one
in India! The harp’s entire second-, third-, and fourthoctave strings were missing. And just to make things
interesting, the fifth-octave A was strung with wire.
The event was a birthday party for the wife of the
richest man in India, held on the lawn of a palace in
the state of Rajasthan. I had my own green room
with “Harpist” on the door, and they even rigged
spotlights for me on top of the palace. There were
over 1,000 people working the event, from florists to
waiters to tango dancers. I was set up on the lawn
and welcomed guests with Bollywood music on the
harp. Although I was long gone by then, the party
went on until after 5:00 a.m.!
Working for an agency certainly has its ups and
downs as well. I love that I get to focus on just making music, while they handle the logistical details,
marketing, and client contacts. Unfortunately, they
are not trained musicians and don’t understand how
I can’t “just jam” Bollywood music for two hours with
a saxophonist I’ve never met. I still have to move my
own harp, but that’s more of a choice, as there are
always plenty of people willing to assist in exactly
the wrong ways. I can’t count the number of times
I’ve had to shout at some well-meaning person (and
attempt to do so in Hindi) to stop pushing the harp
off the cart as I lug it up a flight of stairs.
One unexpected aspect of performing in India is
that appearance is far more important than sound.
Clients here are paying for a certain “look”—the
more Western, the better. I’ve lightened my hair and
have to wear copious amounts of eye makeup and a
tiara. I’ve become used to guests climbing up on the
stage or stopping me as I walk through the venue to
have their picture taken with me. At some events, it
has gotten so bad that my manager actually had to
step in and say, “No photos, please. No phone numbers, either.” Talk about feeling like a celebrity!
The performances I’ve done here are wide-ranging, from a harp and flute duet on the beach of a
resort hotel in Goa to a stage show at a Sangeet (a
pre-wedding party with music) on an island in
Udaipur. Yes, I had to figure out how to get the harp
on the boat for that one! I’ve been flying all over
India, with the harp going by road. It was a little terrifying the first time I had to entrust it to a driver I
didn’t know, but it has arrived safely at every performance, which is an impressive track record when
you consider the condition of roads here and the
seemingly maniacal driving habits of Indian drivers.
The harp is an entirely foreign instrument in
India. Everyone who sees the instrument is impressed
by it, but most don’t even know what to call it. I’ve
had many people interested enough to stop and ask
lots of questions about the harp (once they know
that’s what it is called) and of course have their picture taken next to it!
There have been days that were hard to spend
GOTH
GOT H A M H A R P P
PUBLISHING
U BL ISH I NG
New
G.F. Handel
/HYW*VUJLY[VPU)ÅH[4HQQVY, Op. 4 No. 6, HMV 294
edited and cadenza by Susan Jolles
J.S. Bach
Preludes & Fugues from his Well-T
Tempered Clavier
edited by Laura Sherman
J.P. Rameau
Pièces de clavecin (Pieces
Pieces for harpsichord)
transcribed and edited by Susan Jolles
Joel Mandelbaum
Diatonic Study & Chromatic Study for harp - US, 1990
Stephen Burtonwood
Reverie for solo harp - UK, 2011
Also Available
A v ailable
J.S. Bach
Lute Suites,, BWV 995, 996, 997, 998 and 1006a
critical performance editions by Laura Sherman
Torrie Zito
Concert Etude for solo harp - USA, 1980
Felt glissando picks
gorgeous sound and feel
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.wicke
•
ticket for the adventure of a lifetime!
Devon Haupt is a professional freelance
harpist based in South Bend, Ind. Since
October she has been living and performing in
India on an eight-month contract.
Harp Column
away from home. To combat my
homesickness on Christmas Eve, I took
the harp out into the market right outside my flat. I set up and played a mix
of Bollywood and Christmas songs for
people walking by. It was an amazing
experience, and I had people singing
along, stopping in the middle of the
road, and even offering me a contract
with a different entertainment agency
here. The people of India have been so
welcoming and helpful, which has
made living here much easier than I
expected.
I had received e-mails like the one
that brought me here many times
before, but had always dismissed
them. Now, I couldn’t imagine not
having taken this opportunity to see a
new part of the world, live in a culture
vastly different from what I’m used to,
and introduce the harp to people who
have never even heard of it before. If you
get a “come play harp in a bubble” email, don’t just laugh—it might just be a
13
tech talk
caretaker by default
Maintain your harp and your
sanity.
by Mike Lewis
Harp Column
I
14
I am an ex-factory technician out of Chicago. I
worked at the harp mill from 1989–1995. Since then,
I have worked under the name HarpTech doing regulation, repairs, and building new harps. Some
readers may remember me for the harp maintenance column called “What’s Da Buzz?” I wrote and
illustrated for the Harp Column from 1996 to 2001.
While my writing may not have improved in the last
decade, technology certainly has, and so my illustrations for this column will benefit, coming in the
form of exclusive YouTube videos for Harp Column
readers.
The trick, from what I can see, is not to pay twice
for the same item, so please, may I have the honor
of sharing my almost 25 years of harp tech knowledge, yours for the simple price of a Harp Column
subscription? Such a deal!
Looking around, I noticed the world has changed
since last I wrote this here tech column. Bandwidth
is way bigger. Everyone has Internet on their computers, tablets, and phones. Communication is easier. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much
is YouTube worth? Talk about the
Gutenberg Press on steroids.
For most people, learning
about harp maintenance falls
somewhere between jury duty
and a root canal on the enjoyment scale. Most people have a
bucket list of things they want to
do before they kick the bucket.
My bucket list is the opposite. It’s
a list of things I never wanted to
learn to do, but had to learn to do
You signed up to play the harp, to support the people I love.
not take care of it. Mike Lewis
Let me give you an example of
finds himself in a similar situation my bucket list, albeit non-harp
with his step-daughter’s horse. related:
A few years ago, my 20-something stepdaughter
was offered a “free” horse. Her dad encouraged her,
my wife encouraged her, I said “No way! There ain’t
no such thing as a free horse.” I saw it as a time and
money hole. I lost the vote; she got the horse.
Actually, I think I missed the vote altogether. Was
there a vote and I missed it? Mysteries…
Years pass, step-daughter goes off to grad school,
my wife’s shoulder is in bad shape, so guess what? It’s
the horse and me. I’m not a horse guy. It’s winter, he
is an Arabian and in order to keep him healthy I
must feed him supplements, clean his hooves, groom
his coat, inspect him for injury, and round pen him.
I’m first-rate ticked that I have to learn how to do all
this stuff and waste my time. (How do you feel when
you have to replace a pedal spring?) To add to my
pleasure, the horse is in pasture with five other horses and my horse is not at the top of the pecking order.
I must go into the pasture and fetch the horse. For
those of you who don’t do horse, my body parts
stand a reasonable chance of being rearranged if I
do not handle the herd politics correctly. (Yes, you
could be blinded by a pedal spring.) So far I’ve been
successful; the horse is doing quite well. So, I’m a
horse whisperer? No, I don’t need to be.
Do you need to become a harp whisperer to maintain your harp? No. Like my horse-handling skills, I
am going to teach you enough to keep your harp
alive.
So, if you are wondering whether to tune in, come
the next issue, here’s what I will cover in this space:
• pedal rod replacement
• finish maintenance
• temperature and humidity
• saving money on an expensive instrument
• That harp costs how much?
• gold cleaning, touch up, and addition
But this column isn’t for me. It’s really for you.
What do you want to learn more about?
Please let me know what I can write about
for you. Be brave. I’m taking care of a
horse, so we’re all a little out of our comfort zone here.
Mike Lewis really doesn’t need a bio
because he gave you his life’s story in the article. But if you want to contact him with suggestions of topics to cover in his column or
any horse advice you might be able to offer, email him at harptech@harptech.com.
•
Editor’s Note
Don’t miss Mike Lewis’ how-to videos
and illustrations available each issue
exclusively online at harpcolumn.com.
Talk to us
Tech Talk is a feature that looks at ways
to maintain and even improve your
harp’s inner workings and outer appearance. Do you have a topic you think we
should cover? Let us know!
E-mail areese@harpcolumn.com with
your suggestions and ideas.
L’ACADÉMI
April 19th - 27th, 2014
Teacher: G
ww.academie-c
Applications
plications open from December 1
Mas de la Rabassière
13250 Saint-Chamas,
Saint-Chamas, Provence - FRANCE
Airport: Marseille - T
Train:
rain: Miramas
Harp Column
Tuiti
uition
on and board fullyy sponsored
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by Camac Har
Musicians need time
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would like our Académie
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artists
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future
15
advice
question:
How can I get better at counting? My
sense of rhythm is terrible!
Elizabeth Volpe
Harp Column
B
16
Maeve Gilchrist
Buy a good rhythm book, such as The Logical
Approach to Rhythmic Notation by Phil Perkins. Practice
your rhythms separately from playing the notes!
Work with a metronome to keep an exact pulse. It
should be slow enough that you don’t feel rushed. At
first, set your metronome to the eighth notes or the
triplets, in order to keep them evenly spaced in the
beats. Speed it up as you get more confident.
Start with the first exercises, clapping or saying
each rhythm. I use the words “one-and-two-and” for
eighth notes, and “one-ee-and-a” for sixteenth notes.
For tuplets of three say “one and a;” for quintuplets,
try “university.” You could say “blueberry ice cream
cone” for a triplet, duplet, quarter note combination
(but you must say them absolutely rhythmically—use
the metronome!)
When you practice your harp, use the metronome
every day. Keep checking your timing with it regularly.
If a piece has to be strictly rhythmic, sometimes it
is necessary to edit a bit if the writing makes it impossible to keep the rhythm steady. This is particularly
true in ensembles. When conductors take unreasonable tempi, often the harp part becomes unplayable
at that speed and you must keep up with the orchestra no matter what is on the page. When playing in
ensembles, keep counting through each bar, especially when counting rests. Solo pieces and cadenzas
allow you more freedom to take an artistic breath, if
there is a huge jump that does not let you get to the
next note on time.
You can test your new skills with web sites such as
www.therhythmtrainer.com. Everything gets better
Frank Voltz
with focused practice. Don’t give up—rhythm and
pulse are very important!
—Elizabeth Volpé, Principal Harpist of the Vancouver
Symphony and faculty member at the University of British
Columbia School of Music
Vancouver, B.C.
T
There are so many ways to strengthen your sense
of rhythm and the first step is setting aside part of
your practice time for this purpose. Practicing
rhythm, and strengthening the rhythmic core is one
of my very favorite things, as it affects everything
that I play—my articulation, musicality, projection,
and general musical confidence.
I would advise you to practice every day with the
metronome and make sure it’s on a reasonably slow
setting. You can practice your regular warm-up routine with the metronome—scales, arpeggios, etudes.
Try having the “click” on the half beat and then the
quarter beat. Make sure that in your head you are
counting all the subdivisions that you aren’t playing.
For example, if you are playing half notes, make sure
you can count quarter notes and eighth notes as you
play. This sounds much easier than it is! It will help
you not rush and really understand your tempo. Stick
with every new rhythmic exercise you do until it feels
strong and consistent.
I would also advise trying some ostinato-based
exercises. An ostinato is a recurring pattern or motif,
and you can choose any little melodic or rhythmic
fragment and set it up in one hand while using the
metronome. After this feels solid, bring in a different
pattern in the other hand. Perhaps it will be as sim-
•
Coming Up:
What is the correct
amount of slack to
leave for nylon, gut,
or bass wire strings?
Y
You have to understand rhythm before
you can play it. Away from the harp, take
a simple piece of music and tap the
rhythm in the treble clef with your right
hand. Once you have mastered the treble
clef, tap the rhythm in the bass clef with
your left hand. Once you have mastered
the bass, put your hands together and tap
the rhythm in the treble with your right
hand while you tap the rhythm in the bass
with your left hand. Don’t be surprised if it
takes you an entire practice session to figure out the rhythm of the music and translate it through tapping your hands. A
metronome is vital!
When I’m learning a piece of music, I
say things out loud like “C-sharp lever”
when I’m on the measure where I engage
the C-sharp lever. For weeks I say it every
time I play it. After endless repetition, I
stop talking while I play and miraculously,
a voice in my head says “C-sharp lever” at
the same spot in the music. Now I’ll never
miss that C-sharp lever. This example can
be transferred to rhythm. Most people
don’t enjoy counting out loud or singing as
they play, but by doing so, they are creating a “rhythm by rote” method that will
keep the rhythm solid. A common mistake
is counting a couple of times and then giving up or thinking that you’ve got it. To get
that rhythm in your head, it’s going to
take a lot of counting out loud.
Whether it is a song with lyrics or a classical instrumental piece, you can sing the
melody, using a syllable such as “la.”
When you sing, you instinctively sing
rhythmically, especially if it is a popular or
familiar song, because you know it. Now
play the right hand as you sing the
melody. Once you have mastered singing
the melody and playing the right hand,
add the left hand. You’ll be surprised how
quickly your hands come together.
You can only play the piece as fast as
the slowest part. Of course, the slowest part
is the hardest part. Work on the hard part
so that when you get there, you keep the
beat. The more you work at learning to
play rhythmically, the easier it will be.
—Frank Voltz, composer, arranger, and
performer on lever and pedal harp
Harp Column
ple as two whole notes, but whatever it is,
stick with it until your hands lock together,
forming one sound with the two separate
parts. This process can get quite creative
and fun, and I guarantee the results in
both your sense of rhythm and your hand
independence!
—Maeve Gilchrist, recording artist and
instructor at Berklee College of Music
Brooklyn, N.Y.
17
interview
The
French
Teacher
Lauded in
Europe, this
uniquely French
teacher gives the
rest of the world
a rare glimpse
into her life.
Harp Column
by Harp Column staff
18
Germaine
Lorenzini
Lost in
Translation
A little something is
always lost when
someone’s words are
translated into
another language. If
you would like to
read this interview in
the language in
which it was conducted, visit harpcolumn.com for the full
French translation.
teacher to find it. It is one of the things I love most
about teaching.
HC: Do you think of yourself as a performer first
or a teacher first?
GL: When I was younger, I thought of myself
more as a performer. These days, I am definitely a
teacher first. Teaching is not just something I enjoy
or find interesting—it’s much more than that. I am
passionate about teaching. To be able to transmit
your own experience and also to discover a new person, to come to understand each of your pupils psychologically, to respect them and help them develop
and evolve as individual musicians—these are
incredible privileges. It is fabulous.
HC: Tell us about studying with Lily Laskine and
Jacqueline Borot.
GL: I hugely admired Lily Laskine. I first heard
her on a record when I was 8, and I have never forgotten it. Her sound, her manner of playing, her
musical freedom, her rhythmic élan, how she held
the strings, her suppleness, and her enormous joy in
playing—I have never forgotten it. She has always
stayed in my ears and before my eyes. She was not a
particularly exacting teacher, but I loved her and she
inspired.
Jacqueline Borot, on the other hand, was a rigorous teacher. She taught me many things about how
to play the harp, but the psychological aspect
worked less well. You need to be an astute psychologist in order to get the best from people. It took me a
long time to recover my sense of freedom and joy,
and to think, et zut! The music is what matters, voilà.
HC: You come from the rich and storied French
musical tradition. What characteristics do you think
best describe French music and musicians?
GL: French musicians are not very well-behaved!
Le irréductible Gaulois—the indomitable Gaul! There
is a lot of élan and not always a lot of discipline.
Most human beings have their good points and less
Harp Column
G
Germaine Lorenzini’s resume reads as you would
expect a world-class harpist’s would. She is the honorary
harpist of the National Orchestra of Lyon and an active
soloist and chamber musician throughout France. She
studied with Lily Laskine and then Jacqueline Borot at the
Paris Conservatory. She has won prizes at the harp’s top
international competitions, including Israel, Geneva, and
Tournier.
But it is with her teaching that Lorenzini leaves her
most indelible mark. Her students are widely considered
to be some of the best harpists in the world, and she is
highly sought after as a juror for international competitions.
For those American harpists lucky enough to have
experienced, first-hand, a lesson or masterclass with
Lorenzini that stretches the better part of the day, you
understand her way. For those who haven’t, this conversation with Lorenzini will give you an idea of why students
from all over the world trek to her house in Lyon to study
with her.
HARP COLUMN: You’ve taught many excellent
harpists over the years. Is there a common characteristic you can point to in the best musicians you have
taught?
GERMAINE LORENZINI: Yes. Strong personality.
Very different personalities, of course, but all my best
students have powerful ones. This is so important:
many people can understand, or learn to understand
music, but without personality all you are doing is
plucking the correct strings. It is the dialogue
between the text laid down by the composer and the
artist’s individual character that makes a performance special.
It’s the role of the professor to recognize and bring
out the student’s character—not impose on them
who or how they should be, but perceive and respect
them for who they really are. If you are working with
somebody who is very young, of course, you have to
go looking for the character, a bit. It is your job as a
19
Harp Column
good points, and French musicians are no exception.
Traditionally, there is not much focus on orchestral playing, although this is changing in the conservatory syllabuses now. In any case, it is a rather
soloistic musical culture. You hear this in the orchestras, whose sound can be very brilliant, but not
always perfectly clean. It’s not immaculately solid
and organized, as it would be in a German orchestra.
On the other hand, it is suppler, lighter, more
sparkling.
There’s an element of mystery in French music.
You either understand it, or you don’t, not at all. Not
many foreign conductors, even, can do it. They don’t
20
Above: Germaine
Lorenzini (right)
shares a moment
with Marileine
Bouchaud at
Camac’s 40th birthday celebration in
Ancenis, France.
Facing page: In
demand as a
teacher, Lorenzini
gives masterclasses
all over the world,
here in Warsaw,
Poland (top) and
Paris (bottom).
manage the suppleness—the suppleness within the
discipline—and the end result is too heavy.
I think French music can be especially tricky
because we don’t have a stable canon of works you
can get a handle on. Beethoven, for example, wrote
a long series of symphonies. You can immerse yourself in the form, like having a long conversation with
him on a particular topic. This, of course, helps you
to understand him, in the context of that topic. In
France, we write a piece, and then we go off and write
something else. We have almost no big symphonies;
instead, we have lots of different things—opera, symphonic poems, many solo works. A lot of our orchestral color is very soloistic, such as all the cadenzas of
Ravel, or his enormous English horn solo in the second movement of the Concerto in G Major. Debussy
wrote just one string quartet! He planned to write a
second, but then he didn’t. This is typical of French
composers.
Even if you are French, our music’s space of mystery still remains. There are plenty of French musicians who can’t play French music. Or, for example,
I once had a student—not French—who played
Debussy Danses marvelously. It was stunning. But he
couldn’t play Fauré at all. It was strange. And in any
case, you can’t categorize every composer the same
way. You can’t compare Fauré with Chabrier, or
Debussy with Boulez.
HC: Can you tell us about your style and philosophy of teaching and what has informed it?
GL: Honestly? My most fundamental pedagogical
decision was not to teach like Jacqueline Borot. You
must always respect students, and you must never,
ever humiliate them. Humiliation wounds people
very deeply, and a teacher should be constructive,
not destructive. Your job as a teacher is to transmit,
to add something, not take it away.
You help students discover a text. You teach them
knowledge of the instrument, of course, and you optimize their capabilities with the harp. You also
instruct them in music, teach them the languages of
harmony and rhythm. You show them how to understand a composer, not just with the harp but also by
listening to his other works, particularly his orchestral works.
You also help them develop their own personality,
working with them in ways that suit them psychologically. You cannot work with a naturally timid
person in the same way as you do with someone who
is over-confident. What is too brutal for one person,
and causes them to shrink away from you, is not yet
enough to get another to listen. There is a lot of psychology in teaching.
Patience is essential. You have to be prepared to
repeat things over and over again.
Rigor is vital too, but equally I don’t think it’s
helpful to overdramatize things. Students need to
realize that a critique of their playing is not a criticism of them, but rather a series of constructive suggestions about how to improve, which they can then
realize. Often, I am hoping to achieve a better hand
position or a crescendo that carries on right to the top
of the forte—not provoke an existential crisis. A
teacher should always keep joie de vivre, enthusiasm
for life, and music-making in the student’s sight.
HC: What do you enjoy about teaching?
GL: As I was saying in answer to your first question, I love the exchange offered by teacher and student. On the one hand, you as a teacher have a
chance to transmit what you have learned. And on
the other, you also have the chance to discover a new
personality! Everyone is absolutely unique. This is
such a wonderful aspect of humanity, and music is
the same. Music is full of emotion in all its facets—it
is humorous, serious, seductive, aesthetic, intellectual, entertaining, tragic, jubilant…in music, you’ll
find everything that is alive, and all that makes us
human. One of the functions of great art is to show
us we are not alone.
HC: Can you pick a couple of highlights from
your performing career to share with us?
GL: I think my most exhilarating memory is of
the first time I played a concerto with orchestra.
When I was 14, I was selected to perform Pierné’s
Konzertstück. I had Laskine’s recording, with which I
practiced. When I got on the stage and finally played
with the real orchestra, wow! It was extraordinary.
Lily Laskine came to that concert. She knew it was
my first concerto. I think it was okay. [Laughs]
I had some other fine experiences, but none as
memorable as that one.
There have also been special moments beyond my
performing career. Discovering the then 8-year-old
Isabelle Moretti, for example. I heard straight away
that here was something exceptional. Also, the first
time I heard Lily Laskine live in concert, experienced
first-hand her sound, and her personality, her radiance, her grace. My own time in the orchestra could
sometimes be rather boring, but not when great
soloists came, people like Jessye
Norman, Kiri Te Kanawa, or
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. I found it
incredible to meet these artists,
these personalities, live on stage.
I also remember the first time I
went to the opera. It was Bizet’s
Carmen, and I was 8 years old. I was
bowled over when the overture
began: it was electrifying.
HC: How would you describe a
musician’s life?
GL: A bit nomadic. There is so
much traveling, all the touring, concerts
in different towns—this can be lonely, as
can the personal work you have to do by
yourself in the practice room. Equally,
the fact that you move around a lot, like
a solitary pinball, provokes a wide variety of meetings with others, and these
can be very enriching. You experience a
lot of different countries and cultures,
you meet a lot of different sorts of people
and colleagues. As musicians, our spirits
need to be open to diverse influences.
LESSONS WITH MADAME LORENZINI
Eight-hour lessons are not for the faint of
heart.
I treasured each long day spent with her,
once or twice a week, eight hours a day. She
taught me to think of the physics of sound
and how to plan to use every angle and direction of a string’s 360 degrees. She taught me
how to use physical limitations of the hand
and body’s design to create better sounds
with minimal effort. She also taught me how
to peel a pear with a knife and fork à la
française “Harpists really must know how to
eat fruit properly in addition to manipulating
sound out of a big instrument. Here, now you
dip it in this caramel sauce I made for you. Et
Voilà.”
I still hear her kind, smoky voice in my
head: “Ma Chèrie, I know it’s popular right
now, and there is merit to it, but you can
never learn the music by score study. How are
your fingers supposed to know where to actu-
ally go? You must teach them.”
“Ma Chèrie, If you don’t use every side of a
string it will sound like poisoned music.”
“Ma Chèrie, don’t learn chords as chunks
of strings piled on the page vertically, they are
individual horizontal melodic lines within these
things called chords, each note is its own
being but the notes must work together. Why
do you think they call it an ‘accord,’ d’accord?”
Madame Lorenzini’s words are always spoken in French, but are thick with wit and
great wisdom. “You must decide where you
want go to before you try to get there. And
that, Ma Chèrie, counts for harp and life.”
Colorado native Ann Marie Liss was the
youngest harpist to be awarded the prestigious Diplome Superieur de Concertiste
(D.M.A.) from Ecole Normale de Musique de
Paris. She studied with Germaine Lorenzini in
2005–2006.
•
Harp Column
When I rang her doorbell, I really wasn’t
sure what would ensue. I had heard stories of
her epic teaching and affinity for cigarettes,
her generous musical markings in blue and red
wax pencil, and rumors that everyone cries
within the first hour of a lesson. I wasn’t sure
if the feeling I had was nervousness, excitement to learn, or sheer awe that I was actually standing in front of Germaine Lorenzini’s
front door in Lyon, France. She opened the
door and warmly welcomed me to her idyllic
French apartment and offered me a hot tea—
a special mix of loose black teas that she
blends herself, “because the teas you buy in
stores just aren’t quite right.” I accepted, to
which she replied, “Good, I’m glad. You can
tell so much about a student if they accept a
cup of tea or not. Have you eaten? I will make
us lunch later when I get hungry, and I will
make you a better version of yourself—you
need strength for the day.” Right she was.
American harpist Ann Marie Liss shares her account of studying with Germaine Lorenzini.
21
Harp Column
Clockwise from top left: Lorenzini (second from
right) with other jury members at the Wales
International Harp Festival in 2010; again with jury
members (far right), this time at the USA
International Harp Competition in Bloomington in
1995; on board the cruise ship Moledet on July 23,
1956, en route to the 3rd International Harp Contest
in Israel; nearly 40 years later, Lorenzini (far right) is
again at the Israel Competition, this time
as a juror; and pictured with Deane
Sherman at the USA International Harp
Competition in 1995.
22
They develop our imagination, which helps us to
understand a text, to perceive it more deeply.
HC: Tell us about the Camac Académie and what
you hope to accomplish with the students who will
study with you there.
GL: L’Académie Camac is special because it is a
chance to work intensely, but also in a relaxed setting. I hope that means that students will be able to
work freely, not in order to compete, but in a spirit of
joy. There is so much pressure on students to compete—you have to compete for jobs, places at conservatoires, in competitions. Students don’t get enough
time with their music in a way that mirrors why we
make music at all. We become musicians because we
love music, because we can’t imagine our lives without it, because despite all its challenges, we would be
poorer without it.
It’s also very important that the numbers at the
Académie are so small, and the conditions so fine.
You cannot achieve exceptional results without
exceptional working conditions; compromising on
this is a false economy. I’m very honored to be invited to lead the first Académie.
There might be just a small element of competition…I’m going to teach everyone how to play
boules de pétanque (a traditional French lawn
game)!
HC: Has music always been a part of your life?
How did you come to the harp?
GL: Music has always been part of my life, yes. I
remember, when I was very small, I must have been
about 4 or 5, and we still had the old 78 records. I
couldn’t yet read, but I remember these records as circles of color. You had to turn the records over, and I
continued on pg. 26
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Harp Column
continued from pg. 22
26
learned how to do this. I didn’t listen to the radio, because it didn’t
play classical music when I wanted
it to. Instead, I would climb on a
chair and turn my record over and
listen to that. I can’t remember all
the ones I had, but one was the
William Tell Overture by Rossini. I
also had some opera, La Bohème, I
think. And I had some variety
music, but I didn’t like that, so I
didn’t listen to it.
I used to take two sticks and rub
them together, as if I were playing
a violin. My mother went to the
professional music teacher nearby,
who was a harp teacher, to ask her
advice. She said I was too small to
learn the violin, and it would give
me a backache. So I learned the
harp. I got a backache anyway
because they gave me a 47-string
harp, and I wanted to play the violin. My mother and my teacher
said I could learn the violin once I
understood the harp. In the meantime I was already 14 and preparing the audition for the Paris
Conservatory with Lily Laskine. In the
end, I stuck to the harp!
HC: What do you think is the biggest
challenge young harpists face today?
GL: To be the best. There aren’t many
places, even fewer jobs. It’s like a sport,
there is only one medal at the end of each
opportunity. To get somewhere, you have
to be the best, on that day. To be optimally prepared musically, physically, and
psychologically, that’s a big challenge.
You have to be very strong psychologically.
HC: On the other hand, what do you
think is easier for young harpists today
than it was a generation or two ago?
GL: Nothing. Life has never been easy
for musicians and that hasn’t changed,
not in France, at least. It’s expensive to
study and live in Paris—or New York—and
it’s expensive to buy a harp. There are
some scholarships, but they do not
approach covering all your expenses.
There is a significant process of selection
“There is an element of
mystery in French music.
You either understand it,
or you don’t, not at all.”
by money and position. Talented people
are born into all walks of life, all social
classes, and talent is not hereditary.
Nonetheless, if your parents are rich
enough easily to buy you a fine harp, rent
you an apartment in Paris, pay your
tuition fees, and if you are the daughter of
well-known musicians to boot, it will be
easier for you. That’s because music is not
a commercial process. You have to put
money in, along a one-way street, financially speaking. You get riches out, which
are beautiful and profound and real, but
they are not fiscal. You cannot pretend that money is not an issue.
Young musicians need to be very
brave, very courageous. I have a student who waits tables every night, to
finance his studies. He doesn’t have a
harp, so he has to practice at a conservatory, when the harp is free,
when a room is free. That complicates your life. You have to be strong.
It takes courage to decide to be a
musician, and often, it takes courage
to decide not to be one. A responsible
teacher also, sometimes, needs to
have enough integrity to inform a
student that they do not think their
chances of a musical career are realistic. You sometimes have to tell
someone, kindly and tactfully, that if
they continue, they are running the
risk that they will not find enough
work as a harpist. What they actually do is up to them, but you should
not keep them in the dark. That’s a
betrayal of the trust the student
places in a teacher. How can they
believe your compliments, if you are
too scared to offer them anything on
the other side? Nobody does everything
wonderfully, all the time.
Most people come up against difficulties in their lives, and a life in music is not
easy anyway. My advice to young harpists
would be this: music has to be a vocation,
so you will do everything it takes to survive and to continue playing your instrument. If you don’t have this fire within
your soul, then you don’t have to do it,
because goodness knows, there are many
other ways to have a wonderful career and
a wonderful life. You may have exceptional talents, which happen to lie elsewhere.
It is simply that if you don’t have a calling
for music, I would be very surprised if you
end up making music your career. If you
do have one, you already know it. It is and
it will be your steadfast companion, helping you overcome significant challenges,
on the road to success.
—Interview translated by Helen Leitner;
photos of Germaine Lorenzini by Jakez
François and Jean-Marc Volta.
•
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Young Artist’s Harp Competition July 3–5
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Duo Scorpio
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Artist Faculty
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feature
survival
skills
for harp emergencies
Forget your music? Duo partner fall
sick? Subbing on Tzigane with no
rehearsals? This survival guide will
help you keep your cool when the
gig doesn’t go as planned.
Harp Column
by Nadia Pessoa
28
I
If you have ever awakened in the middle of the night in a cold sweat
and thought, “Oh, no! I have six hours to learn the Glière concerto,” you
are familiar with the concept of a “musician’s worst nightmare.” You
know, one of those panic-filled dreams where you’re woefully unprepared—you’re the only person on stage at a summer orchestra concert
dressed in a black blouse and white pants, or you find out moments
before your concerto performance that you’re expected to play a completely different piece that you have never played before.
But what happens when that nightmare scenario becomes reality? As
much as we endeavor to make every performance perfect, we also have
to be prepared for the unpredictable. As the saying goes, “Hope for the
best, prepare for the worst.” Strings break, clients are temperamental, illness and weather-related disasters strike without warning, and emergency calls come at all hours.
How well you perform under pressure correlates
directly with how prepared you are. There is no substitute for careful practicing, memory work, and a
solid technical foundation in helping you sound your
best. Think of it as developing good habits. The key is
to develop good musical and professional instincts,
so that in times of crisis, the right solutions will be at
your fingertips.
Practice is cumulative. Everything you do at the
harp, including conditioning exercises, etudes,
orchestral excerpts, sight-reading, perfecting solo
repertoire, and the careful marking of fingerings and
repair points prepares you for one month, 10
months, and 10 years down the road. Think about
that. You’re not practicing for tomorrow; you’re training your fingers for next year! Everything you do contributes to your strength as a player, and your overall “emergency preparedness.”
Listening is an integral part of preparing any
piece of music, especially when it is an unfamiliar
piece or one you have been asked to play at the last
minute.
When I received the call to play Petrouchka without any rehearsals, the first thing I did was listen to
several recordings. Luckily, it’s one of the few full
scores I own, so I was able to follow along with the
ON YOUR MARK
Some situations do not allow enough time to write
in fingerings or even pedals. But if you have the luxury of a little time, a clearly marked part can make
the difference between a complete disaster and overwhelming success when you’re under pressure.
It goes without saying that pedals, fingerings, and
pedal diagrams need to be marked clearly.
Everyone’s hands are different, and by choosing fingerings that are comfortable for you and convey the
correct phrasing, you eliminate one more thing for
your brain to have to process when you’re in “survival mode.”
I’m a fan of splitting things between the hands
whenever possible, but you have to be willing to
experiment to find what works for you. Quite often,
an arpeggiated passage involving tricky crossovers
that are doubled in thirds or sixths can sound more
confident using a cross-fingering of 1-3/2-4 or alternating hands.
PREPARE, PRACTICE, LISTEN
music, and although I was already somewhat familiar with the piece, it was a helpful reminder of the
parts of the piece with the most harp.
Next I made a plan—the most critical parts first.
By starting with most exposed sections — the fast
waltz in the third tableau where the harp accompanies the flutes, English horn, and trumpet, and the
jubilant glisses in the fourth tableau — I was able to
structure my practicing so that I started with the
most difficult material first, but my entire plan was
based on listening to the music first.
For orchestra music, getting your hands on a
score is immensely helpful. If you don’t have access
to a music library and need a score, the
International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
website, imslp.org, provides free access to classical
sheet music in the public domain. For more recent
and copyrighted works, many of the major harp
parts are available from your favorite harp retail
outlet.
With today’s technology, the task of finding highquality recordings is easier than ever. YouTube and
iTunes include hundreds of thousands of recordings,
including live performances by major orchestras,
operas, and historical archives that have been digitized.
Videos can be particularly helpful in showing a
conductor’s beat pattern, cues, or a harpist’s fingerings—just remember to take all of the tempos you
hear with a grain of salt, and be prepared to playthings faster or slower.
Harp Column
I was on the receiving end of one such emergency
call last year, from an orchestra contractor at a local
university. You could hear the panic in her voice.
“Are you available to play Petrouchka on
Monday?” It was just after 5 p.m. on Saturday.
I checked my calendar. “Sure, but it has been a
while since I’ve played the part—several years. When
are the rehearsals?”
“Oh, there aren’t any. There is a 15-minute sound
check before the concert, and the conductor will talk
through tempos when you get there. We can get you
the music Monday morning.”
As soon as I picked up the part, I entered what I
call “survival mode”—I blocked out any extraneous
thoughts and focused on the task at hand.
Every musician deals with “survival mode” a little
differently, and luckily, most of the emergencies we
face as harpists aren’t of the “life or death” variety,
unlike most of the ones detailed in those “worst-case
scenario” books.
Survival as a musician comes down to being prepared, being flexible, and knowing a few key tips and
tricks in times of crisis. If you have ever wanted to
call HARP-9-1-1 read on.
29
“I was grateful that I had followed my teacher’s
advice to always have at least 20 minutes of
memorized music under your fingers that you
could perform at any time.”
In orchestra, cues indicating what is happening
in the music during large spans of rests are incredibly helpful. Be prepared to add these during your listening and score study beforehand, or at the first
rehearsal. Even if you are rock-solid at counting
rests, it never hurts to have a backup plan. You
should know where everyone else’s solos are and
who you are accompanying at any given time.
Editing can also be a lifesaver when you’re
pressed for time. By “editing” I do not mean leaving
out notes because you haven’t practiced enough or
can’t quite play the notes up to tempo. I am talking
about published parts that are awkward for the
instrument,
chromatically
impossible,
or
unplayable.
When you are scrambling to figure out fingerings
or find a marked part in a hurry, don’t hesitate to
ask fellow harpists for help. This is where having
harp colleagues you can rely on is invaluable.
Chances are, someone you know has played the part
and knows a quick-fix fingering or pedaling solution. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your extended
harp community on Facebook or Harp Column if
you’re in need of help!
Harp Column
REAL-LIFE SURVIVAL SCENARIOS
30
Sometimes the ability to adapt extends far
beyond the music itself. When unexpected issues
arise that are beyond our control, grace under pressure, a sense of humor, and mental focus can help us
handle life’s curveballs.
Scenario: Due to circumstances beyond your control,
there is an emergency right before (or during) a concert.
New York-based harpist Brandee Younger’s creative solution saved a concert by turning it into an
interactive experience for the audience when one of
the musicians in her group was stuck in traffic.
“Since most of the music was centered around him, I
wasn’t sure what we were going to do,” she said. “It
would have been impossible to pull off the entire
program without him.”
Thinking quickly, she was able to buy some time
by addressing the audience and explaining a bit
about the lives of the composers and arrangers whose
music they were playing, which she had made a
point to study ahead of time.
“When it became evident that he wasn’t going to
make it, I remembered that we were in a church and
asked everyone to pull out their hymnals, including
the ensemble on stage. We opened the program with
a hymn and had the audience sing along. I was panicking because I knew we couldn’t get away with this
for 90 minutes, but two hymns later, he showed up
and it was business as usual.”
The ability to handle challenging situations gracefully is a hallmark of a well-equipped musician. I
remember one recital in which a harpist turned a
broken string into an educational opportunity. After
a string popped mid-recital, she calmly walked off
stage, returned with her string bag, and talked the
audience through the entire process, explaining how
the pedals and mechanisms worked. You can bet that
the audience didn’t care about the broken string after
that!
Scenario: You have been asked to play a 45-minute
solo program on a few hours’ notice, or the event at which
you’re performing unexpectedly overran the scheduled
time, and you need extra music.
When asked what they thought was the number
one survival tool, nearly every harpist I spoke with
noted the importance of having “performanceready” solos in your fingers at all times.
You never know when you might be called to fill
in at the last minute, notes Erin Earl Wood, harp
teacher at the University of Kansas.
“When I was in college, I got a frantic phone call
from a harpist in another city, who told me she had
slipped and broken her ankle and had a recital at a
church starting in an hour,” Wood recalls. “I could
tell she was desperate, so I hurried to get dressed and
pack up the harp. I was grateful that I had followed
my teacher’s advice to always have at least 20 minutes of memorized music under your fingers that you
could perform at any time. Fortunately it was
December, and I was able to intersperse arrangements of Christmas carols with my memorized solos.
The recital was a success because I had a repertoire of
well-loved pieces under my fingers that I had performed many times.”
Similarly, it is important to always have extra
music on hand for weddings and background gigs. I
can’t tell you how many weddings I have played
where the prelude music lasts longer than anticipated because there’s an emergency with a bridesmaid’s
dress, or the bride and groom haven’t arrived yet, or
How to keep up with
the show when the
show must go on
• Find out as much information as you
can ahead of time to reduce the number of
unknowns. Does the orchestra tune to
440? Will unloading your harp take longer
than usual? Will you have access to the
stage to tune and warm-up beforehand or
does the piano tuner or soloist need it?
• As essential as detailed, consistent
practicing is, it is also just as important to
be able to be flexible and make adjustments on the fly. Tempi and interpretations
can vary widely between conductors, and it
is up to the harpist to watch and follow as
closely as possible.
• Practice playing along with different
recordings before the first rehearsal to get
a sense of varying interpretations.
• Don’t be too glued to the music, and
incorporate “looking up” in your practicing, just as you would in a rehearsal. If
there are solo sections where the harp part
is exposed, memorize them, and be able to
play with your eyes pointed toward the
conductor as much as possible.
• One note about eye contact: it is as
much for the conductor’s benefit as it is for
the harpist’s. By watching the conductor
intently, you are not only able to follow
more accurately, but you are conveying,
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m
confident, and my part is covered.”
• If for some reason you run into trouble and make a mistake, as tempting as it is
to want to hide behind your stand and
break eye contact, don’t do this!
Acknowledge with a visual gesture—again,
eye contact and a subtle nod will do—that
you know what went wrong, keep playing,
and then mark the part accordingly when
you have a moment to do so.
• When mistakes happen, just move on.
Immediately shift your focus to what’s next.
• To sharpen your ability to adapt quickly, once you have a passage of music solidly in your fingers, practice playing through
it at different tempos—up to 20 beats
faster than marked, and 20 beats slower. If
the music is in triple meter, practice how it
will feel if the conductor decides to conduct in a fast one, or in 3/4.
Orchestra Survival Skills
rely too heavily on having all the right “stuff,”
because unexpected things can happen; airlines can
lose your luggage or you can accidentally leave
something at home.
This is especially challenging in a high-pressure
national audition. San Diego Symphony principal
harpist Julie Smith Phillips notes, “It’s important to
do a lot of mental practice and preparation, seeing
exactly how things will go in your mind before you
even walk out on stage. Practice this a lot, just in case
your shoes, music, and luggage don’t arrive with you
at your performance or audition—yes, this happened
to me! One must be flexible in any situation, especially when you don’t have your ‘gear.’ Experience
helps with being flexible, but you can also prepare
the way you play by being mentally ready.”
It is a good idea to simulate unpredictable conditions that could arise at auditions or out-of-town performances by practicing in different shoes, less-thanperfect lighting, at different times of the day, and
even when you’re tired or hungry.
To help with lost music, it’s a good idea to have
some pieces you can reliably play from memory, and
to consider scanning in some of your sheet music
Harp Column
guests are stuck in traffic. One time, it nearly turned
into a 45-minute recital of flute and harp music as
we were waiting for the bridal party to arrive.
Always pack extra music just in case, or be able to
play an hour or two of music by memory or by ear.
Scenario: You have alternating performances of A
Ceremony of Carols, Pines of Rome, and Don Juan coming up, and have a nasty blister developing on your righthand thumb.
Some harpists swear by Super Glue in extreme
cases of peeling and cracking fingers. Another secret
weapon is tincture of myrrh, which has healing
properties and can help soothe chapped skin and
blisters.
For small cuts when you don’t want to wrap your
finger in a bulky Band-Aid, both Kate Rogers of the
Fairfax Symphony and Baltimore Symphony harpist
Sarah Fuller recommend medical tape (the flexible
cloth kind).
Scenario: Your gig bag goes missing with your music,
shoes, and other necessary equipment.
Harpists usually travel with a plethora of tools
and accessories to keep our instruments in shape and
help us perform our best. But it is important not to
31
tract with you. My clients all sign electronic contracts, but I bring a printed copy
with me, in case there are any questions.
It is also a good idea to have the number
of the wedding planner and venue in your
phone at all times, in case something goes
awry and you need to get in touch with
someone while you’re on your way.
Scenario: You’ve lost your tuning key (and
all 12 backup tuning keys you have stashed in
Harp Column
and uploading it to a cloud service app
like Dropbox or Evernote so you can
access it remotely and print copies if needed.
Scenario: You arrive at a wedding, only to
find out it’s starting an hour later, or there’s a
torrential downpour, freezing temperatures, or
other conditions that you weren’t anticipating.
Always bring a printed copy of the con-
32
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your purse, car, and around the house).
Time to make friends in the percussion
section! A snare drum tuning key will fit
most harp pegs if you’re in a bind. It is
much smaller than a harp tuning key,
though, so it will be harder to turn the
pegs, and works best for emergency adjustments of a few notes, rather than tuning
the entire harp.
Most percussionists have one; some
even carry one on a key chain. Just
remember that since it’s metal, it can slip
from your hands more easily, so be careful
that it doesn’t fall and hit the harp while
you’re tuning!
Scenario: You have an important performance or recital coming up, and you’re concerned about nerves.
Preparation is the best safeguard
against nerves; the more prepared you are,
the more confident you will feel.
Shaky or sweaty hands and nervousness are products of the body’s natural
“fight or flight” response, caused by the
hormones and neurotransmitters adrenaline and cortisol. It is possible to counteract the body’s stress reaction by calming
your mind and focusing on your breathing, but it takes practice. Finding a quiet
place to relax and focus before you have to
play is a good start.
In order to be prepared in times of crisis,
you need to hone your skills when you’re
not under pressure. Take advantage of
every available performance opportunity,
and perform the piece as many times as
you can, in as many different situations
and environments as possible. However
well you have the piece memorized, it
needs to be extra secure for you to execute
it when your body is in “stress mode.”
Once it comes time to play, remind
yourself that you have done the necessary
work, and know the music inside and out.
Stay intently focused on making music,
but release the attachment to and need for
perfection and a particular outcome. Once
you’re playing, listen and simply enjoy the
moment.
Nadia Pessoa is the harpist with the United
States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and harp
instructor at Howard University.
•
*+(+,-(. ,
feature
Clear out the clutter,
spruce up your studio,
and get organized with
these practical tips for
spring
cleaning
by Elizabeth
Morgan-Ellis
A
Ah, spring. Time to throw open the windows, get some fresh air, give everything a
good cleaning, and clear out the clutter that has accumulated over the winter.
Now that you’re in an organizing frame of mind, it’s also the perfect time to sort
through your musical life to ensure a less stressful year. Tidying your physical and digital space and forming good habits can change the trajectory of 2014, so check out
these suggestions for organizing your gigging, teaching, and practicing life.
Harp Column
SPARKLING STUDIO
34
We all know it doesn’t take long for stacks of music to pile up and pencils to disappear from your studio. Ensuring that everything is tidy and ordered to suit your studio
space can help you save time, have more focused practice sessions and lessons, and
avoid any desperate scrambling before gigs. Here are a few steps you can take to spring
clean your space and set yourself up for a great year.
Begin with the basics. Are all of your orchestra parts in binders or files? Do you have
a compartmentalized bag for your strings? How about a bag for getting your gig music
to where it needs to be? It’s impossible to organize your studio if the little things aren’t
taken care of first.
Find everything in your home that you use in your studio and put it there. Valuable practice time is lost looking for that elusive eraser. Your six-year-old student is rapidly losing focus as you search for teaching supplies you didn’t realize you’d need. Anything
and everything you use for your musical life should be in your studio to avoid wasted
time.
Sort your string bag by octave and make sure it is easy to use. Check it for scissors, toggles, wire cutters, and an extra tuning key. While you are checking inventory, take the
opportunity to go through your gig bag. Treat your gig bag like a survival kit. Include pen-
Looking at intimidating piles of music you need
to learn or unsightly balls of tangled wires from
your electronics can make you feel over-
Once the major pieces of your studio are in place,
make sure everything you use daily is within arm’s reach
of your bench. You wouldn’t believe how distracted you
can get just leaving your seat for a writing utensil,
and how much time it can potentially waste. You
should be able to reach out and grab pencils, erasers,
music you’re working on, your tuner and key, your
metronome, and a notepad.
Speaking of notepads, always keep one by your
harp. It seems like more than any other time of day,
when I’m working at my instrument is when I think
of important things I have to take care of. If I’m constantly jumping up to make that phone call or
answer that e-mail, I’ll never get anything done.
When you remember something or have an important idea, quickly jot it down and allot some time
when you’ve finished your practice session to take
care of it. Don’t try to use your smart phone for this
because having a phone in your studio can be impossibly distracting. If you have to have your smart
phone in your studio (for tuner or metronome apps)
turn on the “do not disturb” feature so that none of
your regular alerts go off while you are trying to
focus.
Finally, make your studio space a place you want to
be. Looking at intimidating piles of music you need to
learn or unsightly balls of tangled wires from your
electronics can make you feel overwhelmed and
unsettled. Find a way to keep these things accessible
but out of view. It’s easier to rationalize not practicing
when you are stressed out simply by being in your
practice space. I try to keep fresh flowers in my studio
and always orient my harp toward a window to make
my practice time feel like an escape instead of a
chore.
TIDY YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT
Freelancing harpists, busy harp moms, and overbooked teachers all know the importance of keeping
an organized calendar. Today there are so many
options for keeping your appointments straight. It’s
not as important which one you pick, but rather that
you choose one that works for you and you stick to it!
Pick a planner that works for you. I use a printed
whelmed and unsettled.
Harp Column
cils, aspirin, a stand light, a sewing kit, tissues, nail
clippers, clothes pins (for windy weddings), energy
bars, business cards, and cloth band aids. Think of
anything you kicked yourself for not having at a gig
and make sure it’s in your bag now. You’ll be too
stressed to remember it before your next job.
Put all those stray orchestra parts into binders so you
can easily put your fingers on your markings for
Daphnis and Chloe without tearing apart your studio.
To save time, I put them in binders sorted by composer’s last name so I can find the correct part immediately. Don’t stop with your orchestra parts. Sort all
your music by type: solo pieces, etudes, chamber
music, gigging music, and teaching repertoire. Then
into separate boxes, files, or drawers they go!
Find that stack of contracts and organize them by date
in a file folder. Don’t allow those important documents to get lost. When you need them, you need
them now, and the person who refused to pay you for
their wedding music is probably not going to send
you another one. This also allows you to doublecheck your calendar by thumbing through a stack of
neatly ordered contracts. If you’re a working harpist
who hasn’t started using contracts, ask a colleague if
you can look at theirs as an example. Or look back
at Harp Column’s article on contracts in the
September/October 2010 issue, and get working on
yours today. Even if you only have trustworthy clients
your whole career, you will look more professional,
and the client will know what is expected of them if
you have the details on paper. It’s difficult for them
to complain that you refused to play in the rain
when your rain policy was spelled out in the contract
they signed.
Now that you’ve gotten organized and realize
exactly how much stuff you need filed away, find the
furniture to fit the job. I personally use an Ikea Expedit
as well as some filing cabinets and a bookshelf.
Anything works as long as it has separate compartments with drawers, doors, and shelves for your different needs. I have separate compartments with
doors for pieces I’m currently working on, office supplies I use regularly in my studio, recording supplies,
and notebooks for lesson plans and ideas. I store my
bean bag toys (to keep young elbows up) and my
noisemakers (close those fingers!) in plain sight on a
shelf. I believe that seeing them there helps students
remember before I have to even use them. I recommend keeping theory, history, and composition
books handy to reference during lessons or practicing. Siri can’t compete with you if you have everything at your fingertips.
35
Harp Column
daily planner from Time Master instead of an online
calendar. This is mainly because I’m terrified that all
my gig notes could disappear with one computer
glitch! I like this particular planner because it allows
you to block out specific times, making it impossible
to double book (if you remember to look at it before
you schedule).
For those who are more trusting of technology,
online calendars, such as Google Calender, can be
powerful tools. Some have the ability to recognize
dates written in e-mails and automatically add them
to your planner (namely, Google and Outlook calendars). You can share them on your website so potential clients or students know when you are available,
avoiding the unpleasantness of having to turn people down because of schedule constraints. You can
access online calendars on your mobile device so you
always have it with you, and you can use any computer to view it if you forget your device at home.
No matter what kind of calendar you use, however, it is imperative as a musician to keep one updated at all times. There is nothing more mortifying
than missing a gig because you became overwhelmed and disorganized. By making it a habit to
check your schedule daily and add events as soon as
36
they are confirmed, those incidents can be avoided.
It’s never too late to form a new habit! Keep your calendar with you while checking your e-mail and grab
it when a potential client calls. Take it with you wherever you go and missed appointments will become a
thing of the past.
ORGANIZE YOUR E-MAIL
With the technology available today, everyone
expects speedy responses to all manner of inquiries.
Many brides, personnel managers, and contractors
will hire the first harpist to reply to an e-mail. Don’t
allow your inbox to get so cluttered that you miss an
opportunity.
Stay on top of your correspondence by taking time
to respond when you read your e-mail. Most messages
only take a few minutes to reply to, so set aside a time
every day to respond to each e-mail you have
received. When I read an e-mail that I cannot
respond to immediately or that includes information
I need to remember, I always make sure to mark it as
unread (a feature now available from all e-mail
providers). That way I see it and read it again soon.
Some e-mail providers will even keep unread e-mails
continued on pg. 38
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37
Make cleaning your harp a year-round habit...keep a
dust cloth and harp brush in plain sight somewhere in
your studio as a reminder to clean up.
Harp Column
continued from pg. 36
38
on the top of the list so you don’t have to
search for them. If I am asked something I
cannot answer or take care of for a few
days, I promptly and politely respond to
let the inquirer know when I will be able to
respond. The date is marked into my calendar so I don’t forget to follow up.
All e-mail providers also have folders,
labels, or something you can use to sort
your important e-mails. You can have ones
titled “tax receipts,” “weddings,” “flights,”
“read again soon,” you name it (literally).
Whatever you find yourself getting important e-mails about, create a folder or label
to store them under so you don’t find yourself fruitlessly digging through your inbox
for a critical correspondence.
Finally, to keep yourself from having
an overwhelming experience opening
your inbox, get rid of the junk! Unsubscribe
from all unwanted e-mails. If you receive
coupons, special offers on vacations, or
other e-mails you want to eventually read
but that you don’t necessarily need to be
hounded by at 6 a.m. on a Monday, create
a filter for your inbox. In Gmail, you can
filter by keywords or senders and have
those e-mails sent directly to a folder. In
Outlook, filters are referred to as “rules”
but have the same function. You can also
set up archives for individual senders, so
all those gardening and fitness newsletters
are swept away to where you can read
them when you have time. A quick
Internet search will help you discover how
to use these features for the e-mail service
you prefer.
SPRUCE UP YOUR HARP
You read that maintenance manual
when you first received your instrument,
but many of the things you should be
doing have probably slipped your mind.
Well, this is a perfect time to take care of
those little things.
Make your harp sparkle. Dust and oil
build up on your harp over time. Use a
soft-bristle brush to dust the mechanisms
and use a soft, dry cotton cloth to wipe off
your instrument. For particularly dirty
areas, you can use a slightly damp cloth
to clean the wood, then immediately dry it
with a soft, dry cloth. If you have a glossy
finish on your harp, you can also clean
the wood with lemon oil and then wipe it
down with a soft rag. It is important to
always check with your harp’s manufacturer for specific cleaning instructions.
Check your strings for wear and buzzes,
and change the strings that have seen better
days. A sure sign of a failing string is small
hairs splitting out of the middle of the
string or significant wear at the point
where the disk or lever touches the string.
These strings should be replaced now,
since they are not giving you the best
sound. You can also test for false strings by
tuning your harp. Any string that the
tuner has trouble detecting the pitch of is
likely false. You can tell this when your
tuner’s needle is swinging around much
more than usual and you can never seem
to get that string in tune. False strings can
also sometimes be detected by running
your fingers down the string, checking for
lumps or changes in thickness. Replace
any false strings you find. Bass wires
should be changed every year if you are a
gigging professional, so think back to
when they were last replaced. If you can’t
remember the last time you changed
them or whether you’ve ever changed
them at all, now might be the time! Need
a string-changing refresher course? Look
back at Harp Column’s “Five Easy Fixes”
article in the January/February 2014 issue
for some great string changing tips.
Now is a great time to do some preventative care for your harp. Check your harp
for moving scars. Do you seem to be getting lots of dings on one particular spot on
your instrument? Padding your harp or
your car more effectively could help. It
could be as simple as throwing a few more
pillows on the bed of your harpmobile.
Work through the moving process in your
head and think of when the scratched or
dented parts of your harp could be unnecessarily impacted and how you could pad
or change what you do. If you can’t think
of anything that could help, ask about it
on the harpcolumn.com forums or ask a
harp friend to come over and walk
through it with you. Other harpists are a
great resource.
If you’re feeling particularly ambitious,
check your slot felts and see if they look
worn out. Also check for any squeaks in
your pedals or levers. Again, Harp
Column’s “Five Easy Fixes” article has
some great instructions, and there are
many videos on YouTube if you want to
tackle a more complicated issue that
you’ve been putting off. Be sure you have
all the necessary supplies (slot felts, rubber
pedal pads, masking tape, hot glue gun,
razor, etc.) before you begin. This is also a
good time to think back to your last regulation. Depending on their level of use,
harps should be regulated every one to
three years, so make sure to schedule an
appointment if your instrument is past
due.
Make cleaning your harp a year-round
habit by creating reminders for yourself to
do these things more regularly. Keep a
dust cloth and harp brush in plain sight
somewhere in your studio as a reminder to
clean up. Put a note in your string bag as
a reminder to remove and clean that peg
and wipe off those disks when a string
breaks, since it’s the easiest time to do it!
Be sure to keep an old toothbrush, Q-Tips,
or a soft cloth in your string bag or studio
to clean your harp’s mechanism.
Eliminating the hunt for cleaning supplies
ensures the cleaning actually happens.
Elizabeth Morgan-Ellis is a Philadelphiabased freelance harpist. She enjoys a busy
schedule, which includes teaching for the
Play on, Philly program, running a private
studio, and performing along the Eastern
seaboard.
•
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The World Harp Congress program is bursting with a dazzling array of the great names of the harp world performing in breathtaking venues.
ARTISTS include Andrew Lawrence-King, Sivan Magen, Isabelle Moretti, Bernard Andrés, Gwyneth Wentink, Naoko Yoshino and Dan Yu
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WORKSHOPS with Anne LeBaron (Contemporary techniques), Deborah Henson-Conant (Baroque Flamenco), Alfredo Rolando Ortiz (Latin
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cd review
chamber champions
Milot and McLaughlin deliver
delightful discs.
by Alison Young
VALÉRIE MILOT
Harp Column
Valérie Milot, harp; Claire Marchand, flute; Bernard
Labadie, conductor; Les Violins du Roy; Analekta, 2013.
40
I
If you’re planning to record a disc of Baroque and
Classical concertos on a modern instrument, where
do you look—or I guess maybe “listen” is the more
appropriate word—for the best back-up band? For me
it would be a chamber ensemble with similar ideals of
tone, color, and style, e.g. playing on instruments also
modern, but with a kind of early music sensibility.
Enter Quebec’s Les Violins du Roy, one of the finest
chamber orchestras in their class with all the period
instrument touches, but with a soundscape that’s lush
and full. This is the group Valérie Milot performs with
on this, her sixth recording for the Canadian label
Analekta. From its first notes you hear a coming
together of ideas, a synthesis, and one of the most
beautiful blends I’ve heard in some time.
Their shared interest in a lustrous modern tone full
of greater expressive possibilities is at the heart of this
CD’s magic. The three concertos come from a time
when the harp was far from arriving at its full potential, and yet our composers seem to reach beyond the
limitations of the time, giving us some of the richest
repertoire ever written for the instrument.
His operas, oratorios, and fanciful concerti grossi
aside, Handel was primarily an organist—his miracle
of a concerto as much a fixture in the keyboard world
as in the harp repertoire. The simplicity and musicbox aspect of the opening movement has always left
me catching my breathe in wonder, and with
Valérie’s lightness and the skipping tempo (after all,
an “andante allegro”), it’s like a ray of sunshine.
Where Valérie really moves this wind-playing reviewer is in her interpretation of the slow movement; the
long arching melody sounds sung rather than
plucked, the cadenza filled with emotion.
Francois-Adrien Boieldieu is the least-known of
this disc’s composers. Considered the “French
Mozart” and largely building success as an opera
composer, Boieldieu kept his head during the Reign
of Terror by wisely leaving Paris for the countryside to
work as a humble piano tuner. He took with him the
memory of the time he lived with Sebastian Erard,
the inventor of the double-action harp. Like Haydn’s
great friendship with a trumpeter and Schubert’s with
the inventor of the arpeggione (also known as the
bowed guitar, we have this remarkable concerto due
almost solely to this relationship. The concerto is
filled with drama, line, a sense of narrative, and colorful touches that earned Boieldieu the affection of
Berlioz, who noted the former possessed a “pleasing
and tasteful elegance.” Valérie’s interpretation takes
full advantage of the more expansive nature of the
piece. Her ability to keep a decaying sound filled with
forward motion and line in the aria-like slow movement fills the concerto with a kind of pathos and
Carrol McLaughlin, harp; Brian Luce, flute; Albany
Records, 2013.
W
With the freshness and spunk of Milot and
Marchaud still rang in the air, I quickly switched
gears to flute and harp duo Brian Luce and Carrol
McLaughlin in their new Albany Records disc Allume.
Warm and far more extroverted, at first listening I
surmise “transcriptions/light classics” but soon
change my attitude in hearing the carefully laid
plan of repertoire, bravely placing a Gypsy violin
encore to start next to a highly mannered flute
sonata from the French Baroque. The juxtaposition
made me sit up and take notice. “Where are we
going?” I ask, “And how will I begin to hear anew
•
KEY:
5 Harps:
Excellent, a must-have
for your CD library
4 Harps:
Very Good, worth buying
3 Harps:
Good, worth considering
2 Harps:
Fair, worth hearing in
the store
1 Harp:
Wouldn’t you rather
buy lunch?
ALLUME
this nearly cliché joined-at-the-hip ensemble?” Trust
me. Their journey is a delightful one and I took it
happily.
The title of the disc comes from one of Carrol’s
original compositions inspired by a group of handengraved gilded illuminations by a group of
Minnesota monks of the first letters of each chapter
of the Bible. Though for Psalm 98, which speaks of
music’s power, they went ahead and gilded the whole
text, saying music is the voice of God. We hear what
might be God’s very breath opening the work, followed by a waltz in modal harmony, almost Jewish
in nature. All out in its praise followed by deep reflection, Luce and McLaughlin hold nothing back, completely melding in spirit.
Skipping ahead to another of Carrol’s compositions, “Lifted by Angels” expresses a series of remarkable experiences where Carrol found herself performing in three places struck by tragedy—New York,
Indonesia, and New Orleans. Otherworldly and terrifying until the miracle happens and some lucky
ones—friends and family of those Carrol had played
for—survived. It is a scintillating piece from a gifted
musician unafraid to experiment with sound and
push the boundaries. I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath until the music of Piazolla burst forth
on the next track. Perfection.
I was also struck by an arrangement of an accidentally overheard waltz by August Durand. The
story of Carrol’s moments listening to a pianist warm
up at the glittering Glinka Academy in St. Petersburg
makes the journey even more enjoyable. Also enjoyable is Howard Buss’ “Seaside Reflections,” which he
explains is about “swirling currents of liquid chaos”
gathering “on the shores of eternity.” This is perhaps
the finest playing on the disc, allowing the musicians
to explore a kind of freedom in the beauty of sound.
Equally stunning is a processional of flutes—in
this case Brian Luce overdubbed—in an original
composition called “Immanuel.” Following in the
footsteps of the collected sounds as they enter a
sacred space gets to the heart of Carrol’s music making—joy, contemplation, and curiosity.
Alison Young is a classical music host and producer at
Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media. She left
a successful career as a flutist a decade ago after she
developed a neurological disorder, but before then
enjoyed many years traveling the world giving recitals,
performing concertos, playing with some of the finest
orchestras, and recording her own discs. Nowadays,
Young spins discs and is always on the lookout for the
next best thing. You can contact her at ayoung@mpr.org.
Harp Column
longing.
I am delighted that Valérie Milot pairs with
Canadian flutist Claire Marchand, a musician who
has made her mark in contemporary music. Her colorful, lithe tone possesses just the suppleness for
Mozart and matches ideally the brightness and effervescence of both Valérie’s and Les Violins’ tones. And
it’s fascinating, as you listen from beginning to end,
this CD seems to take a natural progression from
something small and precious, through opera’s most
expressive moments, to what we might consider the
music of the gods.
This is a beautifully crafted CD and one well
worth many, many listenings. Its unabashed foray
into the past through the lens of the present is
absolutely eye-, no, ear-opening.
41
music review
sparkling new works
From levers to pedals, new
repertoire for all to enjoy.
by Jan Jennings
M
Harp Column
Many pedal harpists are familiar with the glissy
solo piece, “Great Day,” from Nancy Gustavson’s
Sparklers collection. It has even been used as a crowdpleasing unison ensemble piece with great success.
Until now, however, lever harpists haven’t been able
to play along. Stanley Guy has changed that with his
second harp accompaniment to the pedal harp solo,
published by Gustavson Music Publications.
This new duet version includes both the original
solo arrangement as well as the second harp part.
There is no score, but it isn’t absolutely necessary,
especially since most harp duos and ensembles don’t
have the luxury of a conductor! Unfortunately, the
second harp part comes staple-bound to the first
part, so you cannot just pull out each part. The second part also does not include any pedal or lever
change notation. It’s actually easier to play on lever
harp because you can pre-set the fifth- and sixthoctave Cs to sharp and leave them throughout the
piece, although this is not indicated on the music. No
42
Lever harpists can join in
on “Great Day” with
Stanley Guy’s new second
harp part.
Brook Boddie’s “Upon
the Willows” fits the
bill “...where a soothing, pretty melody
would be welcome.”
A “useful addition to
the wedding recessional
repertoire,” this is just
one of several new selfpublished arrangements
from Ann Lobotzke.
other changes are necessary. Pedal harp players will
need to move the C pedal back and forth several
times, and this should be written in the music.
The second harp part has measure numbers, but
the first part does not (as in the original).
Fortunately, Mr. Guy laid out the music with the
exact same number of measures per line as Mrs.
Gustavson did, so it makes rehearsing easier (“start
at the fourth measure of line three”).
The legend of special harp effects from the original Sparklers publication is included as an insert,
though the list should be edited for this part since not
all the special effects are used. These are minor issues
that hopefully, can be corrected on subsequent printings.
The second harpist’s hands move in concert with
the first harpist’s hands (minus the glisses) so this can
help keep a steady beat in case the first harp players
get a little carried away! For example, where harp 1
plays descending glisses on each beat of the measure,
the second harp plays the same top note on each
beat. The second harp part plays octaves in the bass
along with harp one, but plays block chords instead
of the strummed short (or long) glisses.
It’s easy to overlook the need for a few printing
improvements, as this is a very nice accompaniment
to a piece that is fun to play. Thanks to Stanley Guy
for providing this option!
There is a lovely new original solo for lever or
pedal harp by Brook Boddie, recently published by
Seraphim Music. The title, “Upon the Willows,” is
taken from Psalm 137: 2. Just two pages in length,
this music is sight-readable for the intermediate to
advanced player.
Written in E-flat, there are no lever or pedal
changes. The left hand accompaniment is mostly an
arpeggiated style that gives movement to the piece.
The right hand melody is single notes, thirds, and
sixths. No fingering is provided, but the notes fall
Ms. Lobotzke tried to stay as close to
Walton’s original chords as possible.
Intermediate to advanced players should
be able to sight-read through this.
This is a useful addition to the wedding
recessional repertoire and would be a good
choice for formal church weddings or other
grand exits!
In addition to this new pedal harp
arrangement, Ms. Lobotzke has also
recently published three traditional pieces
for lever or pedal harp. Although space
limitations don’t allow an in-depth discussion here, you may want to check out these
very playable arrangements. Contact your
favorite harp vendor to find the Shaker
hymn
“Simple
Gifts,”
“Carolan’s
Concerto,” and “Auld Lang Syne.” Let’s
hope Ann Lobotzke will continue to publish new arrangements for us.
Jan Jennings is the music review editor for
Harp Column and is the author of The
Harpist’s Complete Wedding Guidebook
and Effortless Glissing. You can e-mail her at
mail@harpbiz.com.
Sylvia Woods
Harp Center
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Harp Column
logically in the hands. The A-B-A format
is simple and sweet. The music is printed
on heavy card stock and the typesetting is
easy to read.
This would be an appropriate piece for
almost any occasion where a soothing,
pretty melody would be welcome.
Ann Lobotzke has self-published
“Crown Imperial Coronation March” by
Sir William Walton for pedal harp. This
was used as the recessional for the wedding of Prince William and Katherine
Middleton.
This is a bright and energetic piece in
2/4. Fingering is noted where it is most
helpful. It is just two pages, but there is a
repeat of the entire first page making it
long enough to get a large wedding party
back down the aisle! All pedal changes
are clearly marked in the middle of the
staff where they won’t be missed. The
typesetting is easy to read and printed on
sturdy card stock. The music is not difficult
and includes a lot of octaves in the bass
and some large chords in the right hand.
43
strange but true harp stories
A day at the spa
I
I received a call from the owner of a
new spa asking if I could play for its grand
opening. The owner told me she wanted
the event to be relaxed yet elegant, and
that harp music would be just right for the
day. The new spa was located in
Greenwich, Conn., one of the wealthiest
towns in America. The date worked for
me, and we agreed on a fee.
The day of the grand opening had
beautiful, crystal clear weather, and I
played amidst the spa’s peaceful surroundings with its neutral colors and
tasteful over-stuffed chairs. The low tables
were stocked with fitness magazines and
there were lovely planters with live grass
floating in water in clear glass containers
with artful stones at their bases. Waiters
passed out food to the well-dressed crowd,
and the owner was pleased with the day,
the music, and the turnout.
She told me that at some point she
would be giving some welcoming remarks
and there would be a special surprise for
the guests. I played a relaxed variety of
music and awaited her signal. The owner
was quite laid back, though, and several
hours had gone by, the sun had set, and
the waiters had lit the little votive candles
before she finally told me she would begin
the announcements.
She gathered the guests out on the
patio, and I listened as she talked about
the spa, thanked various people, and then
gave a nod for the special surprise to take
place—a releasing of doves! But the owner
seemed to be unaware of the fact that
doves do not like to fly in the dark. The
birds were confused and frantic. They
began flapping madly and trying to find
a place to roost—splashing into the grass
and water in the displays on the tables,
circling around and then heading toward
the awnings by the guests’ heads! It was
strange
stories
pay.
pandemonium—the guests were ducking
and shrieking and trying to cover their
heads as they ran for cover, and I ran to
protect my harp! It was quite a scene. The
owner had indeed prepared a surprise, but
not the type she had expected! It turned
out to be a day at the spa that I’ll never
forget.
—Wendy Kerner
Wilton, Conn.
•
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check www.harpcolumn.com for classified ad updates
peterreis@harps-international.com.
Wurlitzer AA, 45 strings, Extended soundboard,
newly regilded. Gorgeous, like new condition, structurally, mechanically and cosmetically. Great sound
quality. Very portable. Call 860-675-0227 or e-mail
Wurlitzer CCX, concert grand, 46 strings, gold,
$33,000, Serial #1184, just back from factory, completely rebuilt and regilded. The sound of this harp
is big, rich and deep. Truly gorgeous. Includes new
L&H shipping trunk and heavy cover. Photos available. Contact Gerald Goodman at 212-249-0240 or
goodmansharps@hotmail.com. NYC, NY.
Wurlitzer DDX, concert grand, $29,950, Rare harp.
Rebuilt thirteen years ago, new neck, bottom body
frame, re-riveted, gilding restored. Gothic design, 47
strings, extended, decorated soundboard. Looks like
L&H 26. Superb voice, wonderful sound quality. New
fleece lined custom made protective cover available.
Rent to own. Photos available. Call 860-675-0227 or
e-mail peterreis@harps-international.com.
Wurlitzer Starke, Style I, 43 strings, gold,
$15,000, Straight soundboard, rebuilt with new
neck and rerivited mechanism by Lyon & Healy in
2007, base frame repair by Swanson in 1996, original soundboard. Easy to play and portable. Comes
with dust cover. Call 630-864-8489. IL.
Harps For Sale—LEVER
Camac Aziliz, natural, $3,000, Bought new July
2012, small full range harp with nice tone. Great
condition, not moved outside of home more than a
few times, well taken care of in proper temps and
humidity. Shipping not included. E-mail Debbie at
@pixx6@yahoo.com. CT.
Camac DHC-Light, electroharp, black, 32 strings,
$4,700 o.b.o. , Three years old, original Alliance
Savarez strings., weighs 11 pounds. Includes body
harness, legs and tripod stand, black padded case,
red dust cover, tuning key, electric cable and an
older Peavey Solo amp. Contact Cynthia at 206-9095844 or crkuni@comcast.net. Puget Sound area, WA.
Camac Electro-harp DHC model, 32 strings, custom high gloss finish, Carbon fiber construction,
ultra light weight. Same type used by Deborah
Henson-Conant. great jazz instrument. Professional
tripod and harness available. Call 860-675-0227 or email peterreis@harps-international.com.
Camac Electro, lever harp, 36 strings, True Fire
Red, Less than 3 years old, recently regulated. One
of two first electro harps custom made from Camac
in the US. $5,495 includes harp and padded case.
Additional accessories available, tripod $325, harness set $285, flight case $780. Complete package
for $6880. For more information contact VeeRonna
480-241-7249 or veeragone@gmail.com. AZ.
Camac Hermine, lever harp, 34 strings,
mahogany, $2,590, Full Camac levers, round back,
gut strung. Fine condition. Includes padded transport cover. Call Carolyn at 626-791-6262 or e-mail
Carolyn@pacificharps.com.
Camac Korrigan, lever harp, 38 strings,
mahogany, $2,745, Fully levered, round back, gut
strings. Fine condition. Includes padded cover. Call
Carolyn at 626-791-6262 or e-mail carolyn@pacificharps.com.
Cunningham, lever harp, 33 strings, mahogany,
$2,200, Beautiful, big sound with lots of sustain.
Truly beautiful instrument. Has been repaired by
Cunningham himself who repaired a crack that is
Lyon & Healy Style 23G, $27,000, Serial #5945,
recently regilded and rerivited by L&H, regularly
maintained. Canvas cover and shipping trunk
included. Call 619-295-3901 or e-mail
eileen@mason-home.com. CA.
Lyon & Healy Style 23, gold, $24,900 o.b.o., Serial
#6735-23, built in 1972. Played for pleasure thru
1978. Has been played sparingly since. Moved only
three times to new homes since 1979. Very good
condition with one minor flaw in gold column. Has
not been regularly maintained. Comes with matching stool and canvas cover. Will pay shipping. For
more info or pictures, e-mail angeliqueburton@bellsouth.net or call 919-524-9203.
Lyon & Healy Style 23, gold, $25,000, o.b.o., Serial
#10899. Excellent condition, like new. Cloth cover
included. Call 304-924-6273. WV.
Lyon & Healy Style 23, gold, $37,500 o.b.o., Late
40’s to early 50’s, completely rebuilt including guilding in 2006 by L&H. Hard shell shipping case included. Contact califorialcsw@gmail.com.
Lyon & Healy, Style 23, walnut, $25,000, Serial
#17162, selected at L&H factory 2006, regulated
within past year. Excellent condition, one owner.
Full beautiful sound. Call 941-400-6210.
Lyon & Healy Style 85 Petite, 40 strings, natural,
$8,650, Beautiful harp, well care for, excellent condition, recently regulated. Beautiful tone. Contact
jerhoran@gmail.com.
Russian Harp, pedal, 46 strings, $10,000, Straight
soundboard, manufactured in 1980’s by Lunacharsky
in St. Petersburg. Recently inspected, no cosmetic or
mechanical deficiencies. Currently installed strings
are old but new set of 47 French strings and tuning
key are included. Great instrument for collector,
professional performer or student. Call 865-6790995 or e-mail pspaulding@mindspring.com.
Salvi Arion, semi-grand, 44 strings, natural,
$14,500 , Built 2010, gold gilding, regulated August
2013. Excellent condition. Warm tone. Contact carlawethington@msn.com. TX.
Salvi Aurora, concert grand, for rent or sale,
Thirty years old, regulated summer 2012, appraised
June 2013, all strings up-to-date. Good condition,
excellent harp for a serious student, even pull,
warm sound. $250/month or $12,000 purchase.
Cover set, dolly, and shipping trunk included.
Contact colleen.thorburn@gmail.com. Southwest
VA.
Salvi Diana, concert grand $10,000, Serial #1257,
built in 1975. Played professionally, well-regulated,
strings replaced regularly. Lovely rich, dark timbre.
Good condition, very few slight nicks from age and
wear, nothing serious. Includes adjustable bench,
dust cover, and padded cover. Contact
harpistr@gmail.com. Located in Greenville, SC.
Venus Aria, concert grand, 47 strings,
natural/gold, $14,000 o.b.o., Serial #2862, model
#75, detailed gold leaf design. Inspected, regulated
and new strings by Joe Urban-Harp Tech, September
2013. Great sound. Price negotiable. Contact
gaar3487@cox.net. CA.
Venus Cherub, semi-grand, 44 strings, burgundy,
$8,000, Model 76, built 1997, straight soundboard.
Includes cover and tuning key. Contact
mstromquist@comcast.net. Wurlitzer AA, 45
strings, Extended soundboard, newly regilded.
Gorgeous, like new condition, structurally, mechanically and cosmetically. Great sound quality. Very
portable. Call 860-675-0227 or e-mail
Harp Column
Harps For Sale—PEDAL
Aoyama Delphi, concert grand, natural, $8,000,
Played and tuned regularly, regulated yearly with
new strings, medium string tension. Strong tone.
Great condition. Contact Rebekah at 47strings7pedals@gmail.com. Atlanta, GA.
Camac Athena. concert grand, $11,995, Five years
old, straight soundboard, newly regulated.
Exception condition cosmetically, mechanically and
structurally. Full rich sound. Rent to own, purchase
or rent. Padded cover included. Call Carolyn at 626791-6262 or e-mail Carolyn@pacificharps.com.
Camac Clio, pedal harp, 44 strings, high gloss
ebony, $11,995, Three years old, straight soundboard, newly regulated. Fine condition cosmetically,
mechanically, structurally. Wonderful sound.
Includes padded cover and warranty . Call Carolyn
at 626-791-6262 or e-mail Carolyn@pacificharps.com.
Lyon & Healy Style 85 CG, walnut, $11,000 o.b.o.,
Serial #10702, new bottom frame 2010, refinished,
re-strung 2011, regulated May 2013, stable, horizontal split in board. Incredible, concert grand sound.
Main gig harp. Includes cover, tuning key. See pictures on Sharon Avis YouTube or will e-mail directly.
Call 740-936-5051 or e-mail
sharonavisharp@gmail.com. OH.
Lyon & Healy 85CG, mahogany, $16,500, Serial
#13385, selected at Lyon & Healy factory 1998.
Played professionally, one owner, well-regulated, all
new strings. Gorgeous rich, dark timbre, very welldeveloped sound. Holds pitch very well, no slippage
anywhere in tuning pins. Very good condition, a
few slight nicks from age and wear. Includes matching adjustable bench and brown canvas padded
cover. Call Michael Steadman at 415-225-3242 or email steadmanSF@gmail.com. San Francisco Bay
area, CA.
Lyon & Healy 85P, pedal harp, 40 strings,
mahogany, $10,450, Perfect for student transitioning to pedal harp. Great condition. Beautiful warm
tone. Model 85P discontinued. Closely resembles
Chicago Petite 40. Call 919-969-8477 or e-mail
harp4me@aol.com. Chapel Hill, NC.
Lyon & Healy Chicago 40 Petite Harp, mahogany,
$11,400, Serial #70076, decorated soundboard, purchased new July 2010. Includes ebony bench, three
piece Lyon & Healy cover set and two wheel classic
harp cart. Contact davidnfrancine@aol.com. CT.
Lyon & Healy Style 11, gold, $26,000, Serial #7169,
built 1975, maintained by Lyon & Healy. Excellent
condition. Includes matching music stand and
bench, transport cover and trunk. Call 317-663-8170.
IN.
Lyon & Healy Style 17, semi-grand, bronze/walnut, $22,000, Recently restrung and regulated by
Thomas Bell of Bell Harp Tech. Beautiful and well
maintained. Includes soft cover, shipping crate,
Peterson strobe 450 tuner, two stools and one music
stand. Contact tuthillr@mac.com. Chagrin Falls, OH.
Lyon & Healy Style 22, unique, 46 strings,
$34,000, One of a kind Lyon & Healy harp, made in
1919, special order with unique soundboard design.
For more information and history please contact.
harp4sale@yahoo.com.
Lyon & Healy Style 23, concert grand, walnut,
$16,950, Built in 1980’s, newly regulated, all new
strings. Excellent condition and sound. Includes new
padded custom made, fleece lined, water resistant
protective cover. Call 860-675-0227 or e-mail peterreis@harps- international.com.
45
Harp Column
46
now only cosmetic, the harp is 100% structurally
sound. Owner of three Cunningham lever harps.
More photos available. Call Erin Hill 917-363-1161 or
e-mail erin@gridleyrecords.com. Currently located in
New York City, NY.
Heartland Dragon Heart, lever harp, 36
strings,$3,495, Fully levered, all wood construction.
New condition. Call Sue at 727-577-4277 or e-mail
scdv@aol.com. FL.
John Pratt Chamber Harp, 36 strings, Hand crafted, fully levered with Camac levers, extended
soundboard. Concert spacing, concert gut strings
with concert tension. Exceptional sound. Five year
warranty and padded carrying case included. Rent
to own. Call 860-675-0227 or e-mail
John Pratt Princessa, 36 strings, exotic wood,
$3,995, Hand crafted, full Camac levers, straight
soundboard. Concert tension, gage and spacing.
Includes five year warranty and padded carrying
case. Rent to own available. Call 860-675-0227 or email peterreis@harps-international.com.
John Yule harp, Carnethy model, lever harp, 34
strings, emerald green, $4,200 o.b.o., Full
Loveland levers, carved column. Mint condition. Big,
rich sound. Includes padded carrying case with additional padding and wooden shipping case. Call 609597-2775. NJ.
Lyon & Healy Folk Harp, dark green, 34 strings,
$1,800 o.b.o., Serial #1144, fully levered, beautiful
design on soundboard, approximately 53” tall, four
removable feet, a few bumps and scratches on
soundboard and column. Tuner included. Contact
zoieyoder@gmail.com.
Lyon & Healy Ogden, 34 strings, mahogany,
$2,500 plus shipping, Purchased new December,
2012. Includes tuning key, L&H carrying case, set of
4” and 8” legs, one full set of replacement
Burgundy Natural Gut strings, additional set of 3rd
and 4th octave Burgundy strings and L&H beginner
instruction book. E-mail with subject heading
“Ogden” to fopianki@anderson.edu.
Lyon & Healy Prelude, 38 strings, mahogany,
$3,800 , Like new condition. Beautiful sound.
Contact arioso1@aol.com. Madison, Wi.
Lyon & Healy Prelude, 40 strings, mahogany ,
Built 2010, gold crown and paws. Great condition.
Includes tuning key, case, and partial set replacement gut/wire L&H strings. Contact
lindsaywil@gmail.com.
Lyon & Healy Prelude, mahogany, $5,300 o.b.o.,
Seven months old, new strings. Mint condition.
Includes transport covers. Cannot ship. Contact
gijane2@outlook.com. Southern, CA.
Lyon & Healy Silhouette, electric, 33 strings, high
gloss red, $3,450, Weighs 16 pounds. Play standing
up with included harness or play sitting down. Full,
rich tone, ideal balance of bass and treble. Good
condition, a few minor scuffs from normal use. Very
portable and easy to carry with included case.
Played professionally. Also available for additional
charge, fold-up bench, extra tripod and gig bag.
Local pickup or will insure and ship within US in
original shipping box at additional cost. Contact
wendawilliamson@gmail.com. Columbus, OH.
Lyon & Healy Silhouette, lever harp, $4,000 plus
shipping, Used very little. Additional 3rd and 4th
octave bow brand gut strings. Photos available
upon request. Contact harplady419@att.net.
Lyon & Healy Troubadour, $1,800, Retrofitted with
Loveland levers, gut strings. Excellent condition.
Amazing warm tone. More pics and sound samples
available. Contact Nelsonbrook33@aol.com.
Lyon & Healy Troubadour II, 36 strings, ebony,
$1,995, Very good condition. Cover included. Rent
to own available. Call 860-675-0227 or e-mail peterreis@harps-international.com.
Marini Lute Harp, 24 strings, $790, Full set Truitt
levers. Mint condition. Sweet gorgeous tone. Perfect
for travel, therapy or beginner. Unique feature,
detachable base that allows it to be played either on
your lap or on small table or stool. Extremely
portable, weighing only five pounds. Comes with
padded harp case. See on the Marini website at
http://www.marinimadeharps.com/shepherdlute.htm. E-mail: amelia.gerlach@gmail.com.
Paraguayan Harp, 38 strings, $1,250 o.b.o., Several
unique features, harp neck is designed so that
strings come from center of neck, eliminating the
tendency for neck to roll over to left because of
string tension as in an Irish harp. Since the pillar and
soundbox do not need to be extra strong to accommodate the “left-sidedness” of the tension, the
whole instrument weighs far less than comparable
Irish harp. Weighs approximately 16 pounds with no
sharping levers. Lightly strung, has largest bass volume of all harps played today.The upper register is
very bright. Many strings have recently been
restrung. Call 650-281-3339. SF Bay Area, CA.
Pratt Chamber Harp, walnut, $4,000, One year old,
Camac levers. Beautiful warm, rich tone. Pristine
condition. More pics and sound samples available.
Contact Nelsonbrook33@aol.com.
Rick Rubarth Merlin, 35 strings, mahogany,
$3,200, Fluorocarbon strings, full Loveland levers.
Includes five year warranty and padded transport
cover. Factory built pickup available. Call 860-6750227 or e-mail peterreis@harps-international.com.
Salvi Donegal, lever harp, 36 strings, Fully levered.
Cover included. Call Sue at 727-577-4277 or e-mail
scdv@aol.com. FL.
Triplett Avalon, lever harp 26 strings, cherry,
$1,995, Fully levered, large, engraved and decorated
soundboard. Exquisite sound quality. Includes
Triplett fleece-lined, protective, water resistant,
padded transport cover, cherry wood music stand
and tuning key. Call 860-675-0227 or e-mail peterreis@harps-international.com.
Triplett Christina therapy harp, 25 strings, Full
Camac levers, seven pounds, goes down to C below
middle C. Engraved floral design on soundboard
available. Lovely sound. Includes ergonomic lap bar,
harp strap, fleece lined case and seven year warranty. Rent to own. Call 860-675- 0227 or e-mail peterreis@harps-international.com.
Triplett Eclipse, lever harp, 38 strings, custom
made, African bubinga wood, sell for $5,500 or
rent, Brand new, show quality, custom made harp,
one month old, decorated soundboard with Koi fish.
Big sound, installed pick-up. Excellent condition.
Switching to pedal harp, need to make change.
Rental fee $90.00 per month with $200.00 deposit.
Local, trusted and regular students only, regularly
taking lessons. Photos available. Call 281-979-3147 or
e-mail travari2004@gmail.com. Houston, TX.
Triplett Eclipse, lever harp, 38 strings, maple
wood, Fully levered, cedar/spruce soundboard.
Excellent condition. Big round, projecting sound.
One year warranty. Call Sue at 727-577-4277 or email scdv@aol.com. FL.
Triplett Monterey, lever harp, 36 strings, cherry,
$2,995, Full Camac levers. Includes one year warranty and fleece lined transport cover. Purchase, rent or
rent to own. Call Carolyn at 626-791-6262 or e-mail
Carolyn@pacificharps.com.
Triplett Sierra, 36 strings, Brand new model, full
Camac levers. Full factory warranty and fleece lined
case included. Rent to own. Call 860-675-0227 or email peterreis@harps-international.com.
Triplett Signature, 36 strings, $3,000 o.b.o., Serial
#25099, has not been played in a long time, but has
been carefully kept in appropriate environment.
Needs regulation and new strings. Includes case with
travel board on wheels, box for shipping and other
supplies. Contact Karen Peterson at
kleepet@gmail.com or Melinda Gardiner
harp@taconic.net. NJ.
Harps For Rent
Lyon & Healy Style 19, semi-grand, gold, Well
maintained. Call Lisa Handman 770-442-9172 or email Lisa@Harpnotes.com. GA.
Pedal and Lever Harps for Rent, Pedal and lever
harps available for rent any length of time or rent to
own. Showrooms around US, Canada and Japan. Call
Harps Unlimited International at 860- 675-0277 or email peterreis@harps- international.com.
Salvi Aurora, concert grand, for rent or sale,
Thirty years old, regulated summer 2012, appraised
June 2013, all strings up-to-date. Good condition,
excellent harp for a serious student, even pull, warm
sound. $250/month or $12,000 purchase. Cover set,
dolly, and shipping trunk included. Contact
colleen.thorburn@gmail.com. Southwest VA.
Accessories
Wheeled New Harp Cart, $275, The Royal Harp
Cart is fantastic for moving concert-grands down to
lever harps. 6 wheels really help to stabilize the harp
for “rough” moves, stairs, etc. Each cart is outfitted
with 2 straps as well. The carts are made in the USA.
Call 480-747-5035. AZ.
New and used benches, music stands, dollies and
trunks, all makes and sizes , Call 860-675-0227 or email peterreis@harps-international.com.
ABOUT CLASSIFIED ADS
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appear at www.harpcolumn.com and vice versa.
Rules for counting words: The name of the
harp manufacturer counts as one word, even
two-word names like “Lyon & Healy” and
“Dusty Strings”; the style of the harp counts as
one word, even two-word styles like “Style 30”;
“semi-grand” and “concert-grand” each count
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Perfecti
P
erfecti
is in the
det
etails
ails
SALVI
SAL
VI HARPS INC
Westwood
2380 W
estwood Boulevard - Los Angeles, CA 90064
PHONE: 310-441-4277 • TOLL-FREE: 888-420-4277
FAX:
F
AX: 310-441-4365 • MOBILE: 949-554-9087
info@salviharpsinc.com • w w w . s a l v i h a r p s i n c . c o m
Isolde
One score
The Classical
Isolde
T h e h a r p m a k e r o f t h e 2 1 st c e n t u r y
WORKSHOP & OFFICES
La Richerais B.P.15 44850 MOUZEIL - FRANCE
Tel. +33 (0) 2 40 97 24 97 - Fax +33 (0) 2 40 97 79 31
CAMAC CENTRE - 92, rue Petit - 75019 PARIS
Tel. +33 (0) 1 40 40 08 40 - Fax +33 (0) 1 40 40 08 42
www. camac-harps.com - www.harpblog.i nfo - www.harp-store.com
Two interpretations
The Celtic
Isolde

March/April 2014

Transcription

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