Concert

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Eolian, a new concerto for harp.

(english below)

 

Ondertussen is het een jaar geleden dat ik startte met mijn ‘Gps voor harp repertoire’ en wat een boeiend jaar was het al, maar nog spannender is vast te stellen dat uit de geplante zaadjes van vorig jaar, een eerste oogst op komst is.

Tijdens mijn aftoetsende contacten met componisten, leerde ik Geoffrey Gordon kennen. Hij was net een solo werk voor harp aan het schrijven (in opdracht van het Frankfurt Radio Symfonisch orkest en collega harpiste Anne-Sophie Bertrand) en zo was een aanknopingspunt snel gevonden. Hij vertelde me hoe hij er van droomde om aan zijn reeds indrukwekkende reeks concerti, ook een concerto voor harp te kunnen toevoegen. En kijk, één jaar later staan de eerste 2 delen al op mijn pupiter en zal de première plaatsvinden op 28 oktober 2022!

Ook deze weg was een avontuur: aanvankelijk mailden we wat over koetjes en kalfjes en verwachtte ik helemaal niet dat dit concreet ergens naar zou leiden – hoe vaak blijven zulke gesprekken niet bij dromen over – , maar al snel kwam het besef dat de liefde voor de harp, de behoefte om nieuw repertoire te spelen -en voor Geoffrey, te schrijven- voor beiden even sterk was/is. 

Vervolgens wat lichte paniek!: de gesprekken zijn te ver om er niets mee te doen, maar hoe pakken we dit praktisch aan? Hiervoor kan ik alleen maar mijn oprechte dank aan Brussels Philharmonic uiten, zij geloven in dit project en sprongen mee op de kar om deze creatie mogelijk te maken!

En dan trekt de componist zich terug en moest ik wachten, niet bepaald één van mijn sterke punten 🙂 en hopen dat het zou bekoren, stel je voor dat er een werk in je mail landt, waar je geen enkele affiniteit voor voelt…

Gelukkig is dat niet zo, integendeel! 

Het werk draagt de titel ‘Eolian’, naar ‘The Eolian Harp’  een gedicht van Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Het concerto is erg harpig(als dat nog geen woord is, dan voer ik het nu officieel in 🙂 doch zonder in clichés te vervallen. De orkestratie is bijzonder sfeervol en kleurrijk, voorlopig kan ik nog niet meer vertellen…

Wel vind ik het leuk om fragmenten uit onze uitgebreide mailcorrespondentie te delen in mijn blog; de geboorte van een nieuw concerto voor harp:

E: We connected somewhere around May last year, just at the starting point of my gps for harp repertoire, was this a coincidence or did the project attract your attention? 

G: The project did draw my attention! I had been interested in writing a harp concerto, but I had not identified the right partners – until I found you and your project and Brussels Phil! And how fortunate for me that I did – it has been an absolute pleasure working with you and the administration of the orchestra, from the very start of conversations. Incredibly professional and cordial and quite inspirational!

E: At that point a solo piece for harp was about to be created by Ann-Sophie Bertrand, ‘Jeux de creation’. I understand that this piece was commissioned, was this the first time ever you wrote for harp solo (I noticed that you have a chamber work for trio sonata!)

G: Jeux de creation was indeed a commission, and it was not the first time I had written for harp, certainly, as the instrument has played an important role in my chamber and orchestral music for a long time. And as you say, I have a harp trio, called Bright White Smooth, which I wrote some time ago. But Jeux de creation was my first extended work for solo harp. Coming as it did, just before we began planning Eolian, it was a great way to become immersed in this amazing instrument. 

E: What do you find difficult/challenging/exciting in writing for harp? 

G: Well, as you know, it is a fantastic instrument! Capable of so many sounds and an extraordinary range, both in terms of pitch and dynamic. I think you could spend a lifetime exploring all of the ways this instrument can sound – it obviously does things no other instrument can do. But of course this comes at a price! There are challenges – most difficult is the tuning! As contemporary harmonic language has become unhinged from tonality, this challenge has become greater than ever before. A composer must always plan far in advance, in order to have the pitches available and within a timeframe that allows the player to shift those pedals! But as with any restriction, this is – in a way – extraordinarily liberating. The harp frees you from the habits of the other instruments – I think I write differently for this instrument, from conception to execution. It is fascinating. 

E: You already wrote quite a lot of concerti, winds in particular, how different is your approach in choosing themes, topics for each instrument and what inspires you in writing for harp? 

G: I have written many concerti – and many will follow, with a second cello concerto on the way, as well as new works for bassoon (BBC Philharmonic and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande), oboe (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) English horn (Antwerp Symphony Orchestra) two clarinet concerti (a long list of collaborators on these!) and plans for my first piano concerto. So if nothing else, I will be busy (if I left anyone out, my apologies!).  One of the great pleasures of my job is having the opportunity to explore all sorts of subjects, arts, artists, literature, paintings, poetry, etc., while writing these works. And this was true when planning Eolian. The Coleridge poem seemed like such a natural fit, with a text that is magical and evocative and perfectly suited to the subtleties of the harp. I have had those words – which are also inscribed on the movements of the score – in my mind as I write. I hope the audience (and the performers!) will feel these words are woven intrinsically into the notes of Eolian … and that they are as inspired as I was writing this piece. 

 

 

 

Already one year has past, since I started my ‘GPS for harp repertoire’ and what an exciting year it has been, but it is even more thrilling to see that the seeds planted last year are growing and ready to be harvested.

During my exploratory contacts with composers, I got to know Geoffrey Gordon. At this time he was writing a solo work for harp (commissioned by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and colleague  Anne-Sophie Bertrand) and as such conversation was easily made. He told me how he dreamed of adding a concerto for harp to his already impressive series of concertos. And look, one year later, the first two movements are already on my stand and the premiere will take place on the 28th October 2022!

What a great adventure it has already been: at first, we mailed about this and that and I didn’t expect it would lead to anything concrete – how often do such conversations remain daydreaming – but it soon dawned that the love for the harp, the desire to play new repertoire – and to write in Geoffrey ’s case- was/is equally strong for both of us. 

Then, some light panic: the conversations were too far gone and a project inevitable, but how were we going to tackle this? For this I can only express my sincere thanks to the Brussels Philharmonic, they believe in this project and jumped on the bandwagon to make this creation possible!

Next, the composer withdrew from the scene and I had to wait, not exactly one of my strongest points 🙂 and hope that I would be enchanted, imagine that a work lands in your mail, for which you feel no affinity whatsoever…

Fortunately, this is not the case, on the contrary! 

The work is entitled ‘Eolian’, after ‘The Eolian Harp’, a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The concerto is very harp-like but without falling into clichés. The orchestration is very atmospheric and colorful, that’s all I can tell for now….

I do like to share some excerpts from our extensive mail correspondence in my blog; the birth of a new concerto for harp.

E: We connected somewhere around May last year, just at the starting point of my gps for harp repertoire, was this a coincidence or did the project attract your attention?

G: The project did draw my attention! I had been interested in writing a harp concerto, but I had not identified the right partners – until I found you and your project and Brussels Phil! And how fortunate for me that I did – it has been an absolute pleasure working with you and the administration of the orchestra, from the very start of conversations. Incredibly professional and cordial and quite inspirational!

E: At that point a solo piece for harp was about to be created by Ann-Sophie Bertrand, ‘Jeux de creation’. I understand that this piece was commissioned, was this the first time ever you wrote for harp solo (I noticed that you have a chamber work for trio sonata!)

G: Jeux de creation was indeed a commission, and it was not the first time I had written for harp, certainly, as the instrument has played an important role in my chamber and orchestral music for a long time. And as you say, I have a harp trio, called Bright White Smooth, which I wrote some time ago. But Jeux de creation was my first extended work for solo harp. Coming as it did, just before we began planning Eolian, it was a great way to become immersed in this amazing instrument. 

E: What do you find difficult/challenging/exciting in writing for harp?

G: Well, as you know, it is a fantastic instrument! Capable of so many sounds and an extraordinary range, both in terms of pitch and dynamic. I think you could spend a lifetime exploring all of the ways this instrument can sound – it obviously does things no other instrument can do. But of course this comes at a price! There are challenges – most difficult is the tuning! As contemporary harmonic language has become unhinged from tonality, this challenge has become greater than ever before. A composer must always plan far in advance, in order to have the pitches available and within a timeframe that allows the player to shift those pedals! But as with any restriction, this is – in a way – extraordinarily liberating. The harp frees you from the habits of the other instruments – I think I write differently for this instrument, from conception to execution. It is fascinating. 

E: You already wrote quite a lot of concerti, winds in particular, how different is your approach in choosing themes, topics for each instrument and what inspires you in writing for harp?

G: I have written many concerti – and many will follow, with a second cello concerto on the way, as well as new works for bassoon (BBC Philharmonic and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande), oboe (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) English horn (Antwerp Symphony Orchestra) two clarinet concerti (a long list of collaborators on these!) and plans for my first piano concerto. So if nothing else, I will be busy (if I left anyone out, my apologies!).  One of the great pleasures of my job is having the opportunity to explore all sorts of subjects, arts, artists, literature, paintings, poetry, etc., while writing these works. And this was true when planning Eolian. The Coleridge poem seemed like such a natural fit, with a text that is magical and evocative and perfectly suited to the subtleties of the harp. I have had those words – which are also inscribed on the movements of the score – in my mind as I write. I hope the audience (and the performers!) will feel these words are woven intrinsically into the notes of Eolian … and that they are as inspired as I was writing this piece. 

 

 

juni 17, 2022

composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Shostakovich  ·  Stories
The beauty of a day’s work (3)

(english below)

Ik leg de laatste hand aan deze blog terwijl het einde van het 4de deel van de 7de symfonie van Shostakovich rondom mij heen kolkt.

In deze symfonie duiken de harpen op in het 2de, 3de en 4de deel. In het tweede deel nemen ze de begeleiding van de basklarinet op zich met een figuur die eerder gespeeld wordt door de lage strijkers, hier getransponeerd naar de hoogste octaven van de harp om een signaal van hoop uit te sturen. Het blazers koraal aan de start van het 3de deel wordt integraal verdubbeld in de akkoorden van de harpen, niet solistisch hoorbaar, maar door de aanslag van de hoogste snaren en de boventonen van de akkoorden versterken ze de melancholie en wanhoop die achter dit motief schuilen.

Deze korte intermezzi laten veel ruimte om als harpiste te luisteren, je volledig te laten verzwelgen en iedere dag weer nieuwe elementen in de orkestratie te ontdekken.

Dat is één van de zalige aspecten van deze job: al deze nuances voelen, ze elke dag horen groeien, ook al is dat in dit geval, met deze muziek, uiterst emotioneel.

Overal gonst het over het al dan niet uitvoeren van muziek zoals deze ‘Leningrad’, gezien de huidige politiek turbulente tijden.

Ik kan alleen spreken vanuit mijn ervaring als musicus op het podium, als één van de boetseerders van deze uitvoering, maar voor mij is de vertaling van dit epos naar onze tijd, het opnieuw creëren, nu vandaag, de enige essentie.

In het orkest op het podium, de muziek voelen die de trillingen door je lijf jaagt, is een ervaring die ik iedereen ooit in zijn leven toewens. In alle facetten van de partituur hoor je een weerspiegeling van het leven: het alledaagse, de dreiging, de wanhoop, de twijfel en angst, maar ook de hoop, de hoop dat verbondenheid en ‘common sense’ zal zegevieren. Je voelt hoe sterk de noodzaak van Shostakovich was om dit te uiten, in de eerste plaats voor zijn medemens, maar zeker ook met de stille ambitie dat de tijd dit zou meedragen, wat ie deed. 

Shostakovich schreef ook heel wat filmmuziek, muziek die beelden dient. Toen ik vanochtend, na de hectiek van de files, luisterde naar het 1ste deel, besefte ik hoe filmisch deze muziek is, hoe ze alles wat er in het leven van Shostakovich passeerde in de donkere dagen van de bezetting verbeeldt.

Er gaat geen seconde voorbij zonder enige emotie in dit stuk, die zal voor iedereen heel anders zijn, maar wel even intens. Voeg daar het individuele sentiment van ieder musicus op het podium aan toe en de ontroering wordt onmeetbaar.

Deze kracht die muziek heeft om dit alles als geen andere taal te kunnen verwoorden, door iedereen  te laten begrijpen, zowel woede als vertedering op te roepen, eenieder mee te nemen in de tijd om ons niet te laten vergeten, is iets wat we moeten koesteren en niet mogen schuwen. 

 

Symfonie n°7, Dimitri Shostakovich

Brussels Philharmonic, o.l.v. Yoel Levi

17 en 19 maart 2022

 

Whilst finalizing this blog, the 4th movement of Shostakovich’ 7th symphony is swirling round my ears.

In this symphony the harps only occur in the 2nd, 3rd and final movement. At the beginning of the second movement, the lower strings play an accompaniment that later on is transposed to the higher octaves of the harps -accompanying the bass clarinet- and as such sends a signal of hope through the resonance of these very high clear notes.

At the start of the 3rd movement, the harps double the choral of the winds and although you might not hear them in a soloist way, you do hear the plucking of the strings -again in a high register- and together with the overtones produced by the chords in the the lower strings, it empowers the feeling of melancholy and despair.

Because we only play these short intermezzi, it allows me to lose myself completely in this music and to continuously discover new details.

This is one of the great aspects of my job: being able to feel, shape and refine all these subtleties, even if -like in this case- the music is extremely emotional.

Everywhere rumor lives about whether or not this ‘Leningrad’ can be performed during these difficult times. In this matter I can only speak for myself as one of the musicians on stage, sculpting this performance: for me the interpretation and translation of this epos in our time, creating it again the way we feel today is the only real essence and an utter necessity.

Being in the orchestra on stage and feeling the music infiltrate in your bones, is an experience I wish everyone could have once in a lifetime. Every note of this score allows you to touch the reflection of every day life from back then: the ordinary, the threat, the fear, the uncertainty, but also the hope that solidarity and common sense will prevail. You can also capture the need of the composer to express his thoughts, for his fellow humans, but also hoping that his symphony would survive time and tell its story long after, which it did.

Shostakovich wrote quite a lot of film music and it struck me this morning, when I was listening to the first movement, how incredibly cinematographic this music is. Everything Shostakovich endured during the dark days of the occupation is passing right in front of our eyes.

In this symphony, not a moment passes without emotion, divergent for everyone, but similarly intens and enhanced with the individual sensibilities of each musician on stage, the outcome is simply breathtaking and silencing.

Music holds the power to express like no other language can, to make understand like no words can, to provoke anger as well as endearment, to survive time and to force us to keep remembering. This power is something we should embrace and not shy away from.

maart 17, 2022

composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  harp method  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Salzedo
Carlos Salzedo

In my previous blog I talked about Salzedo’s work, i.e. his collaboration with Ravel. I only wrote a brief paragraph whilst I feel that he deserves to be highlighted some more.

His arrangements aside, he also wrote numerous original compositions for harp. As a harpist and devoted teacher he provided his pupils(and also himself for his recitals) with the repertoire they needed by writing pieces with specific technical difficulties to train their skills.

His ‘Modern study of the harp’ is invaluable! The five studies he included offer a wealth of technical material. They are written in quite a modernistic way and offer much more than playing difficult notes as an exercise. 

The reason he called them Poetical studies, speaks for itself: he makes understand that the harp has a musical fragility in sound as well as in use of pedals. He illustrates that a technical organization of gestures, logical fingering and balance in position is of utter most importance. This reference work is not only of interest to harpists, but was the foundation for many 20th century harp compositions. Finally there was a guide for composers about harp technique, sound, pedal mechanism, damping and special effects. 

His extraordinary harp playing combined with great musicianship made his view on this instrument very innovative and that was exactly what composers were looking for.

In all of Salzedo’s work, we find very detailed markings like in Debussy’s music f.e. Markings that he thought of in depth and are crucial for his convinced mind about organization. He believed that the intention of the composer can only be brought to expression by meticulously following his instructions and not adding one’s own free interpretation. It may sound as a very conservative and strict interpretation but it was certainly supported by his friendships with the greatest composers of his generation.

I believe that his more theoretical approach of the harp, contributed to bringing the harp into the world of ‘serious’ music. It needed to break free from being the instrument of rich aristocratic daughters, but also from being the odd one out in the orchestra.

His influence on fellow composers and colleagues shouldn’t be underestimated. His opinionated view on harp playing was soon noticed by other virtuosi in the world of music making.

None other than Toscanini invited him to the harp chair of the Metropolitan opera in New York. Strawinsky called him one of the greatest side-readers on piano he had ever met! (yes he also had the privilege to be talented on this instrument)

He developed and passed on a technique which brought the harp into the 20th century and succeeded in expanding the notation of harp sounds and colour. Not only a harpist, but very much a musician he founded (during his time in NY) the International Composers guild, together with Varese. This was extremely successful and promoted (newly written) work of composers like Bartok, Stravinsky, Ravel, Hindemith, Ives,…

He devoted his life to performing and teaching and was co-founder of the Curtis institute of Philadelphia, where the harp department still benefits of his founder’s legacy. 

For those who like to hear his masters voice click here

For his arrangement of Cinq melodies populaires grecques which I recorded with my dear friend Kelly Poukens click here

januari 2, 2022

Berlioz  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  podcast
Berlioz en de liefde

In een wereld zonder Covid, zouden we morgen met het ganse orkest het luchtruim doorkruisen op weg naar Korea. 

Gelukkig hebben we de fantastische Symphonie Fantastique van Berlioz wel 3 keer hier in België kunnen uitvoeren. 

Dit keer heb ik geen geschreven blog voor jullie, wel een heel fijn gesprek met Sander De Keere in de podcast reeks: Bucket list over Berlioz, de harp en de liefde.

Luister hier

 

november 29, 2021

Concert  ·  glissando  ·  harmonics  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  piano  ·  Stories  ·  Stravinsky
Les cinq doigts

(what you hear is a homemade live recording of two pieces  from Les cinq doigts by Igor Stravinsky)

Some memories stay closer to our hearts than others. A piece can also have this effect on one, sometimes because the music touches you so deep, sometimes because it makes you think about the context you played or heard it in, for me it is often a combination of both.

This weeks program in Brussels Philharmonic flashes me back to my first orchestra experience ever: Petrouchka! 

Although 2 other pieces by Stravinsky are featured (Chant du rossignol and The firebird), Stravinsky as a composer touched me very deeply during my first steps in my life as a musician….

….with Petrouchka  for its playful waltz in which the harp accompanies the danse of the Ballerina and the Moor. A waltz in which the harp part tries to maintain the carefree spirit of a puppet tale. The version I played as a youngster was this of 1947 where he uses only one harp in his orchestration instead of two in his first 1910-11 version.

I love the girly notes in pink I made at that time!!

….. in Orpheus(which I encountered during an orchestra project at the conservatory), where the  premier tableau starts with the harp  in a very cinematic way and also further along he gives her some important soloist themes that the harp sings out first in the orchestra.

…in The firebird(the first piece by Stravinsky I played in Brussels Philharmonic) where the harmonics evoke the rocking of the Berceuse and off course the enchanting glissando after the horn solo in the Finale.

He knew so well how to use the harp in his orchestration; not only in the way of pure writing and notation but also regarding balance and types of sound. In Orpheus he counts on the harpist to make a very marcato, dry but clear sound, somewhat ancient but still clearly a harp, whilst in the berceuse of the Firebird he expects that the flageolets can make a very round soundscape.

Also the 2 harp parts in Le chant du Rossignol are very storytelling -probably the most when the harp plays the rhythm of the mechanical bird- glisses, staccato marks, round chords, they all represent a special image in the story.

And still, with all his knowledge even Stravinsky wrote some five fingery chords or patterns now and then (see Kastchei’s dance f.e) and I can not wisk the thought that he did this to challenge us!

So to honor the great Stravinsky I made a little recording of two of his pieces from Les cinq doigts (for piano, unfortunately he didn’t write anything for harp solo)which you heard whilst reading this blog.

For more Stravinsky:

on my spotify you’ll find a playlist of examples given above: click here

or come and join us tomorrow:

Saturday 9th October 2021, 20.15h, Flagey : Birds, Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Jun Märkl. More info 

 

oktober 8, 2021

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  Orchestra  ·  Uncategorized
Interview with Stéphane Denève

On the 12th March 2020 we played our last concert with Brussels Philharmonic before closing for a long time because of the Covid-19 pandemic. That evening we already had an empty hall  out of precaution, but little did we know what was coming upon us. During what looked like an endless period of streaming concerts, having few or no audience and sitting miles away from my colleagues on stage, we finally re-open our season with REAL concerts!

Our music director Stéphane Denève is conducting Macmillan, Brahms and Schubert on this Saturday’s opening concert. The ideal moment to ask him some gps-related questions, on which he reflected with great pleasure.

 

EG: A lot of composers use harp in their symphonic work to create special colors, very often in a soloist way. Like the piano, the harp can stand on her own in a recital, she doesn’t need accompaniment, still she is very little used for solo repertoire by the great composers of the 20th century.

As a conductor can you think of any reason why this phenomenon has occurred?

SD: For me the first reason is the difficult competition with the piano, that has the advantage to have a pedal to stop the resonance, it makes a huge difference in performing. 

The second reason I believe is indeed to write well harmonically. I am always surprised that even very good and famous composers lack the knowledge of how to write for harp. They do not really understand the pedal system; like for instance 3 on the left side and 4 on the right, also how to write for four fingers instead of five doesn’t always seem obvious for composers today. 

Even Strauss wasn’t really aware of this, which is very peculiar but off course if there would have been composers who wanted to be more inventive in sound or colors at that time than the language naturally became also more chromatic and then again they bumped into the restrictions of the harp. 

That is a pity, because as you know I am totally fan of the harp and one can write fantastic things that actually make the technical difficulties an inspiring way to overcome the limits and to create something original. 

Like Berlioz’ most inventive ideas of orchestration were always evoked by using the limits of the instruments: f.e. in the classical time, where the timpani could not retune easily, you had to limit your symphony to 2 or 3 timpani maximum and that is interesting because it forced Beethoven to use the timpani at one particular moment and not another. 

If you now should add the timpani on other places because we can and we can use different tonalities -and it has been tried-, it doesn’t work, it sounds wrong. So that actually means that the creativity with which Beethoven used the limits of this instrument was very inventive and renewing. 

This is the same for the harp, the difficulty of the harmonic language can be overcome with more creativity.

What I think is also interesting is that some composers try to help solve the harmonic problem by writing for two harps in the orchestra and then you can mix more tonalities, but it is sadly not used enough. 

The last reason is -and it might be something in which we will disagree- that it is very difficult to imagine the harp singing. What ever we think about the piano, it is a percussion instrument, but still we know that we can make the piano sing and I don’t think composers believe they can make the harp sing.

When you look at how to make the harp project it’s sound it is an effect which combines the piano and the harpsichord sound and composers are scared of this harpsichord sound.

Even if the harpsichord has been used with a singing effect in slow movements in Couperin f.e., it is not associated with a very lyrical sound. So composers should imagine more the possibility of writing for the harp in a singing way, because it can sing I believe and it is definitely more singing than the harpsichord.

EG: When we look into the orchestra, we have the woodwinds, the strings, the brass, the percussion and the lonely harp. Do you as a conductor subdivide us in a group when you are discovering a score?

S: I feel that it belongs to a lot of different groups; off course because of the attack and the resonance we could say that it belongs to the percussion group.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth century the harp was often used in only one way, which is a celeste way, a big lyre for the gods. The created effects in that period for me are a mix between the charm of the Paris salon and divinity.

From the beginning of the impressionism the harp was used in more specific ways, which stayed for a long time. Composers should use more effects they don’t know, like what you can do with the key on the strings or using paper, usually there is some imagination lacking in the way one writes for the harp and again that is a pity because the harp can be a very specific instrument to create special sounds that no other instrument in the orchestra can produce.

EG: In works by Strauss and Wagner f.e., there’s often a heavy orchestration in which the harp plays lots and lots of notes. I always feel that this is acoustically not very efficient. Why do you think would composers have written this and is there an added value for you as a conductor?

S: I totally agree, I am puzzled that people like Strauss and Wagner did not understand very simple things like the volume of a harp, but I believe it is because of pianism: when you add a lot of notes  in a chord or arpeggio on the piano the sounds gets bigger, the more notes you play together on the piano the larger and heavier the sound, but that is not the case on the harp, on the contrary you damp previously played notes, delete harmonic colors  and make even less sound.

But still, even in a very heavy orchestration it does add something, when you remove it it is like a spice missing in your dinner, maybe you don’t hear it as an audience when it is played, but you would notice if it was left out.

EG: What are the main issues or concerns you experience when a harp part is executed? Is there anything you would like to see changed technically?

S: The dream would be to have different types of harps in one. You have the chromatic harp, which wasn’t successful because it killed the glissando, which for me is one of the most beautiful things on the harp, which need to stay part of the orchestra repertoire. 

I don’t know if people in future are still working on ideas were you can have both systems together, that you can switch from the pedal system to a chromatic system? It is a probably a dream of me…

Now that amplification is so wonderfully advanced, maybe we should think of having a system in the orchestra that can help raising the volume when needed, but off course it has to be done very carefully and keep the classical color of the harp, certainly it can not change it into a ‘poppy’ sound!

John Adams uses in his last pianoconcerto amplified bass, and it works very well, so it could work for harp as well I believe.

I hope that people continue to search to improve this instrument, because it is so beautiful, there is not another instrument like this and you recognize it immediately, you hear one sound and you say: that is a harp!

Openingsconcert of the new season of Brussels Philharmonic: Saturday, 11th September 2021 more info click here

september 9, 2021

Artist  ·  Berlioz  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  harp method  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Eight fingers and seven pedals

(english below)

Na Berlioz wordt er behoorlijk wat geschreven voor harp in symfonische bezetting.

Beroemde voorbeelden zijn het Zwanemeer(1877) en de Notenkraker(1892) van Tchaikovsky, waar de harp niet weg te denken valt. Toch zijn de cadensen voorzichtig: weinig harmonische wijzigingen, veel arpeggio’s, akkoorden in omkeringen(alles netjes per 4 vingers), merken we daar toch een zekere angst om te moeilijk, te gecompliceerd te schrijven voor het instrument? Voor de uitvoerder? Smetana met zijn Vysherad(1874) idem. Hij voegt zelfs een 2de harp toe om de akkoorden die de cadens voorafgaan, op te vangen, totaal overbodig, vandaag de dag kan 1 enkele harpist dit spelen. 

Strauss maar ook Wagner durfden harmonisch heel wat complexer schrijven, denken we aan Tristan und Isolde en Die Walküre(beiden uit de vijftiger jaren die eeuw ), waarin Wagner -meer dan een kwart eeuw vroeger dan Tchaikovsky- 6 harpen op het podium plaatste en hen voorzag van een pittig partijtje! 

Waar Strauss in 1888 in zijn Don Juan zich toch voornamelijk nog op arpeggio’s richtte(en in de rechterhand voor vijf vingers schreef)zien we 10 jaar later in Ein Heldenleben(1898) -met 2 harpen in de score- geen compromissen meer in de harmonische wijzigingen, die ons verplichten het pedaalwerk grondig te organiseren en een aanpassing in de vingerzetting: alle arpeggio’s zijn met vier vingers.

Veel heeft te maken met de late ontwikkeling van het instrument waardoor er nog totaal geen traditie op het gebied van harp onderricht bestond en er relatief weinig professionele harpisten opgeleid werden, laat staan virtuozen die componisten aanspoorden om voor hen te schrijven. We kunnen pas in de 2de helft van de 18de eeuw spreken van een ontwikkelde en gedocumenteerde harp techniek, omdat het instrument dan pas haar huidige vorm begon aan te nemen, hoewel het nog veel minder snaren had en ook nog geen dubbel pedaal mechanisme. 

In de methode van Cousineau wordt beschreven hoe de hand met de duim en drie vingers op de harp te plaatsen, dit omdat de pink te kort is om de snaren te raken. Indien men hem in uitzonderlijke gevallen toch gebruikt, moet men de hand volledig draaien en verdwijnt de stabiliteit van het harpspel. 

‘Je n’ai pas parle du petit doigt,il est cependant bon d’observer que, quoique Ton n’en fasse presque pas usage, il est ne’cessaire qu’il ne ploye jamais parce qu’alors il pourroit embarrasser les autres et qu’il faut eviter tout ce qui peut empecher la nettete du jeu . ‘ Cousineau

Hoewel er  later nog pogingen werden ondernomen om deze techniek toch om te zetten naar 5 vingers, werd dit nooit succesvol, omdat men op deze manier de hand van de harpist heel veel kracht ontneemt. 

De componist kan maar acht vingers per akkoord ipv 10 noteren, maar ook de virtuositeit werd enigszins bemoeilijkt door de hand 2 vingers te ontnemen. Het werd componisten dus niet makkelijk gemaakt om voor de harp te schrijven, velen waren ook niet op de hoogte van de viervingerige hand, bijgevolg schreven harpvirtuozen zelf repertoire voor hun concerten. Denken we aan Parish-Alvars, Godefroid, Posse, Zabel, Hasselmans, niet harpisten onder de lezers zullen zich afvragen: wie?? Allen waren ze zelf harpist en schreven met inzicht voor het instrument en visie op de techniek. Dit repertoire is voor de opleiding en het begrip van de harpist uitermate interessant(en het is ook het enige dat we hebben:), maar niet te vergelijken met een Sonate van Brahms. Het vond dus ook maar moeilijk de weg naar de grote podia, waardoor de harp nog steeds een rariteit bleef.

Following Berlioz’ example, a lot of harp parts were written in the symphonic work of the 19th century. The most famous examples are probably Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake(1877) and The Nutcracker(1892). Although we can’t imagine these pieces without the harp, the cadenza’s are quite conservative, using arpeggio’s, chords with inversions(carefully written for 4 fingers) and not too many harmonic changes. Was there a certain fear of writing too difficult for this instrument’s possibilities or those of the performer? Also Smetana with his Vysherad(1874) follows the same carefulness. He even provides a second harp part to execute the chords previous to the cadenza, which is completely redundant, because nowadays we play this entirely with only 1 harpist.

Strauss but also Wagner dared to write a lot more complex, fe. Tristan und Isolde and Die Walküre (both written during the 1850’s), in which Wagner places -more than a quarter of a century earlier than Tchaikovsky- 6 harps on stage and gave them a plucky part!

In his Don Juan(1888), Strauss still mainly writes arpeggio’s(in the right hand sometimes for 5 fingers) but later on in Ein Heldenleben (1898) -with 2 harps in the score- the arpeggio’s are all for 4 fingers and he doesn’t make any compromises anymore in his harmonic using of the harp, which obliges us to well organise our pedal schemes.

A lot of this finds its origin in the late development of the harp, through which we had practically no tradition in the field of harp education and relatively few professional harpists were trained, in the least great virtuosi who inspired composers to write for them.

It was only in the second half of the 18th century that we can find a developed and documented harp method, because around that time the harp started to take its definite shape, although it still had lesser strings and only a single action pedal mechanism.

In Cousineau’s method for harp is described to place the hand on the strings with only the thumb and 3 fingers, because the little finger is too short to reach the strings in this position. In rare cases were he might have been used, the hand needed to be turned completely and consequently lost its stability.

‘Je n’ai pas parle du petit doigt,il est cependant bon d’observer que, quoique Ton n’en fasse presque pas usage, il est ne’cessaire qu’il ne ploye jamais parce qu’alors il pourroit embarrasser les autres et qu’il faut eviter tout ce qui peut empecher la nettete du jeu . ‘ Cousineau

Although other attempts were taken to create a five fingered technique, it was never very successful, because it takes out a lot of strength of the harpist’s hand. 

The composer can only apply eight fingers in stead of ten per chord, but also the virtuosity was set to bounds by eliminating 2 fingers. It wasn’t made easy for composers to write for harp, a lot of them weren’t even acquainted with the four fingered hand, as such harp virtuosi started to write repertoire for their own concerts. Parish-Alvars, Godefroid, Posse, Hasselmans, if you are not a harpist, your eyebrows probably raise! They were all harpists and wrote several pieces with off course a lot of insight in the instruments possibilities and a clear vision on harp technique. This repertoire is very interesting for harpists(it is also the only thing we have 🙂 but can’t be compared with a Brahms sonata. No wonder that this repertoire experienced a difficult time reaching the large venues and as a result the harp continued to stay a curiosity.

 

juni 1, 2021

Artist  ·  Berlioz  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
La harpe fantastique

(english below)

Het is misschien nuttig om eerst eens uit te zoeken waarom de harp vaak als buitenbeentje beschouwd wordt en waarom ik me al deze vragen stel. Daarvoor vertrek ik vanuit mijn dagelijkse omgeving: het orkest. Zet je in de zaal en kijk: de strijkers, de houtblazers, de kopers, het slagwerk, allemaal meervoud en dan de lonely harp. We zijn niet echt ergens bij in te delen, moeilijk te verplaatsen en staan overal in de weg van onze collega’s… 

Berlioz was het, die systematisch de harp toevoegde aan zijn orkestraties. De eerste keer dat de harp met een vooraanstaande rol opdook, is in de Symphonie Fantastique(1830), enkel in het 2de deel, Un bal. Hij schreef meteen 2 afzonderlijke partijen en adviseerde om deze zoveel mogelijk dubbel te bezetten. Niet veel later volgt L’invitation à la danse(weliswaar een bewerking van het stuk voor piano van Weber) met een al even belangrijke rol voor de harp. Lélio, ou le Retour à la Vie mag uiteraard niet ontbreken in dit lijstje, Harold en Italie evenmin, keer op keer speelt de harp een belangrijke solistische rol binnen de partituur.

Lezen we dan zijn  ‘Traité d’instrumentation et d’orchestration’ dan is het duidelijk dat de technische mogelijkheden die toen aan het instrument en de bespeler ervan werden toegeschreven absoluut nog in de kinderschoenen stonden. 

….’Cet instrument est essentiellement antichromatique’…..

De dubbele pedaalharp zoals we ze nu kennen kwam pas op de markt begin 19de eeuw, niet abnormaal dus dat het instrument begin jaren ’30 van die eeuw nog niet overal een vaste waarde was. Berlioz schrijft over hoe de enkelvoudige pedaalharp voor die tijd in mi bémol gestemd stond, maar hoe de harpisten van vandaag(Berlioz’ tijd) bijna allemaal gewend waren aan de nieuwe stemming van de dubbele pedaalharp in do bémol. Hij beklemtoont dat het omwille van de pedalen onmogelijk is een chromatische toonladder te spelen, maar tegelijk ontdekt hij dan weer de mogelijkheden van het enharmoniseren(de mogelijkheid om op 2 verschillende snaren eenzelfde toon te maken), een specifiek kenmerk van de harp, dat ons meer mogelijkheden geeft dan de piano bv.

….’Les compositeurs doivent avoir soin, en écrivant les parties de harpes, de prévenir un peu d’avance l’executant du changement qu’il va avoir à faire’…

Deze zin doet me op zijn minst glimlachen als ik bedenk wat componisten een eeuw later van het voetenwerk van de harpisten vragen, maar het is toch heerlijk deze voorzichtigheid te lezen. 

… ‘nous parlerons maintenant de son doigté que beaucoup de compositeurs on le tort de confondre avec celui du piano qui ne lui ressemble nullement’….

…’il faut avoir soin en general de ne pas écrire les deux mains trop près de l’un l’autre’….

… ‘toutes les successions qui obligent les mêmes doigts à sauter d’une corde à l’autre ne se peuvent écrire que dans un mouvement tres modéré’….

Dit is slechts een greep uit opmerkingen en waarschuwingen die hij neerschrijft over de harp. Als je dat vergelijkt met de andere hoofdstukken in dit naslagwerk, staat er in het geval van de harp vooral wat er eigenlijk allemaal niet kan.Hij zou zelfs collega componisten aangeraden hebben om de partijen zoveel mogelijk te verdubbelen, dan is er kans en hoop dat de harpisten van dienst alle genoteerde noten echt gespeeld krijgen, hilarisch, maar weinig uitnodigend om dit instrument in je oeuvre op te nemen. 

Lees hier Berlioz’ Traité d’instrumentation et d’orchestration, la harpe.

 

It’s probably useful to find out why the harp is the odd (wo)man out and why I pose myself so many questions. Let’s start thinking about this: I am sitting on my harp chair in the orchestra, you are sitting in the hall watching the orchestra on stage. What do you see?  The strings, the woodwinds,  the brass, the percussion, all plural except for the lonely harp. We don’t really belong with any group, we are difficult to move and often blocking the visibility of our colleagues…

Berlioz was the first composer who systematically started using the harp in his orchestrations. The first time he gave us an important role was of course in the Symphonie Fantastique(1830), only in the 2nd movement, Un bal. He wrote 2 separate parts and recommended to double them. A little later the crispy part in l’ Invitation à la danse(originally a piece for piano solo by Weber) was born and also Lélio, ou le Retour à la Vie and Harold en Italie both include a substantial, sometimes soloist harp part.

By reading his ‘Traité d’instrumentation et d’orchestration’ it becomes very clear that the technical possibilities credited to the instrument as well as to the performer were still in its infancy.

….’Cet instrument est essentiellement antichromatique’…..

The pedal harp as we know today was only put on the market in the beginning of the 19th century, so it is not very strange that in the 1830’s this new instrument only had a scarcity value. Berlioz describes how the previous(single action harp) was tuned in E flat, but that the harpists of today(Berlioz’ time) were getting used to the new tuning in C flat major. He emphasizes that because of the pedals it is impossible to play a chromatic scale. At the same time he discovers the possibility of enharmonic playing, a distinguishing mark of the harp to place two strings in the same pitch, something you can not execute on the piano, f.e.

….’Les compositeurs doivent avoir soin, en écrivant les parties de harpes, de prévenir un peu d’avance l’executant du changement qu’il va avoir à faire’…

This phrase puts a big smile on my face if you think about all the footwork we have to pull off for compositions written one century later.

… ‘nous parlerons maintenant de son doigté que beaucoup de compositeurs on le tort de confondre avec celui du piano qui ne lui ressemble nullement’….

…’il faut avoir soin en general de ne pas écrire les deux mains trop près de l’un l’autre’….

… ‘toutes les successions qui obligent les mêmes doigts à sauter d’une corde à l’autre ne se peuvent écrire que dans un mouvement tres modéré’….

I only wrote down a selection of remarks that he writes about the harp. If you compare this with the other chapters in this reference work, it struck me that in case of the harp it is all about what we can NOT do. Rumor is that he even advised colleagues to double their harp parts as much as possible, because then there is a chance that all the notes written are actually played. Hilarious as this may sound it probably was not the most encouraging invitation to other composers to adopt the harp in their repertoire.

Read more: Berlioz’ Traité d’instrumentation et d’orchestration, la harpe.

 

mei 24, 2021

composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
The beauty of a day’s work

(english below)

Woensdagochtend, generale repetitie voor het concert van morgen. 

Een prachtig programma: Le Tombeau de Couperin van Ravel, Caplets bewerking voor orkest van de Suite Bergamasque van Debussy(oorspronkelijk voor piano solo) en Poulenc’s Concerto voor 2 piano’s in d.

In mijn eerste post vermeldde ik het al, doorgaans staan er hier mooie harp partijen van de hand van grote componisten op mijn lessenaar. Le Tombeau de Couperin met zijn fijne, speelse intermezzi van de harp, delicaat en zo mooi van kleur. Ook Caplet gebruikt in zijn orkestratie veel harp, vooral in de Clair de Lune laat hij de harp de golvende linkerhand van de oorspronkelijke piano partij overnemen. Clair de Lune wordt vaak op harp uitgevoerd, het is speelbaar rechtstreeks van de piano partij, werkt uitstekend, maar toch schreef Debussy dit niet origineel voor ons, noch iets gelijkaardigs. Zijn leerling Caplet besloot wel om de harp solistisch te gaan verkennen.  

Eerst is er zijn Conte Fantastique* voor harp of piano en strijkers. De partij, als componist waarschijnlijk voor piano gedacht, zou voor hem misschien logischer gevoeld hebben in een vertaling naar de harp om tot een mooie symbiose met de strijkers te komen? Caplet had zich immers bijzonder toegelegd op orkestreren en het zou wel eens kunnen dat de harp voor hem veeleer een tool was om tot die perfecte orkestratie te komen? Chromatische loopjes verving hij door glissandi, extra kleur werd toegevoegd door het gebruik van flageoletten, maar qua sfeer en intensiteit moet de harp niet inboeten tov de piano en het veel gebruikte basmotief versmelt volledig in de lage strijkers. 

Zijn Deux divertissements (1924) voor harp solo werden opgedragen aan Michelin Kahn, een harpiste aan zijn zijde moet de inspiratiebron geweest zijn voor de vele pedaal effecten, wat we voor die periode behoorlijk vooruitstrevend kunnen noemen.

Tijdens het concerto van Poulenc is het even wachten in de coulissen voor mij, maar op die manier heb ik wel tijd voor dit schrijfsel.

In zijn symfonische werk vinden we steeds een harppartij(concerti niet meegerekend). In zijn Sinfonietta merk je heel goed hoe hij de harp als belangrijk kleurelement gebruikt. Binnen zijn groepje van zes (les six met link) was het Germaine Tailleferre die zich aan een harp sonate waagde. Zelf ging hij nooit door op solowerk voor harp. Er is wel het prachtige lied À sa guitare, met alweer de vermelding voor piano of harp. 

In iedere geval is het concert van morgen een echte aanrader ook voor de niet-harp-nerds! Hope to see you there! (link streaming)

 

 

Wednesday morning, general rehearsal for our concert of tomorrow.

What a beautiful program: Le Tombeau de Couperin by Ravel, Caplet’s arrangement for orchestra of the Suite Bergamasque by Debussy(originally for piano solo) and Poulenc’s Concerto for 2 piano’s in d.

In my first post I already mentioned the interesting harp parts by great composers of the historical canon that are mainly the subject of my daily job. Le Tombeau de Couperin is filled with delicate and refined intermezzi by the harp. Also Caplet uses a lot of harp in his arrangement. Especially in the Clair de Lune, where he uses the harp to take over the waving motion of the left hand of the original piano version.

We often play Clair de Lune on the harp, directly from the piano score, no arrangement needed and this works very well, still Debussy never wrote such jewels for harp. His apprentice Caplet, however did decide to explore the harp in a soloist way.

First we find his Conte Fantastique* for harp or piano and strings. This part was probably designed out of the composers knowledge of the piano, but maybe after a while it felt more natural for Caplet to adapt this piece for harp in order to create a better symbiosis with the strings. Caplet had particularly engaged himself in orchestration. Could it be that the harp was more a tool for him to accomplish his idiom of a perfect orchestration? Chromatic scales were converted into glissandi, flageolets were added as colour and the often used figure in the bass of the harp, mingles even better with the strings.

His Deux Divertissements(1924) for solo harp were dedicated to Michelin Kahn. A harpist in his mind must have been the inspiration for the quiet modern techniques like the many pedal slides he uses in this piece.

I have a little time to retire during Poulenc’s concerto, which gives me the opportunity to write this blog. The symphonic work of Poulenc almost always includes a harp part(with the exception of the concerti). When you listen to the Sinfonietta, you notice how the harp is very much used as a finishing colour, a top layer of his painting. Within his club of the ‘Group des six’ it was only Germaine Tailleferre who ventured to compose for harp. He did write the beautiful song À sa guitare, again mentioning for piano or harp.

Conclusion, I can strongly recommend tomorrows concert, even for non-harp-nerds!(link streaming)

*Conte fantastique was originally written in 1908 for the chromatic harp of Pleyel. It was only in 1923 that he transformed it into a version for the pedal harp of maison Erard with the help of Micheline Kahn. You can see Caplet and Kahn together on the foto of this blog, taken in here in Brussels

 

mei 18, 2021

Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Britten een mooi startpunt

(english below)

Ik herinner mij nog zeer goed toen ik Brittens suite voor het eerst hoorde. Ik speelde nog maar enkele jaren harp en mijn mond viel wagenwijd open. Dit soort technieken had ik nog nooit gehoord op harp. Het klonk me extreem hedendaags en toch ook heel vertrouwd. Uiteraard stond ik er toen op die leeftijd niet bij stil, waarom dit stuk me zo aantrok, wel heeft het me nooit meer losgelaten.

Toen ik er dan op het conservatorium zelf mocht aan beginnen was ik de koning(in) te rijk! Zoveel informatie in 1 partituur, voor harp nog wel. Zoveel docenten die elk hun eigen zegje en visie op het stuk hadden, het maakte één iets duidelijk: het is een belangrijke compositie, binnen ons repertoire een mijlpaal, zo werd het mijn startpunt in dit verhaal en mijn eerste opname voor mijn gps.(beluister hier)

Britten schrijft naast deze prachtige suite behoorlijk wat kamermuziek (liederen voor harp en tenor) en ook in zijn orkestwerk wordt ze mooi bedeeld. 

Zelfs in zijn kameropera ‘The rape of Lucretia’ kiest hij -ondanks of misschien dankzij de kleine bezetting van 12 instrumenten- voor de harp als deel van het instrumentarium. Ze geeft vaak een versterking van de tekst weer en voegt dus veel meer toe dan alleen wat kleur in de orkestratie, een mooi voorbeeld is scène 2 uit de 1ste act: Their spinning wheel unwinds.

Bovendien kan je zeggen dat hij de speeltechniek voor harp behoorlijk opwaardeerde; geen compromissen, hij experimenteerde fel met de limieten van het instrument. 

Wat voor mij het allerbelangrijkste is(in het licht van mijn zoektocht); hij was een internationaal gerenommeerde componist en zelf geen harpist uit de boeiende 20ste eeuw. Zijn composities zorgden ervoor dat de harp een opkomende en nieuwe rol kreeg in de toen hedendaagse muziek.

Dit gebeurde natuurlijk niet alleen door de Suite. Zijn Ceremony of Carols(een werk voor knapenkoor en harp) is waarschijnlijk het best bekend bij het grote publiek. Britten noteert dat de harp partij ook op piano kan gespeeld worden. Interessant! Meestal staat er bij een pianopartij dat ze mogelijks ook door een harp gebracht kan worden. Een ommekeer die voor ons repertoire niet onbelangrijk is! Er is zelfs één deel(Interlude,) dat niet op piano kan gespeeld worden omwille van de specificiteit van de gebruikte techieken en voor een ander deel geeft hij een alternatieve optie voor de pianist.(link luistervoorbeeld)

In zijn ‘Eight Folk song arrangements’, maar ook in ‘Canticle V’ en ‘A birthday Hansel’, gebruikt hij de harp niet alleen als begeleid instrument van de stem, maar zoekt hij ook haar solistische capaciteiten. Net als bij andere instrumenten voelde hij zich geïnspireerd door getalenteerde vrienden (Rostropovich op cello, Bream op gitaar en Ellis op harp) en daagde ze uit in hun technische en muzikale kunnen. Zo breidt hij het technisch palet van de instrumenten aanzienlijk uit. Voor harp betekende dit bv. lange moeilijke passages met een techniek die alleen op harp uit te voeren is, een ver doorgedreven onafhankelijkheid van linker- en rechterhand, voorbeelden die we niet eerder zien in de harp literatuur, om maar te zeggen wat een enorme bijdrage Britten geleverd heeft voor ons repertoire.

Is dit wat er nodig was om de aandacht van een componist te trekken. Moest hij geïnspireerd worden door een musicus, een vakman op zijn instrument? Zou er nooit een werk zoals de Suite ontstaan zijn voor harp indien hij Ellis niet gekend had? Wellicht niet.

 

 

Like yesterday I remember the first time that I heard Britten’s Suite for harp. I only played the harp a couple of years and listening to this music was really breathtaking! I never heard this kind of techniques on harp, it sounded extremely contemporary in my ears, but also very familiar. At that age I never stopped at the thought, why I was so attracted to this piece, but it never let me go.

When I was studying at the conservatory and I finally could set my teeth in this piece, I was happy as a baby. So much detailed information in one score! for harp!! Every teacher had is own say and ideas on this piece, sometimes very divergent views. For me this pointed out that the Suite is a very important piece for our repertoire, that is how it became my starting point in this story and my first recording for my gps.(listen here)

Besides from this Suite, Britten writes a fair bit of chamber music(mostly songs for voice and harp) and also in his orchestral work the harp always gets an important role.

Even in his chamber opera ‘The rape of Lucretia’ written for only 12 instruments, he chooses to implement a harp part. The part is crucial in the way that it often reinforces the text and not only adds some colour.

In addition one can say that he seriously revalued the playing technique for harp; he really experimented with the extremes of the instrument, didn’t compromise on any difficulty and this for one of the most interesting composers of the 20th century, who wasn’t a harpist himself.

His compositions made sure that the harp started a new career in contemporary music. Of course it wasn’t only the Suite that accomplished this. His most common known work is probably ‘Ceremony of Carols’ for boys choir and harp. In his score Britten notes that the part can also be played on the piano. Interesting! Normally composers note the possibility to play a pianopart on harp. For our repertoire this simple change of words is extremely important. There is also 1 movement(Interlude) that is not possible to play on the piano, because of the specific use of techniques and in another movement he gives an additional option for the piano because of the same reason. So we can confirm that the pice is thought for harp, not for the piano.

In his ‘Eight Folk song arrangements’, but also in ‘Canticle V’ and ‘A Birthday Hansel’ he doesn’t only use the harp as accompaniment, but also searches for her soloist capacities. Same as with other instruments he was inspired by his talented friends. (Rostropovitch on the cello, Bream on guitar and Ellis on harp) In this way he pushes the interpreter to elaborate the playing techniques of his instrument. For harp this meant very extended difficult passages with techniques only playable on harp, a very persevere independence of right and left hand, all examples we hadn’t seen before in harp repertoire, only to say how important Britten was.

Was that the way to draw a composers attention? Did he have to be inspired by a musician, a craftsman on his instrument, a friend? Wouldn’t there have been a Suite for harp if Britten wasn’t acquainted with Ellis. I fear not.

 

 

 

 

mei 15, 2021

Page 2 of 2


Loading...