Harpblog

June 2nd, 2013: Alice Giles at l'Espace Camac

Good news for those of us in Europe: Alice Giles is coming over on tour! We're delighted that she has found time in her busy schedule to visit l'Espace Camac on June 2nd. First of all, Alice will give a masterclass between 2PM and 5PM, followed by a recital at 6:30PM. A specialist in the music of Carlos Salzedo, Alice will perform his Five Etudes Poétiques and Tourbillon, plus Tournier's second Sonatine,  and two works specially composed for her fascinating Antarctica project. 

As ever, entrance to both concert and masterclass is free, but please sign up in advance if you would like to play in the masterclass, and feel free to book seats to listen as well, for places are limited. For all reservations, please contact Claude: +33 1 40 40 08 40, c.bouly@camac-harps.com. 

Conte de Jataka

We're very proud to be the exclusive harp maker sponsors of a fantastic, harp-theatre project that will take place on May 11th and 12th at the Théâtre de Beausobre in Morges, Switzerland. 

Marielle Nordmann is no stranger to poetic, interdisciplinary creations, and she created Conte de Jataka together with young harpists in Paris, in 2011. The project's inspiration is one of the 547, ancient Indian Jataka tales. These describe the previous lives of the Buddha: more broadly, they are about subjects and values as pertinent today as they were when the stories began in 4 BC. As well as Marielle herself, Conte de Jataka involves sixteen young harpists in diverse harp ensembles, a dancer, and a narrator, together with the French theatre director Marie-Pierre Labrune. Marielle's idea is to blend different art forms, musical styles, and ages, arriving at a fresh, modern retelling. The new elements, and the intense collaboration with others, jog us into thinking about matters of universal relevance more clearly, more consciously: se rassembler pour mieux créer, as Marielle puts it, working together to create better. 

Conte de Jataka is travelling to Switzerland thanks to Céline Gay des Combes, and Elodie Wulliens. Together, they formed an association - Créativ'Harp - which as its name suggests aims to promote the harp in its most versatile and creative forms. It is also an organisation with a strong pedagogic focus, in charge of selecting the sixteen young harpists involved in Conte de Jataka, its first major project. The result is an impressive roll call of pupils from nine conservatoires across French-speaking Switzerland, and even further afield, in German-speaking Switzerland and parts of France. "We are thrilled by the response from our colleagues to this project", Céline explains. "Even if we organise the immediate logistics, the venue, the rehearsal schedule with Marielle, and so on, the project still needs considerable input from the students' own teachers. I'd particularly like to thank to Geneviève Chevallier, Isabelle Martin-Achard, Marie-Luce Challet-Rapposo, Aurore Dumas, Laetitia Belmondo, Chantal de Limoges and Nyon Elise Estavoyer, for their work on the harp parts with the students throughout the year. We're also very grateful for the vote of confidence from Pierre Amoyal, who has agreed to be patron of the event."

Like Marielle, Céline has created multidisciplinary harp projects before, for example a show for children aged between four and ten, and another for everyone aged between nine and ninety-nine. 

"I think children are used to a lot of different and rapidly-changing media, together - it can be hard to catch their attention through music alone. This is one reason to create interdisciplinary projects. Another is that they presents music in the context of dynamic, big-scale group efforts, achievements that belong to everyone. If you have the chance to take part in a major school play or youth orchestra, usually you remember the experience for the rest of your life, whatever you go on to do as an adult. 

You remember the school play or orchestra course not just because of the scale on which you worked, but because of what that work was about.  The Jataka tale we're portraying is about subjects like difference, vulnerability, humility, transformation and self-knowledge. Our show is also about how many different art forms - different styles of music, words, dance - express and teach us about such subjects. And, of course, the students have the chance to share the stage with a great artist, which is also an irreplacable experience for a budding musician. All in all, music should be a part of everyone's education. Irrespective of whether you become a musician or not, music has a part to play in your development - and so by extension that of humanity in general - that can't be matched elsewhere."

You can find ticket information for Conte de Jataka here. We'll be holding a harp exhibition and offering regulation opportunities throughout the weekend - if you would like to book your harp in to be regulated, please email harpblog@camac-harps.com. 

 

Jean-Michel Damase, 1928 - 2013

Jean-Michel Damase, while president of the jury of the Concours Cité des Arts, 2011. Photo: Jean-Marc Volta

 

As many of you will have already heard, Jean-Michel Damase died the day before yesterday, at the age of 85. Son of the great harpist Micheline Kahn, he leaves behind him an exceptional, prolific and imaginatively diverse contribution to our instrument. From absolute beginners to the most virtuoso artists, a concert harpist's repertoire is not complete without at least one work by Jean-Michel. Those fortunate enough to have known or met him personally equally treasure his kindness, open-mindedness and good humour. Like many distinguished musicians, he was first and foremost an exceptional human being. He will be sorely missed. 

Cité des Arts prize tour: Maureen Thiébaut

Maureen Thiébaut in the final of the Cité des Arts competition, performing with the Quatuor Michalakakos. Photo: Jean-Marc Volta

Maureen Thiébaut, winner of the last Concours de la Cité des Arts de Paris, will perform her prize tour in April. She will start with a matinée recital at the Harfengalerie Camac Berlin, on April 21st, 2013 at 11AM. Your next chance to hear her will be in Cardiff: a lunchtime concert at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, April 30th at 1:15PM. Finally, she will perform in Italy on May 26th, at the beautiful Villa Carlotta on Lake Como. 

 

Villa Carlotta

Entrance to all events is free. If you need any more information, please contact our partners in Berlin, Cardiff and Milan, our collaborators on the tour:

 

Harfengalerie Camac Berlin

+49 30 21 97 11 76

info@harfengalerie.de

 

Telynau Vining Harps

+44 2920 620900 

info@camacharps.co.uk

 

Camac Italia

+39 3280 36 46 96

info@harpshop.eu

Camac Voice, April 2013: Benoît Wery

The distinguished harpist-composer Benoît Wery has just released a new words-music CD, with flautist Philippe Pierlot, and one of France's most famous actors: Marie Christine Barrault. April's Camac Voice is an extract from the final track on this album of French poetry and music: L’Isle de la Fée for harp and narrator, by Benoît Wery, based on the tale 'The Island of the Fay' by Edgar Allen Poe. 

 

Benoît Wery is much in demand both as a performer and composer, in and beyond the harp world. He has particularly made a name for himself as a champion of French music. He was awarded five diapasons for his CD "musique française avec harpe" (Chant de Linos CL0946), and his discography also includes a disc of French violin and harp music (CL1061) with Jean-Pierre Wallez, and one of French flute, bassoon and harp music (REM 311283).

 

Marie Normant and the Orchestre de la Garde républicaine

A career in the armed forces is not usually the first thing that comes to a music student's mind, and particularly not to harpists - you don't find many harps in marching bands. But there are military harp jobs available, and they can be a great career option. They offer unparalled job security, a wide range of musical and other experiences, and while you are obviously contracted to fulfil a certain amount of service, military musicians are rarely unable to realise artistic projects of their own. 

Marie Normant is the principal harpist with the Orchestre de la Garde républicaine. The Republican Guard is one of the most prestigious and elegant branches of the military in France. It is particularly responsible for matters of civil and state security, and diplomatic and ceremonial functions. Its orchestra dates back to 1848. It consists of 120 professional musicians, most from France's most important conservatoires in Paris and Lyon, and all of whom have had to pass a demanding audition, as for any other professional orchestra. Because of the particular roles the orchestra performs, it usually divides itself into a string orchestra and a wind orchestra. However, it also appears as a symphony orchestra, and some of its musicians also play frequently as a saxophone quintet and string quartet. As well as official functions within France and abroad, the orchestra is available for private engagements - "everyone can invite the Orchestra of the Republican Guard!", explains Marie.

Marie with Jacques and Bernadette Chirac

Exhibition, regulations and Catrin Finch at the Otja Harp Center: April 5th - 7th

 

And here's some more Catrin Finch news - our Dutch partners at the Otja Harp Center are hosting a specially large exhibition of our harps, plus the chance to have your Camac harp regulated, between April 5th - 7th, 2013. The weekend will be crowned with a recital by Catrin on Sunday, April 7th, at 16:00 at the Hervormde Kerk, Binnenweg 67, Bennebroek. Entrance is free, but it's a good idea to reserve your seats in advance.

To reserve tickets, and equally to book a regulation and to find out more about the exhibition, please contact Otja: 023-5849003 / otja@otjaharpcenter.com. Dutch-language details, and Catrin's programme, are up on Otja's site. 

Catrin Finch makes Dubai debut

 

Classical music, in its generic sense, is the art music stemming from Western liturgical and secular traditions. Today, one of its most interesting aspects is how it travels. The harp has long benefited from amazing work in the Asia Pacific region, like in Singapore, Thailand, China, and Japan. Increasingly, for all they are ringed by desert, the Gulf states are also proving a fertile source of new musical life. The ongoing success of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra is one example, and another is what's going on in Dubai.

Dubai has quite a lot of job opportunities for harpists to play in its luxury hotels. This was how Shelley Frost first arrived in the country, having taken such a job in order to fund a new harp. She has stayed, taken playing for corporate events to an entirely new stratosphere, and has now applied her vision and professionalism to developing the concert scene. In 2009, we blogged about The Fridge, Shelley's arts centre. Since then, she has also, together with her composer colleague Joanna Marsh, created an organisation specialising in art music: The Score. Shelley and Joanna's concept is not only to bring top performers to the audiences of Dubai, but also to feed into the grass roots of the local music culture. As a result, all of the concerts in the season are surrounded by an array of workshops, master classes and music educational activities. 

Under the auspices of The Score, Catrin Finch will be making her concert debut in Dubai on March 25th. This will include a masterclass for professional harpists of the region, a matinée for and with school children, and the world premiere of a work by Joanna Marsh, "A Short Handbook of Djinn". This work consists of three movements, each about a different djinn, and each preceded by a short narrative explaining their role in Arabic culture. 

Camac Voice, March 2013: MarieMarie

The clichéd image of the harp and harpists will be so familiar to most of Harpblog's readers that I won't describe it again. It's such a cliché that even "I want to dispell the cliché of the beautiful girl playing the harp etc. etc." has become clichéd.

Clichés are a funny mixture. Dulled by over-use, nonetheless they wouldn't exist without some basis in truth. And those who find themselves, like harpists, in particularly cliché-strewn fields, can't just throw them aside either. Whether you want to make use of them - to boost your wedding business, for example - or get away from them, they're hard to ignore. 

 The German pop harpist and singer (all her songs are in English), MarieMarie, knows about cliché. Her own music is “folctronic”, fusing elements of electronic music, like techno and dubstep, with folk, acoustic instruments and original, thoughtful lyrics. It’s music which is very much her own, for all that isn't as self-evident as it sounds. "The whole reason I started to write songs with the harp was to get away from cliché", she explains. "I started with a standard rock band combination. There's nothing wrong with rock if that's where you find yourself as an artist. But when you're desparate to escape a cliché, simply taking the most opposite direction you can think of isn't, in itself, any better. After a while I thought, this is no good - I don't like harp clichés, but equally I feel like I'm forcing the harp to sound not like a harp for artificial reasons. I might not be acting like a harpist, but I still feel like I'm pretending to be someone else."

 

Twenty years of Oxalys!

The excellent Belgian chamber ensemble Oxalys are celebrating their twentieth anniversary, with a special concert at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels tomorrow. Also, it's always good when you see " + party " on the concert flyer. For ticket and programme information, see here.