Harpblog

New fl-vla-hp trio arrangement of Ravel's Sonatine by Skaila Kanga

Many of you will be familiar with Salzedo's brilliant arrangement of Ravel's piano Sonatine, for flute, harp and cello - an arrangement so brilliant that when Ravel heard it, famously he said "why didn't I think of that?".

 

This arrangement, which Salzedo called Sonatine en Trio, can also be used by viola instead of cello - but now violists have their very own new arrangement, from Skaila Kanga, and published by Maruka Music:

Maruka Music
21 Lower Road,
Chorleywood,
Herts. WD3 5LQ
UK
skaila.kanga@btinternet.com

This arrangement was first written in 1993 for the Nash Ensemble of London, and premiered at the Wigmore Hall the following year.  Henri Dutilleux spoke of it as “comme l’originale!”  after a performance at his birthday concert.  

 

Skaila Kanga

It is now being released in limited edition, with score and parts in a special folder. You can, of course, order it from Camac's online boutique!

Brilliant online resource at the International Harp Archives

I have blogged about this before, but just in case there are one or two of you who don't get up, make some coffee and then immediately rush to your computers to check in on Harpblog every day - the International Harp Archives in Utah have a really great, on-going online scanning project. There are now 1650 scores available to download, just like that, and the library is constantly adding more.

I was searching for Oberthür's Grand Trio Original, had a look on their site, found the score within a minute and a half, chose a format from a choice of no less than eight, and voilà. Bravo to David Day and his team for creating this wonderful resource for harpists throughout the world.

The London Harp Sound

A new and quite spectacular CD is the latest release on Cala Records. The brainchild of conductor Geoffrey Simon and harp player Isabelle Perrin, The London Harp Sound features sixteen of Europe’s top harpists—playing in ensemble!

 

 

 

 

 

“Participating in this CD was surprising. I had not imagined how much fun it would be to play in a group of sixteen harpists, like a team, recording works that appeared at first sight to be utterly improbable for this ensemble. And the end result is really a success. Many thanks to Isabelle and Geoffrey for this happy adventure!” Ghislaine Petit-Volta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The London Harp Sound is the newest addition to The London Sound Series, a popular range of massed single-instrument recordings from Cala Records. For example, The London Horn Sound is the world’s best-selling French horn CD, ever. Virtuosity is at the heart of the concept, and The London Harp Sound is no exception. The arrangements are, to be honest, really difficult and the musicians all have to be top players in order to show off what each instrument can do in ways you never dreamed were possible.

“Although hard to play, each programme, including The London Harp Sound, is designed to be readily accessible to the listener—that is, to people who haven’t necessarily had years of private music lessons”, explains Geoffrey Simon, artistic director and conductor of The London Sound Series. “But ‘accessibility’ so often seems to be synonymous with musical dumbing-down—something which is not only patronising, but, I feel, totally unnecessary. Our recordings of large, single-instrument ensembles are meant to be fun and tuneful—they each include a wide-ranging selection of classical and popular music—while also displaying the best musicianship and in no way compromising the inner essence of what we do.

“For example, in The London Harp Sound we wanted to show how the harp is capable of producing singing, legato melodic lines. This is not something which it is famous for, and not something that is easy to achieve on the instrument. But it IS possible! That’s why an arrangement of the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune was included, and in fact placed at the very start of the CD. Could anything be more of a challenge to recreate on the harp than that extraordinary solo flute beginning?”

The Power of Music

Judith Liber’s new harp method, The Power Of Music, has a preface by her long-standing colleague and friend Zubin Mehta, who writes:  "she is the ideal orchestra musician who goes well beyond just having complete control over her instrument…The combination of multiple aspects that make a finished harpist, is what Ms.  Liber has so admirably put forth in her book".  And it is a finished harpist’s aspects that make this method special. It also has, of course, valuable technical exercises, but this method is particularly a collection of the sort of mature wisdom an advanced student needs to hear.

sneak preview

Have you ordered your copies of Harp for Today yet?  Harp for Today is the new method from Susann McDonald and Linda Rollo, available from:

Musicworks
Harp Editions
Barbara Ellis
4038 Ormond Rd
Louisville, KY 40207
       
sbesbese@bellsouth.net

 

 

 

 

Harp for Today is an excellent harp method.  Universally suitable for children and adults, I like it because it is absolutely thorough and clear, and because you will not die of boredom working through it. 

I also like it because it emphasises the need for a really solid foundation.  I could bang on about this for days, but you can read Susann McDonald's own remarks on this here, far wiser and more interesting than me on my soapbox. 

Of special interest is the "supplementary advice" section at the back of the Method, covering everything from practice techniques to nurturing your professional reputation.  Here are some extracts to whet your appetite!

On tone quality:  "It is very important to develop a beautiful tone quality.  We should always listen to the quality of the sound we are producing, considering if it is warm, balanced, clear, pleasing to the ear, and with correct dynamics and phrasing.

Students who practice less often have a better tone quality than those who work for hours and have hard callouses!  This does not, however, advocate less practice!  Dry skin and callouses require..."

On preparing for orchestral auditions:  "...If you are not a winner and if it is possible, try to ask the committee for feedback that might help in your next audition.  Even thought disappointed, try to be pleasant and get acquainted with the other people who auditioned.  And remember, you probably may only need to win one audition!  If engaged, you may spend many wonderful years with that orchestra."

On memorization techniques:  "...For those having trouble with memorization, it may help to compare the process to memorizing a poem.  Each word is important, and each phrase adds to the meaning until one memorizes an entire line or phrase or paragraph or stanza.  In a similar way, memorizing each note of each chord, putting right hand and left hand together until one knows an entire measure by heart is a process that continues by adding one short measure to the next.  Start with short sections doing many repetitions, perhaps ten to twenty times, until the memory of that passage is very secure..."