I've been on a real harp kick lately. Like, to the point that I'm probably going to buy one--not a grand harp, but a good-sized floor-standing lever model.
Anyway, what are some harp pieces you like? Concertos, solo, chamber, whatever, so long as the harp has a prominent role.
I have the following concerti, all fairly recent additions except the Milhaud:
Milhaud
Ginestera
Gliere
Alwyn
Mathias
Tischenko
Besides the ones you mentioned, these are also strong favorites:
Bax: Harp Quintet
Britten: Suite for solo harp
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Concertino for harp and orchestra
Debussy: Danses for harp and strings
Dohnányi: Concertino for harp and orchestra
Hindemith: Harp Sonata
Hovhaness: Harp Concerto
Jongen: Harp Concerto
Lutoslawski: Double concerto for oboe, harp and orchestra
Pierné: Concertstück for harp and orchestra
Rautavaara: Harp Concerto
Reinecke: Harp Concerto
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Saint-Saëns: Fantasy for solo harp, Op. 95; Fantasy for violin and harp; Morceau de concert for harp and orchestra
Tveitt: Harp Concerto No. 2
Villa-Lobos: Harp Concerto
I have the Rautaavara and Rodrigo as well. Knew I was forgetting some.
I like Hovhaness a lot but don't have that disc and it's now out of print. I may have to buy the .mp3s until it's available again.
One of my favourite pieces of music ever is for two harpists - Stockhausen's Freude (Klang)
By chance I got this disc recently;
(https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273f7dc926fd04286aa224c7be1)
its a new release and simply the most beautiful harp recital I have ever heard. Mainly less familiar repertoire too alongside better known Impromptus by Pierne and Faure. But the playing/sound/musicianship is just 1st class
The harp can be a fascinating instrument.
I like Henk Badings Concerto for harp and small orchestra (albeit with a prominent role for percussion - the slow movement is harp and percussion only).
https://www.youtube.com/v/TZVecuOJPrg
Other favorites, not yet mentioned:
Germaine Tailleferrre's very lovely Concertino
André Jolivet: Concerto for harp and chamber orchestra ("oeuvre dédiée à Lly Laskine", but written for the exams of harp students at the Conservatoire in 1952).
A rare, funny & (s)light work : the Jazz concertino by Belgian composer/arranger Emile Deltour (1899-1956)
https://youtu.be/CKqYYtMfdsw
Other works with harp parts:
Frank Martin : Petite symphonie concertante (harp, piano, harpsichord and 2 string orchestras) and Dances for oboe, harp and strings (written for K.H. and Ursula Holliger)
Ravel: Introduction et allégro ( + the ovely short solo in the pianoconcerto in sol : first mov.)
Boris Tsjaikovsky's (strange...) Symphony for harp and orchestra
Don't forget Mozart's Harp & flute concerto
Nicanor Zabaleta was DG's go-to harpist back in the analog era. He put out an anthology of French harp pieces and transcriptions which was quite entertaining, here's an excerpt:
https://youtu.be/TqIc3qDZPZA
Bax, Gliere, Alwyn (as mentioned above) + these ones:
(//)
Bax wrote prominently for harp a lot. This is a good starting disc;
(https://e.snmc.io/i/1200/s/39d733e6b9831b50768be209941d447d/1889428)
Quote from: Roasted Swan on October 08, 2022, 08:46:18 AM
Bax wrote prominently for harp a lot. This is a good starting disc;
(https://e.snmc.io/i/1200/s/39d733e6b9831b50768be209941d447d/1889428)
Looks most interesting.
Concertino for Harp and Orchestra, part 1 by Doug Lofstrom. The second (and final) part is on YouTube as well.
https://youtu.be/Ih_KO30Dp6c
I remember that Jean Michel Damase is rather well liked on the forum...
Here is an old recording of his concertino for harp and strings (1950-1951).
Mireille Flour (29 April 1906 in Marseille – 1984 a French classical harpist, naturalised Belgian) was quite famous, not only as a soloist, but also as leader of a harp quartet.
(https://i.discogs.com/QD66FFRjOabHNw01GuB9Ur_dQhmVnB8dp4IQ10JeWF8/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:566/w:572/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTM2Nzk5/OTYtMTM0MDA5NTY3/OS0zNTczLmpwZWc.jpeg)
https://www.youtube.com/v/EH4Bd9PJ0As
and, more ambitious than Paul Deltour's (fun)Concertino à la jazz... Ede Terényi's Jazz concerto:
https://www.youtube.com/v/Hsou-xIysDw
Piet Swerts: Etoiles for harp and orchestra
https://youtu.be/LebbF8S39Jw
I forgot Yun Isang/윤이상 wrote a bit for harp. I have some in my collection, and found some on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/6WwmukXFyrQ
https://youtu.be/WZS75hFoI2M
Jazz/Fusion. Edmar Castaneda.
(https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d00001e021218a5697bd984bebb9150f9)
(https://e.snmc.io/i/600/s/5610bacb7eef8c39c86e63cc3aa83bc3/5568550/edmar-castaneda-cuarto-de-colores-Cover-Art.jpg)
You like harps, you say? Here are nine of them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf6HJ_k2ocw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf6HJ_k2ocw
Bernard Herrmann's "Between the Twelve Mile Reef". Very lousy film but memorable score. I once heard it performed live with the nine harpists surrounding the stage. I felt like I was in a bubble bath of sound.
There is also a younger generation of very talented harpists - who also compose and/or transcribe:
In the Netherlands: Remy van Kesteren en Lavinia Meyer
https://www.remyvankesteren.com/
https://www.laviniameijer.com/
In Belgium we are quite proud about Anneleen Lenaerts (member of the Vienna PhO)
https://www.anneleenlenaerts.com/
In France : Emmanuel Ceysson
https://www.emmanuelceysson.com/
Quote from: relm1 on October 17, 2022, 05:24:22 AM
You like harps, you say? Here are nine of them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf6HJ_k2ocw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf6HJ_k2ocw
Bernard Herrmann's "Between the Twelve Mile Reef". Very lousy film but memorable score. I once heard it performed live with the nine harpists surrounding the stage. I felt like I was in a bubble bath of sound.
Neat! Thanks for providing the link to that!
So, Kevin, when will you be purchasing your harp?
PD
Dittersdorf's harp concerto has to be among the great harp concertos, with that delightful rondo finale. It was actually originally a keyboard concerto, which is more rarely heard, because it works so perfectly for harp. Handel wrote a number of concertos later adapted to harp as well, which are among the earliest concertos in which the harp played a major role, apparently.
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on October 19, 2022, 08:17:55 AM
So, Kevin, when will you be purchasing your harp?
Still up in the air. Would like to try before I buy, which is not the easiest thing to do with a harp.
Quote from: KevinP on October 20, 2022, 07:14:11 PM
Still up in the air. Would like to try before I buy, which is not the easiest thing to do with a harp.
How far away is the nearest company that sells them? Or is their an instructor with whom you could take some lessons have several different ones that s/he would let you try playing on?
PD
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on October 21, 2022, 02:47:53 AM
How far away is the nearest company that sells them? Or is their an instructor with whom you could take some lessons have several different ones that s/he would let you try playing on?
Some movement on this front. I talked to a violinist friend, and while she doesn't know any harpist directly, she knows someone who knows someone. The trick is finding someone who speaks English with a reasonable degree of confidence as I live in Korea.
Frankly, I'm a teach-myself kind of guy and have been told I resist instruction (and can recall instances where I indeed did), but I'd like to think that was a trait of a younger me. My friend is insistent that I talk to a teacher before I buy, and it's hard to argue with the logic.
On the CD front, I've bought quite a few of the titles mentioned above and plan to buy more after spending more time with these.
Without looking at my collection at the moment, I have the following. Most are recent purchases but a few had been hiding on my shelves.
Milhaud
Ginestera
Gliere
Alwyn
Mathias
Tischenko
Dohnányi
Hindemith (Harp Sonata)
Hovhaness
Jongen
Rautavaara (Concerto and Ballade)
Reinecke
Rodrigo (various concerti)
Tveitt
Villa-Lobos
Ravel's Introduction and Allegro
Mosolov
Lofstrum
Yun Isang
Boieldieu
Higdon
The Sarah O'Brien disc
(And while we're at it, Alice Coltrane)
Quote from: KevinP on November 18, 2022, 04:14:26 PM
Some movement on this front. I talked to a violinist friend, and while she doesn't know any harpist directly, she knows someone who knows someone. The trick is finding someone who speaks English with a reasonable degree of confidence as I live in Korea.
Frankly, I'm a teach-myself kind of guy and have been told I resist instruction (and can recall instances where I indeed did), but I'd like to think that was a trait of a younger me. My friend is insistent that I talk to a teacher before I buy, and it's hard to argue with the logic.
On the CD front, I've bought quite a few of the titles mentioned above and plan to buy more after spending more time with these.
Without looking at my collection at the moment, I have the following. Most are recent purchases but a few had been hiding on my shelves.
Milhaud
Ginestera
Gliere
Alwyn
Mathias
Tischenko
Dohnányi
Hindemith (Harp Sonata)
Hovhaness
Jongen
Rautavaara (Concerto and Ballade)
Reinecke
Rodrigo (various concerti)
Tveitt
Villa-Lobos
Ravel's Introduction and Allegro
Mosolov
Lofstrum
Yun Isang
Boieldieu
Higdon
The Sarah O'Brien disc
(And while we're at it, Alice Coltrane)
Thanks for the update!
PD
https://www.youtube.com/v/fG-5yQ_CDm0
At least interesting.... Never heard of this Danish composer.
https://www.dacapo-records.dk/en/artists/martin-stauning
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81f9UgSOJRL._SL1500_.jpg)
My newest addition to the collection.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71GaPvEw9vL._SL1218_.jpg)
It's not just me, right? I haven't heard the piece (though I studied with the composer), but it's out of place on this particular programme, isn't it?