—by guest reviewer Elzbieta Szmyt

We can add two very notable editions of Claude Debussy’s works to the harp repertoire library. The first is Elizabeth Hainen’s beautiful transcription of Debussy’s Petite Suite for solo harp. The second is a new edition of Debussy’s Danses that Carl Swanson researched and prepared.

Elizabeth Hainen “finds great solutions for playing awkward or technically impossible passages” in Debussy’s Petite Suite.

Debussy composed the Petite Suite, a result of his collaboration with the pianist and music publisher Jacques Durand, between 1886 and 1889. Written originally for piano duet or piano four hands, the work was orchestrated by Debussy’s friend Henri Busser. It quickly became very popular and was performed with great success. The Petite Suite contains four individual movements: “En Bateau,” “Cortage,” “Menuet,” and “Ballet,” which were inspired by two poems by Paul Verlaine (1969 volume Fetes galantes).

Hainen undertook the daring task of transcribing the entire suite for harp solo. Until now harpists could enjoy playing Petite Suite as a harp quartet, thanks to d’Isabelle Marie’s edition, or performing “En Bateau” transcribed for solo harp by Henriette Renié and Yolanda Kondonassis.

Hainen keeps her transcription very close to the original piano version, though she skillfully enhances the piano score by using unique harp techniques to add more color and to make the piece more idiomatic for the instrument.

She adds harmonics in order to change the color and also to prolong some resonance of tight notes. She extends some of the rolled chords (in “Menuet” for example) by utilizing a higher register of the harp. At other times, she moves chords an octave lower to bring more depth and clarity to the harmony (as in “Ballet”).

In order to help achieve clarity and staccato effect, Hainen marks passages p.d.l.t. or bas dans les cordes, and notates precise muffles. She also enhances the music by adding a glissando in m. 18 of “Cortage” as well as replacing the single chord with a short arpeggiated cadenza at the end of that movement.

Playing the Petite Suite can be a wonderful musical experience, but playing it on the harp can be a very big technical challenge. In her edition, Hainen finds great solutions for playing awkward or technically impossible passages. She cleverly omits some notes, replacing thirds or octaves with a single melody line; she uses enharmonics and splits repeated notes between two hands (as in “Cortage” and “Ballet”). This allows a performer to maintain the tempo and musical energy of each movement. Hainen also provides the harpist with clear pedal and fingering markings, which tremendously facilitate reading the score.

Hainen’s adaptation of Debussy’s Petite Suite is a great example of a successful transcription of complex piano music for the pedal harp. The suite was published by Lyon & Healy, and it is a wonderful addition to the advanced level of virtuosic harp repertoire. It is refreshing, challenging, and a much-needed work to expand the existing harp literature. You can enjoy listening to the entire work performed by Hainen on her CD “Les Amis.”

Carl Swanson’s edition of the Debussy Danses is a “valuable addition to any harpist’s library.”

Carl Swanson’s new edition of the harp part for Debussy’s Danses is an edition that many harpists have long wished to see. Debussy’s Danses sacre et profane for harp and string orchestra is probably one of the most popular and one of the most frequently performed pieces in the harp literature. Gustave Lyon commissioned the piece in 1904 for the newly invented chromatic harp. The short life of the chromatic harp inspired Henriette Renié to transcribe the Danses in 1910 for the much more popular instrument, the pedal harp. For more than 100 years, Renié’s transcription of this work has been the standard one used by most harpists.

In the preface of the new edition, Swanson explains the reason he decided to revise Renié’s work. “After more than 100 years of the Renié edition and the Durand engraving of the Danses,” he writes, “I felt it was time to take a new look at the piece and present it in the format that would reflect the current standards of notating harp music.”

Upon comparing Renié’s transcription with the engraver’s manuscript of the original chromatic harp part, Swanson found approximately 35 discrepancies between the scores, which included notes as well as musical markings. It was these discrepancies that inspired his new edition. His annotated version contains all the original dynamic markings and shows the differences between Renié’s transcription and the original work.

Swanson’s edition is the product of very carefully conducted research. It provides harpists with unique solutions for executing some of the most difficult passages. That includes his edition of the famous m. 142. Here, Swanson presents a version that Pierre Jamet suggested he use—one that is quite different from Renié’s resolution. (Personally, I was very pleased to see it, since this is the exact pedal combination I learned during my first encounter with the Danses when I was a student in Poland using Margarete Kluvetasch’s edition, published in 1972 by Edition Peters Leipzig).

Though Swanson’s edited score is very clearly marked with all pedal changes and pedal diagrams, it does not have many suggestions for fingering that some harpists might appreciate. The entire score also contains footnotes that explain the difference between the original and Renié’s.

The new edition of the Danses is a very valuable addition to any harpist’s library. Published by Carl Fischer, it gives not only a new look at the musical score but also provides harpists with interesting historical background of the work and practical advice in regards to articulation, dynamics, and practicing.

Elzbieta Szmyt is Professor of Music and Chair of the Harp Department at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.