Bach fugues for the harp?

[Jerusha Amado]

Balfour,

I am so impressed with the fact that you designed and built your own harpsichord! Do you still own/play it?

Carl,

Congratulations on your new work that will soon be released!

Jerusha

[Biagio]

Thank you for that Carl! We sometimes forget in this age of instant-everything that music moves… and composers in earlier times had no inhibitions about borrowing ideas. Consider Mascagni’s score for “Cavgalieria Rusticana” – that is entirely based on “primitive” Sicilian folk music!
Biagio

[carl-swanson]

Jerusha-Thank you so much. It’s going to be a really great edition. It’s the first edition of the Danses to have ALL the pedal changes included, in letters large and dark enough to read from across the room! We also reduced the number of systems per page from 5 to 4, which makes it so much more readable. If I knew how to upload images(I’m a caveman where computers are concerned) I’d upload the front and back covers for this edition. The artwork is really gorgeous.

Biagio- I didn’t know that about Cavaleria.

[Biagio]

Carl, ha ha, true though I should have written “almost entirely”. The overture, certainly entirely, and Turridu’s first solo is the only vocal in Sicilian found in opera as far as I know. The overture is pretty good on a concert harp, too. The origin is on mandolin.

B

[carl-swanson]

Biagio- I played Cavaleria many years ago, at one of the first seasons for Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown New York.  The tenor stood behind me in the orchestra pit to sing that first solo, because we didn’t have a second harp to put behind stage.  Once the aria started, the conductor just stopped conducting and let me and the tenor go at it.  In the middle of the aria, the tenor accidentally cut a beat off the end of one of the phrases, and so came in on the next one a beat early.  I instantly skipped a beat so he and I were never apart. The conductor looked up in alarm at the moment the tenor came in wrong, and then gave me a thumbs up for catching it.

I’m going to try uploading the cover art for the new Debussy Danses publication. Let’s see if this works.  OK, I just tried again. I think it worked this time.

 

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[balfour-knight]

What great posts, everyone!  Jerusha, a few years ago I gifted my harpsichord to a very talented young cousin of mine, who is now an honor music student in college!  He and his family have really enjoyed having the harpsichord to go along with their other musical instruments.

In addition to what Carl said, the organ was also an important instrument on which to play great works written for other instruments, including the orchestral symphonies.  Also, think of the old Wurlitzer theatre organs for silent movies and concerts!

Carl, congratulations on your soon-to-be-available new work!  I love everything you have published, and you always do a thorough, detailed job.

Biagio, I had hoped you would join in this thread and let Adolfo know about the other types of harps, chromatic and double-strung, which I do not play.  There are many examples on YouTube showing virtuosos with these instruments!  There used to be one of a harpist playing the C# Prelude by Bach on the chromatic harp.

Adolfo, I tried the C# Fugue (WTC Book One) after I had enjoyed playing the Prelude.  I was not too happy with the result–I could only manage it on pedal harp, not at all on lever harp because of all the chromatics.  Like Saul said, the textures became very thick and rang out through the open bass strings of the harp, which seemed to be impossible to mute enough for clarity while the two hands were SO busy!  Now, Tacye, it is time for you to produce another wonderful example of some harpist performing this Fugue to prove that it can be done well, ha, ha!  Just because I could not do it justice during my short practice session on it, that does not mean that someone else cannot do it–it would take MUCH practice, and preferably, should be memorized so that total attention could be focused on the hand and pedal technique and the strings of the harp.

I did at one time have this C# Prelude and Fugue memorized for the harpsichord, but even then, it was tricky to not take a wrong turn in the Fugue.  I played it for one concert in particular which was attended by other keyboard faculty members, and I took a wrong turn in the Fugue.  Rather than have a “train-wreck” in the middle of it, I quickly improvised a “connecting part” to get me to a place I knew.  After the concert, a faculty pianist came up and said, “I loved the ‘Balfour’ you put in the Bach Fugue,  ha, ha!”

I am really enjoying this thread.  Keep the posts coming, friends!

Best wishes everyone,

Balfour

[Biagio]

Yep Balfour, there are not as many videos of either the modern double or the modern cross as of others – although neither is a new concept. Earlier approaches include the Welsh and Italian  triples, the arpa doppia in Spain.  The modern ones though have only been on the scene a dozen years or so – takes time to catch on and until there’s demand most harp makers will not do spec instruments.  Naturally enough!

Anyhow, here is Harper playing Bach’s Prelude in C on a cross:

And Laurie with Are You Sleeping Maggie on the double:

 

Enjoy!

Biagio

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone!

I’m finally back on this thread. 🙂 I’m sorry I’m replying until now, but the last couple of days were a little more eventful than I had foreseen.

First off, thank you so much to everyone for your precious contributions to this discussion. I’m happy to hear many have enjoyed reading it, and I assure you I count myself among those, as well!

Your cousin is so lucky, Balfour! It’s really nice to hear that he’s made the most of that instrument. I’m curious to know if you’d happen to have any sound samples of it that you might be willing to share with us. If you don’t have any, I would still enormously appreciate if you shared one of your favorite harpsichord recordings, one in which you consider the harpsichord’s sound is the most beautiful, or one of the most beautiful, you’ve heard.

It was a very pleasant surprise to read that you already had a go at that C-sharp major fugue on the harp. And yes, now that I’m not as ignorant as a couple of days ago, I was almost sure you would be dissatisfied with the results. I imagine it must be quite a challenge not just for the hands, but for the feet, too, what with all those pedal changes!! Thank you for giving it a try! I imagine the most comfortable way of playing it would be on a cross-strung, then? Of course, that alone wouldn’t solve the problem of clarity, I guess, but still…

I second that motion by Balfour, Tacye, if you happen to bump into any solo harp recording of that fugue, do let us know please! 😉

Ha,ha,ha! I enjoyed so much that anecdote about playing that fugue and its accompanying prelude, Balfour; I sure could never blame you for that wrong turn, I would likely blunder a lot more than that, if asked to play those two by heart! I’ve never been that great at memorizing any piece, I’m afraid, and memorizing something like that would be beyond daunting.

And that anecdote you shared reminded me of a story about Rubinstein (Anton). I read some time ago that his memory was dazzlingly good, until the beginning of his last few years of life, to the point that he sometimes just took the score with him to the concert hall, just in case. But apparently, one day he was playing Balakirev’s “Islamey” from memory at a recital, and he suddenly forgot a whole section, right in the middle of the piece, and like you, instead of just bracing himself for quite a crash, he just started improvising a whole new section, so as to also buy himself time to remember the one he had forgotten. And it did work, ha!

I’m very glad that you have joined us, Biagio! Please feel free to meander off topic as much as you like 😉 ; it’s not rare for me to do just that in conversations about things I’m particularly enthusiastic about, like music, indeed, or languages, I’m also a definite language fiend! Having watched that video that you shared with us (thank you!!) about Harper’s rendering of Bach’s Prelude in C, I can now say with enough certainty that that harp I saw years ago was a cross-strung. I loved the fact that Harper even took the time of briefly explaining some of the aspects of the cross-strung harp; I had always been curious to know why the rows of strings didn’t run parallel to each other.

You know, I’m lucky enough to have Dover’s “The ancient music of Ireland, arranged for piano” in my personal library. And what’s even better is that it doesn’t only include one of Edward Bunting’s collections of Irish harp folk pieces transcribed for piano, but also a 100-page preface which contains precious information about a lot of things, such as information on some of the most famous pieces (and harpers!) included in the collection, playing techniques of the ancient harpers, the different kinds of Irish harps, and a long etcetera. (Not to mention a sizable amount of Irish terms used back then, that caught my eye from the moment I bought the book. I’m sadly ignorant when it comes to the Irish language, but I had the fortune of studying a little bit of Welsh a few years ago, and I still have some of the material I used back then, including an excellent Oxford dictionary, and it was quite a pleasure to compare the flavor of Irish with that of Welsh).

Here is one of my most recent discoveries on You Tube of piano pieces that were transcribed for piano, and one I think works really well on the harp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOZJGIF8DyE

And this one seems to be one of those pieces that Saul mentioned, just like the ones you told me about, Tacye, as well as you, Carl. And is it beautiful! What else could I expect from Erdeli?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAH3sPqDdT0

Ah, that would be a wondrous day, when I got to buy a harp, Biagio, quite, indeed! 🙂

Yes, I really had a feeling that Prokofiev’s “Harp” Prelude from his Fugitive Visions had to be crafted thinking in terms of the harp, and not the piano, Tacye. A simple glance at the score makes you suspect that right away. But I didn’t know about his C Prelude or about the Haydn pieces. Although now that you mention it, some of his keyboard sonatas do have a harp-like quality to them, like the Hoboken XVI:1 Sonata.

And yes, having checked once more after a few years the harp solo pieces at IMSLP’s catalogue, I realize that you are entirely right, Tacye; the harp repertoire really isn’t that limited, as I at first thought it to be. I forgot about that “little” problem about performers and conductors playing it mostly safe and going for the same well-known pieces over and over, and not letting more obscure repertoire to surface (or resurface). It’s like with piano nocturnes: everyone or almost has at least heard about Chopin’s Nocturnes, and while there’s no doubt that they are among the best examples of that particular form in piano literature, they are of course far from being the only ones. And yet, I still have to see a Fauré, a Sgambati, a Dobrzynski or even a Field Nocturne listed on a recital program where I live.

Then again, it does take some courage to “stray” into obscure repertoire when, as a performer, you know that’s usually bound to really reduce your chances of having a sizable audience. And given that it seems to be getting tougher and tougher to have such an audience with well-known classical music repertoire nowadays…

I believe this is the one you mean, Gretchen: http://harpcolumnmusic.com/all-music/artists/erin-freund/little-fugue-in-g-minor/

Thank you for telling us about it! I didn’t know about that arrangement, and it was a delight to be able to listen to the whole fugue!!

Something you mentioned there, Carl, reminded me of an ex-classmate, back in senior high school, who also played the piano, but unlike me, she was studying music formally, at UNAM’s National School of Music (the current Faculty of Music), and she once played for me a piece by Miguel Bernal Jiménez, called “Parangaricutirimícuaro” (I just love the title, don’t you? 😉 ), and when I asked her if it had been originally written for the piano or was actually a transcription, she turned around on the bench and looked at me for a second as if genuinely surprised that I had dared to ask such a thing, and then told me in a voice full of not-quite-suppressed scorn: “Of course it was written for piano. I never play transcriptions.” And she even frowned slightly, as if the very thought of playing a transcribed piece was repulsive to her! ^^

I must say I’ve always considered such an attitude a fault rather than a virtue. Why scoff at and spurn transcriptions just like that, without even bothering to see for yourself if they work well or not? And there are, I believe, plenty of really good transcriptions out there. Not to mention that some instruments, like indeed the harp and the piano, have greatly enriched their repertoires thanks to transcriptions. I remember this old ex-classmate who was studying to become a professional harpist even told me one day that Rodrigo had apparently once listened to his renowned Aranjuez concert played by a harpist, and declared at the end that he regretted not having written it for the harp to begin with, so beautiful was that transcription!

Oh yes, Shostakovich also, if memory serves well, played many of his symphonies in 4-hand piano arrangements, so that he could show them to some of his friends before premiering them. There’s even this short clip on You Tube, I believe, where you can see him playing a fragment of the well-known “Leningrad” Symphony in a 2-hand version!  But I imagine there must have been at least one Soviet official with him there, out of frame, because he doesn’t seem all that at ease.

And didn’t Liszt end up transcribing all 9 Beethoven symphonies for the piano solo? 🙂

I’m looking forward to your edition of the Debussy Danses, Carl! Do keep us informed. By the way, the artwork is indeed exquisite! That bluish purple (or purplish blue? 😉 ) is so relaxing! And could you please let us know the name of the painting featured on the cover? It’s so familiar, but I just can’t for the life of me remember its name.

Once more, thank you all for your posts!

Very best,

Adolfo

 

 

 

[balfour-knight]

Hi, Adolfo,

I enjoyed reading your latest post, immensely!  Have you listened to harpist Sylvain Blassel play the Bach Goldberg Variations?  It is on YouTube and there was something on the HC Home page posted about him and this recording.  I actually like his rendition better than actual harpsichord recordings of this great work, because of the expressive abilities of fingers on the harp strings.  The lack of expression on the harpsichord was the main reason that the pianoforte took over as the “main” keyboard instrument.  Of course in the fugues, this eveness of tone is an asset, so that all the voices can be heard simultaneously.

My favorite recordings of Bach on the harpsichord include J. S. Darling in Williamsburg, VA, and H. Max Smith in Boone, NC.  I do not think that any of them are on YouTube, unfortunately.  If I find any, I will let you know.

Biagio, those were great videos!  Still waiting, Tacye!

Thanks, everyone, for your wonderful contributions to this thread.

Best wishes,

Balfour

[Biagio]

Just to meander a bit more, Adolfo –  though only a bit….you might enjoy some of Catrin Finch’s recording (also on Youtube); among them the Goldberg Variations and her documentary on the History of the Harp.

As long as I’m sharing videos and being off topic I just have to share this one:  Jonathan Fanganello playing heavy metal on the South American harp.  Sorry for the ad that Youtube insists on inserting!

 

Biagio

 

[carl-swanson]

Balfour- Thank you for the compliment on the new Danses edition. I have to say, the people at Carl Fischer Music are a dream to work with. Proof reading music is a travail of Hercules, and the people I work with there have enough patience to be nominated for sainthood!  But because of that, every edition I have done has been of high quality.  My editor there encourages me to write as much as I want to explain the piece(both for  the Sonate and the Danses) as well as the Bochsa Revisited  volumes, and they always come up with gorgeous cover art.

I’ll let you know when the Danses are released. My editor said it should be sometime in May.

[Anonymous]

Hey Balfour!

I’m glad to read that you enjoyed my latest post! I was afraid I might have overdone it and just dragged on for too long; it’s a sort of “problem” I sometimes have whenever I’m discussing something I love.

I can’t thank you enough for recommending Blassel’s rendition of the Goldberg on the harp! I knew about Finch’s recording, but not about Sylvain’s. I still need to listen to about half of the variations, but judging from the ones I’ve already checked out, I can see why you like his recording so much, they sound heavenly! And the canons from BWV 1087 are also very delightful. In my case, though, I just can’t really settle for a favorite instrument when it comes to the Goldberg; I know what you said about the harp’s richer expressive capabilities is doubtlessly true, and I also really appreciated that particular feature, but my love for the harpsichord is just as huge as that for the harp, and even with its reduced expressive capabilities, I also love harpsichord recordings of that majestic set of variations by Johann Sebastian. 😉

I wonder if you’re familiar with Sylvain’s recording of Liszt’s third Consolation? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doeXZK3e1dM

I’ve always deeply loved that transcription, just as much as “Le rossignol”, in Anneleen Lenaerts’s rendition. And these two I discovered some months ago, really nice finds, too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1t9tm8jsAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuKCzIo3gzQ

Thank you, as well, Biagio, for recommending me those videos! I haven’t had the time to check the documentary but of course I’ll be sure to watch it as soon as I’m able. And while Finch’s recordings I’m already familiar with, it was still good that you reminded me of them, because it had been a more or less long time since I’d last listened to them.

Always glad for those meanderings of yours! I’ve never been much into metal of any kind, but I must say that on the harp, even that seems to sound nice enough, ha, ha!  It reminded me of this one: 😉

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIJPxxoF7dw

Very best!

Adolfo

P.S. And yes, definitely still waiting, Tacye! 😉

 

[Biagio]

Re: harpsichord and it’s relation to the harp….leaving aside for the moment the question of chromatics it is perhaps interesting to note that there has been a recent resurgence of interest in the wire strung harp, and harpsichord strings are what we use.  Structurally speaking it is difficult to design a wire strung to accommodate accidentals though some bold souls continue to experiment.

Biagio

 

[balfour-knight]

Sorry, I have been away from the computer for a “spell,” ha, ha!  Adolfo and Biagio, I love the YouTube videos.  What a great variety of music is represented here!  I only play the middle part of Chopin’s “Fantasie Impromptu” on the harp (the “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” part in D flat Major) and I am still marveling at that harp rendition of the other fast parts with all the accidentals!  Adolfo, I think that everything Sylvain plays is superb, and the Liszt is especially beautiful.

Biagio, I put the original strings in my harpsichord in 1974 and so far, only one has broken–amazing, and they were really good quality strings.  I also built a clavichord in 1980 which I still have and play, and only one bass string (phosphor  bronze) has broken.  They are much longer lasting than regular harp strings, I’m sure!  How long do these wire strings last on a harp?

I have enjoyed all the posts, friends.  Keep them coming!

Best thoughts,

Balfour

[Biagio]

Good question Balfour!  The answer is “a good long time if….”

-You don’t kink the strings (which usually means  no bridge pins) and

-Don’t subject the harp to sudden drastic changes in temperature and humidity

Those are true for all harp strings of course, but metal (especially brass and phosphor bronze) are not very elastic, ha ha, and it does not take much of a change to make them go KAPOING!!  Or rather KAPOW.

Above middle C those strings are closer to the maximum tensile than is typical on a nylon or gut strung folk harp – 55% minimum and often higher.  It does not take much change on those solid hardwood boards…..

On the other hand, I have a Caswell Bard at the moment with 10 year old strings and it sounds just peachy still.

Biagio

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