Bach fugues for the harp?

[Elettaria]

I looked at that first video and thought, “It’s going to be Anne-Marie O’Farrell and her notorious lever changes.”  Yep.  Dear God, I’ve never seen anything like it!  Beautifully done, but I don’t think I could face quite that much lever-flipping myself.  I bought her “Baroque Bouquet” collection, looked eagerly at BWV999, got to the second page, and showed it to my harp teacher, squawking about how on earth you are meant to play a bottom D and then change the middle C lever  before you get to the next semiquaver.  My teacher said, “Ah, yes, it’s Anne-Marie O’Farrell, she’s incredibly skilled with lever changes, known for it.”  And of course now I am learning it and coping, although it’s quite the challenge.  I’m finding that I’m better off memorising it so that I don’t have to divide my time looking at the music on one side and the strings and levers on the other, and can just focus on hopping back and forth between the strings and the levers.  I seem to be rather addicted to it at the moment, and keep saying to my partner, “just once more through, then I’m coming to bed.  OK, another time, but I mean it this time!”

Here is a young woman playing it on pedal harp.  She is no doubt furiously kicking away at the pedals under there, since there are so many accidentals, and you can hear the pedal changes enough for it to be distracting.  (Now that I know the the piece, I’m also spotting a hell of a lot of wrong notes, although she keeps going like a pro.  And I am always tempted to go hell for leather and play it too fast as well, so I don’t blame her in the slightest!)  While you do at least get longer to make the pedal changes than you do to change a lever while also playing with your left hand, I’m wondering whether this piece is actually better suited to playing on a lever harp, where the levers are much quieter to operate.

How does the pedal vs. lever harp thing work with other Bach for harp, and more to the point, what other Bach for harp is there around that works well on lever harp?  The only other thing Creighton Griffiths have that’s not for pedal harp is the prelude from BWV1006a, which I had fun playing on marimba many years back and may well go for, but I’m feeling a bit wimpish about having to retune strings every time.  I’ve already found a prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier that isn’t bad (no. 8 in Eb minor), once you transpose it into a key that actually works on lever harp (D minor), so there must be more out there.  I’m not particularly after fugues, don’t worry.  Any of the lute music, perhaps, or is that too screamingly chromatic too?  I am currently having a rummage on Musescore to see if there is anything I can manage with sufficient crafty transposition.

[Elettaria]

I found one on Musescore!  BWV998, transposed to C major.  I think I’ve moved enough notes to the right clef (when you transpose it up a major 6th, there’s quite a lot of that, which has to be done semiquaver by semiquaver) and adjusted rests that I can print it out and start working out just how tricky the lever changes are going to be.  There are entire lines with no lever changes!  But the left hand gets a lot less to do (am I right in thinking this is a general useful feature of lute music?), which leave it free for jumping around flipping levers.  There are entire lines with no lever changes at all.  The fugue (yes, Meesterharp, there’s a nice tasty fugue) will be one of the more exciting parts, leverly speaking.

Now, does anyone know how to put lever changes into a score in Musescore?  The sort Anne-Marie O’Farrell does, where the lever change is signified by a little diamond note.  I’ll do them in pencil to begin with, but with the lighting the way I’ve set it up, the light bounces straight off pencil and makes it near impossible to see, plus there isn’t always space in the music.

[Andelin]

I haven’t figured out how to add the little diamond note in musescore.  But I also haven’t put much time into trying.  I think I might know a way to do it, but it would be nearly impossible to explain it  in a post.  But I’ll try.  In the top right there is a set of colored boxes numbered 1,2,3 and 4.  I usually only use 1 (blue) for all the parts.  I would go through and use 2 (green) to use a second part to add lever changes in.  This way you’re not messing with the notes already there.  In the palette there is a note head section.  Find the note head you want.

 

there is a way to make extra rests invisible, and I assume you can also make the stem of the note invisible.  You uncheck a little box in the inspector.  If you tried to use a whole note it would always want to be put in the position of beat 1. So you’ll want to use quarter notes, thus requiring to hide extra rests.

 

Anyway, I’m pretty sure this made no sense, so sorry I can’t be of better help.  Maybe some day i will take the time to sit and figure it out.  You can also consult the musescore help section.  But for now, it may be simpler to write in the lever changes.  :).   Once you are sure where you want them you could use a dark colored pen to make them more visible.

 

I’m interested in checking out the selections you mentioned.  :). If I figure out the lever diamond thing for sure I will let you know.

[Elettaria]

Well, I’ve found that the first movement is doable as long as you don’t mind playing middle C – C# – C in immediate succession, but after that it can’t be done, as there are similar lever changes which are needed when the left hand is playing.  But the first movement was rather nice.  Good point about using a secondary voice for the lever changes, I might try to get that set up.

[Biagio]

You can do that sort of thing very easily on a double strung….but that’s just one more harp and I know you’re not too interested in that:-)

 

Best wishes,

Biagio

[Elettaria]

One more harp with twice as many strings to tune! I think it might work if I transpose it up another fifth, actually. There will be A#s, but they may be possible with Bbs, although chances are they will then demand to be played next to B naturals while the left hand is playing and can’t flip levers. I’ll have a look at it once I’m properly up.

Edit (damnit, I need far more sleep than this): nope, too chromatic.

[Anonymous]

Finally back. 😉

I’m glad you enjoyed the videos, Balfour. I was also in awe when I first listened to that harp version of the whole Chopin ‘Fantaisie-Impromptu’! Back then I didn’t know many harp transcriptions and wasn’t very knowledgeable when it came to solo harp repertoire, and that rendition really gave me a very good idea of the harp’s capabilities.

How’s that fugue from the BWV 998 coming along, Elettaria? 🙂 Since you’re not particularly into fugues, might I suggest the Prelude from the second English Suite? That one might not need so many lever/pedal changes.

The Courante and the Gavotte from the fifth French Suite may also be good choices. I’m very curious to know if the Allemande from the Suite in A minor BWV 818 could be played on the harp. I believe it’s slightly more chromatic, perhaps, than the ones I suggested above, but there’s no doubt that it’s Bach at its best, and that’s saying something, to be sure. 😉 A ‘simple’, but exquisite Allemande, that one!

This one’s also lovely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhFdchgMIH4

Very best!

Adolfo

[Elettaria]

Unfortunately, the rental harp turned up needing new bass strings and a lever regulation, the people renting it to me are being incredibly unpleasant, and I have been having to spend hours talking to consumer advice lines instead of actually being able to play the harp (which isn’t really playable since the levers are out of tune).  I’m probably going to be harpless, or at least restricted to a lap harp if I can buy one, for the next few months.  I will look at your recommendations when I have a harp to play them on, though!

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry to hear you’re having so much trouble with that harp. And I can definitely relate to that, but in my case it’s an external hard drive that’s been driving me nuts. I bought it a month ago and the thing won’t even be detected by my computer when I plug it in. I already complained to the guys I bought it from (who are, conveniently, about 40 minutes away from my place, going by bus and subway) and they told me I should either wait till they get another HDD of the same capacity or just buy a larger one (and of course, again conveniently, spend even more money along the way) because they don’t make any refunds! And now I have to call them every week or so to see if they’ve finally got another HDD of the same capacity, instead of backing up all the info I wanted to have safe in that HDD.

…Anyways, I hope it’s solved soon, and that your problem is also solved soon! In the meantime, how about pampering yourself a bit with this?

I hope you like them! 🙂

[balfour-knight]

Thanks, Adolfo–these are beautiful!

[Anonymous]

I’m glad to hear that, Balfour! I’ve also been having lately lots of fun with these two:

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

 

[balfour-knight]

Thanks, Adolfo!  I loved the first one, “Lady Carey,” particularly the TONE of that harpsichord, and thought the second one, the “Ligeti,” was very interesting.  “Continuum” is a great title for that work.  All of these videos are very enjoyable, and I wonder how many of these harpsichord works are playable on harp–interesting, indeed!

Best wishes,

Balfour

[Anonymous]

Truly glad to hear that, Balfour! I knew you’d love that early harpsichord piece. 😉 And yes, I also adored that harpsichord’s tone; so clear and warm!

As for Ligeti, I know he’s not exactly the favorite composer of many, but I must say I’m a really big admirer of his oeuvre. His ‘Continuum’ is of great interest because, like in his ‘Requiem’ and his ‘Volumina, Etude Nr.1’ from ‘Harmonies’ (for organ), he makes use of shifting individual notes among a complex musical tissue, giving the appearance of static masses of sound, when in fact it is those very ‘small’ changes that are shaping the piece the whole time.

Every one of Ligeti’s works, or almost, have something interesting to them, and I believe even if someone doesn’t really like them, they can at least get some pleasure from analyzing those interesting features they contain. For instance, the first piece from his ‘Musica ricercata’ (for piano) is pretty much a rhythmic fugue, making use almost exclusively (except for the very last octave) of the A note, playing it in different heights across the keyboard; the left hand maintains a regular tic-tac pattern, while the right keeps weaving rhythmically variable figures around it. It can be so tough to get it right!

You know, now that you mentioned harpsichord works that might be playable on the harp, I was thinking that perhaps a large part of Couperin’s and Rameau’s works could be more or less easily arranged for solo harp (?). For example, it would be so delightful to listen to Couperin’s ‘Thirteenth Ordre’, ‘Les barricades mystérieuses’ or to the Gavotte from Rameau’s ‘First Book of Harpsichord Pieces’ played on the harp. 🙂

This time I say ’till next time’ with this breathtaking piece by John Tavener:

 

[balfour-knight]

Thanks, Adolfo!  I really enjoyed that video of Tavener’s “Song of the Angel.”  Your posts always inspire me to look at piano and organ works to see if they are playable on the harp.  How stimulating!

Cheers and best wishes,

Balfour

[Tacye]

Speaking of transcription possibilities, this is a favourite of mine:

 

[Author]

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