Here’s another great video of Sylvain Blassal

[carl-swanson]

A friend sent me this while I was away on vacation(skiing!). I know some other harpists play this as well(Nancy Allen comes to mind). But his performance is particularly gorgeous. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=ZnXqbz7UUr8&feature=player_embedded#at=48

[carl-swanson]

Let’s try this again. I tested the previous youtube address and it didn’t work. Try this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnXqbz7UUr8&feature=player_embedded#at=
48

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Do you see he’s using his pinky finger?

[Philippa mcauliffe]

Wonderful playing – and the little finger seems to be working

[Jessica A]

Nice music to sleep by.

[carl-swanson]

The fast repeated notes are only on 1 string, not two. So he had to come up with some sort of “trick” fingering to accomplish this. He’s very hunched over because the harp is so small.

[kay-lister]

Yes, what is with the pinky finger?

[jessica-wolff]

What a gorgeous harp! The pinky note would probably be played by thumb on guitar. On the harp you don’t have that option.

[carl-swanson]

I’ll ask him why he fingered it that way. I got home yesterday from a week of vacation and there was an email from him. So I’ll see what he has to say.

[Sylvia Clark]

Maybe a lower bench would help with the posture problem.

[Sylvain Blassel]

Hello everybody!

Thanks for your messages.

Well, you’re absolutly right, this harp is really smaller than a modern harp and it was not so confortable to play for me like this. Usually, I use a lower bench, of course… but I had a broken toe, and it was less hurting for my feet to sit in this way than to have to bent the feet for the pedals ! It’s very stupid, but I had to adapt myself depending my poor feet…

But don’t warry, just for 5 minutes, it was ok…

And the good point with this not excellent position, it’s that the arm muscles tire less quickly…

For the 5th, it’s very easy : the sound was better, that all.
The sound with 4th is too heavy, even pianissimo. And with the 5th, it’s much more precise and sweet.

I don’t play very often with 5th, but sometimes it’s more relaxing rather than with the 4th.
In this case, the distant betwen first and 5th is more small than with the 4th, and there is less stretching for the hand. With the 5th, all the other fingers can be very relaxed, and like this, I
have less problems for have a regular tremolo.

But it’s just a detail 😉

The harp is very beautiful, I looooooove it !
It’s an Erat harp, around 1830. The mecanism is quiet tired, a lot of bad vibrations, but I like very much this sound for lute and guitar musics ! For me it’s very precise and warm in the same time.
And I’m not sure that we can see on the movie, but the wood of the soundboard is not perpendicular to the strings, as usually, but… in diagonal ! Around 45° !

[Sylvain Blassel]

(sorry for my “french” english !)

[Philippa mcauliffe]

I am English and your “french” English is excellent.

[jessica-wolff]

That really is a lovely harp, and I am very interested to hear that you like it particularly for the guitar and lute repertoire. I play guitar and lute repertoire on guitar, or at least I did back when, and it is nice to hear these familiar pieces on the harp.

[kay-lister]

Is it me?

[Author]

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