Orchestral Harp parts need to be memorized?

[mr-s]

Hello ,i am now practicing the orchestral parts for the tow books of Sarah Bullen , my question is do i need to memorize it or just play it from the scores?

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

It never hurts to memorize them, but it is not required for most parts. Orchestra harpists are expected to play with the music in front of them, especially for the bars of counting. The really difficult pieces feel a lot better when they are memorized, and some sections go by so fast that it is impossible to read them anyway. For example, I have memorized sections of R. Strauss tone poems and Tchaikowsky ballets.

[mr-s]

Hi Elizabeth thank you for your answer, i do agree with you, some difficult places need to be memorized, in Duet for example harp & flute, etc.. in orchestral parts also as in solo, but Sarah Bullen has tow books with all important parts, its very hard to memorize it all , and in

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I always felt that one’s memory is not reliable enough to rely on in difficult situations, yet that apparently was not a problem for the harpists who made it a custom. I also thought better to have one’s eyes on the music and conductor and not on your hands, from which it is usually harder to see the conductor. I guess it goes either way.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

On the other hand, if your music falls off the stand, or they suddenly change sections, and you have no time to turn pages, or they jump ahead in an emergency, having it memorized would be a great savior.

[mr-s]

oh God i am not talking about the scary things through the rehearsal time or auditions, just interested to know if need to memorize it all and if i memorize it how can i keep it memorized, repeat it every day????????

[Fearghal McCartan]

I agree. Solo harp sections and cadenzas –

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