Ravel La Valse Fingering Ideas

[rebekah-atkinson]

I performed Ravel La Valse a few years back, and the fingering I used
for the cross-under ascending arpeggios at 20/21 (Hp. 2) didn’t feel secure to me. We’re performing the piece once again next week and I have been trying alternative fingerings for the passage, but haven’t hit on anything that works any better for me. It is likely that I am not good at cross-unders, but I was wondering if anyone out there has a favorite fingering/enharmonic alternative for that passage that they would like to share? Thanks so much!

[brian-noel]

I have a rewritten part for this that makes this passage much easier to play and all the notes are still there, just redistributed and using enharmonics.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by brian-noel.

[brian-noel]

Maybe I can attach it here.

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[Gretchen Cover]

Brian, you are very generous to do all that work and share it. Thank you.

[rebekah-atkinson]

Very creative, I never would have thought of that! Thanks so much for taking the time to work on this and to share it. So kind of you to want to help!

[frances-duffy]

Beatrice Schroeder Rose wrote a great book called “The Harp In the Orchestra” and she has an even easier fix for this section. Check it out, it gives each harp one continuous line. Harp I plays the upper octave and harp II the lower octave. No missing notes, just redistribution and use of a couple of enharmonics. The lines mimic the corresponding lines in the woodwinds. It makes this passage a piece of cake!

I have to recommend the book for anyone who plays orchestral harp. She offers solutions to many other tricky works, including Salome’s Dance. It is also helpful to composers who want to learn more about writing for the harp.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by frances-duffy.

[rebekah-atkinson]

Hi Frances,

How interesting, bet that would be a whole lot easier! I don’t have Beatrice Schroeder Rose’s book, but this makes me very interested in checking it out. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing!!

[bobbyt5455]

Does anyone know of a combined harp 1 and 2 part for La Valse that can be purchased?

Thank you
Robert

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

You can always borrow notes from one hand to the other. It’s the simplest solution to many passages. Do not be flummoxed by how the notes are written on the page. It is rare that they are written in the most-playable fashion. If you want to know more, book a lesson with me.

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