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I hadn’t known before that the original printed chromatic harp version of the Debussy Danses is still available from Durand and distributors.
You would miss all the deep immersion, chamber works, masterclasses and visiting harp professeurs without being at college or conservatoire. Perhaps treat it as a sabbatical. However you need to be at a high standard to gain entry and able to work quickly on new pieces and chamber works.
I must say the preface, all the background and supporting information on the Ravel and the discussion of options, corrections, tempo and dynamics with some easier workarounds are really helpful, plus the historical context WRT other harpists such as Grandjany is very interesting. BBC radio had an 40 minute focus on new and historical recordings of this work a month ago (although limited in the number of artists) and that got me back into the part. I suspect the presenter might have quoted directly from your narrative.
Could the player 2 to the right of Carol in the picture be Heidi Lehwalder, whom you haven’t mentioned at all & not Phyllis Scholmovitz who would have been a little older ?
I got drawn onto your Tournier / Buddha thread then 2 of my entries here in Harp Column seem to have gotten deleted when I updated them and nothing shows since even when I tried a third comment.
Anyway I found these, below, and was about to suggest you contact Elizabeth Fontane-Binoche if you have no other leads.
Rêverie De Bouddha | Marcel Tournier – Wise Music Classical
Tournier, Marcel, 1879-1951. Rêverie de Bouddha : transcription pour chant et harpe / Marcel Tournier. – View Resource – Social Networks and Archival Context (snaccooperative.org)
The Tournier is now visible in their online catalogue (in the UK). https://www.prestomusic.com/sheet-music/products/8796607–tournier-m-10-pieces-for-solo-harp
If the link fails, search for Sheet Music, not Classical.
Recently the radio broadcast important harp works such as Handel’s Concerto, Debussy Dances, Ravel’s Introduction & Allegro, Salzedo’s Chanson de Nuit and Pierné’s Impromptu Caprice so that was really helpful, so yes radio is great but I can’t really ask my students to listen as much as I do on the off-chance that they will hear harp pieces nor would they acquire that interest in many other works, orchestral and instrumental, so still this chicken and egg analogy remains…
There are so many difficult parts which are scary right up to the moment of the harp’s entry & they are too numerous to mention, but in terms of the biggest sigh of relief afterwards: Vaughan Williams’ 5 Variants on Dives and Lazarus, (the circumstances were a difficult part to read, too little time to prepare, 2 quick rehearsals and my University tutor in the audience, who hadn’t known I was playing… until he started to recognise me behind the strings). I adore listening to this work.
What I meant is let an independent shipping courier take the consignment and if they collect it just a day or so before you depart you will beat it to your destination.
Why not put it in a really large suitcase with a lot of your clothes. I would say a large Delsey, but not sure that a hard suitcase is a good idea. You could travel with it or ship it the day before you depart.
That’s a good idea, but might resort to Youtube nontheless. Annoyingly I organised a group workshop for October thinking the pandemic would be over but had to cancel.
Well yes it does and round shoulders are evident in the posture of many older harpists, so you can see how things can develop. Try this, hold your forearm up flatly in front of you with your elbow level. Do you feel like your forearm or your upper arm is doing the work, ie is your forearm stiff enough to hold a tray or cup because that’s to be avoided. For a relaxed forearm and hand you need the work to be done by your upper arm muscles with your shoulders down. Test this and then move onto the harp.
You look for the accidentals, which shift or modulate the piece into the minor key. So Handel’s Theme and Variations has a key signature of Bb major (2 flats) but immediately plays F#, which tell you it’s already in G minor and indeed G is the tonic in the phrases. Only when the F is natural in the second section do we hear the Bb major as the tonic key.
Similarly a piece set in F major with some C#’s written in, like the very elementary Allegretto in Scholomitz’s beginner book, is definitely in D minor.
