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Not to worry, Gretchen, I do that regularly myself! I once accompanied a soprano on the Malotte “Lord’s Prayer” who specified that she wanted it in D flat minor! Not only is there no such key, but it is in a Major key! She finally settled on B flat Major, ha, ha!
Hope all of you are having a great day!
BalfourHi, Gretchen,
Thanks for that information. I think the Moonlight would sound very nice in D minor, and the lever harp would need to be tuned in F with B flats, or even in E flat with three flats if they are needed in the piece. I cannot remember if Barbara B. was a “Key of C” lever harpist, or a “Key of E flat” aficionado.
The version I have for pedal harp was transcribed by John Thomas and is published by Salvi. It is in C minor, three flats.
Speaking of Tournier, his “Soupir” (the sigh) which is paired with “Offrande” seems to be quite playable on the lever harp. It is in E flat, and there seems to be enough time to change levers while the left hand is not playing. My lever harps are tuned in C, so maybe someone could try this out on a harp tuned in E flat and let us know how well it works! It is quite lovely, Andelin, and you might like to look it up.
Best wishes,
BalfourWow, Gretchen, the Adagio from the Moonlight Sonata for lever harp? How true to the original is it, if I may ask?
Hi, Andelin,
Most of the selections I have mentioned on this thread are playable on lever harp, depending on the skill of the performer, of course! Exclude the Moonlight Sonata (unless you have an excerpt from the first movement) and the Tournier.
Renie’s “Tale of Christmas” (Conte de Noel) is particularly lovely on my Large Gothic lever harp, and you can just do the final descending glissando on the G Major scale instead of the G 6 pedal setting (notes G-A-B-D-E) that she specified in the score. That is the only place where a pedal harp would be needed to make the piece authentic, except that I change the key of the piece from G flat to G on lever harp.
All of Brook’s, my and Angi Bemiss’s arrangements are also for lever harp, and require minimum lever changes. (Of course, they can be played on a pedal harp, too.)
I hope this helps.
Warmly,
BalfourWell, I also enjoyed reading this “old” thread! Wow, I am always amazed at what one can find on Harp Column!
Both of my lever harps came with Lovelands, and I have played harps with all different types of levers. I believe that Camacs sound the best, followed by Truitts, but my PERSONAL choice will always be the Lovelands. As a concert performer, I like the short throw and feel of them, since I flip levers constantly and quickly as I play. The long throw of the other types is cumbersome and my fingers get “tangled up” in them with fast changes. Now this is just my personal opinion, as I said. Harpists who only set levers before they begin to play and do not change any while they are playing would not be bothered by any type of lever, as long as they are well-regulated.
Another point is that I regulate the Lovelands myself, once or twice a year on both my lever harps. I find them very easy to work with, and Dusty Strings sells a very nice tool kit that every Dusty owner should have. I like the fact that every thing about the Lovelands can be adjusted, including the friction on the handles–I do not like them tight, just firm.
Since I did not have to install them, I do not know the difficulty of doing that, Biagio, my friend. Thanks for your expertise about all this, because I too completely trust your opinion.
Thanks for reviving this thread–very interesting indeed!
Best regards,
BalfourBiagio, thanks for all your kind words! I don’t think I’ll ever learn to play the wire-strung because of needing the long nails to play it with, ha, ha! I tried classical guitar as a child, and the “nails thing” just did not work for me.
And, alas, breathing sawdust at my current age is not attractive to me, either. My instrument-making days are over, I’m afraid.
Despite what Randal and Tacye suggested, I would still not want to trust that harp to stay intact, if it were up to me. But, if it indeed was a really low price to pay for it, it might be worth keeping it and enjoying it for as long as it would “behave.” I wish you the best of luck, whatever you decide to do, Hearpe.
Have a great day, everyone!
BalfourKatheryn,
No, I have not tried the Four Seasons harp cover. I have the L&H for my 85GP, and it is very good quality that has really held up well through the years. Maybe someone will reply about the Four Seasons one!
Best wishes,
BalfourIf I were you, I think I would send that harp back. Take Biagio up on his offer–he makes really great harps!
Cheers,
BalfourGretchen, I am so glad that there is another person out there who is as “neurotic” as I am, ha, ha! I agree with everything in your post. You mentioned the other things that Carol Lynn and I also do when we move our harps that I forgot to put in my other reply, so thanks for making this much better for Katheryn.
Happy harping in the snow this winter, Katheryn! Gretchen lives in Florida, so she won’t likely be having as much fun as we will, ha, ha!
Best thoughts,
BalfourHi, Katheryn,
I do not know about eastern Washington, but I live in the mountains of western North Carolina, where we can have terrible winters like our last one! I thought it would never end!
I use full padded transport covers for my harps, and in winter, I put extra blankets around them in the car, and make sure I warm up the car before loading the harp. I would not feel safe using only my dust-covers, and I invested in the full transport sets for all my harps when I purchased them. I think it would be worth it for you to do that, too, especially for the winter.
Hope this helps!
Best to you,
BalfourHi, all!
Jerusha, I love that new photo of you on your profile! I also love the “Offrande” and “The Eternal Dreamer.” Tournier’s music is so Impressionistic and reminds me of Debussy’s. Too bad Debussy did not write for the harp like he did for the piano!
There are some nice slow pieces by Henriette Renie, including the “Tale of Christmas” and other not-so-difficult works that are worth examining. I always get good comments from the audience after playing Renie.
Thinking of good slow pieces for a Celtic harp concert–O Carolan’s “The Clergy’s Lamentation,” and the beautiful Irish tune “She Moved Through the Fair” have worked well for me. Going back to the “fast show-off piece,” give O Carolan’s Concerto a try! Audiences LOVE it!
Cheers to all of you,
BalfourDani, how interesting that you mentioned “The Swan.” One of Angi Bemiss’s new publications is a very simple arrangement that I did for her of that piece. It is called “Essence of Swan,” and it requires no sharping levers so that harp hobbyists and beginners can also enjoy playing it! It can be played on just about any harp, too, even a small lap harp if you adjust the range a bit. The arrangement comes in the key of C and also in E flat. (Simply the Harp)
Also, I have several Daniel Burton arrangements that I love, too!
Thanks everyone,
BalfourHearpe, Thanks so much for posting that! This little harp is just beautiful and bright sounding, just the way I like a harp to be! One would never know that it is that small from just listening to it.
Best wishes,
Balfour
