[barbara-brundage]

Hi, Paul.

I’m very curious about this:

>Mozart didn’t like writing for the harp because he didn’t like having to keep the pedaling in mind

I’d love to know the source for that, if you happen to know. I’d heard it was mostly because he didn’t get paid for the flute and harp concerto, but I don’t know an original source for that idea, either. 🙂

[barbara-brundage]

Do you mean from Walton’s of Dublin?

Several past threads here:

http://www.harpcolumn.com/forum/message-view?message_id=557058

http://www.harpcolumn.com/forum/message-view?message_id=18120898

for starters

[barbara-brundage]

Any harp music dealer should have the McDonald/Wood books.

Just so’s you know, the Zabaleta pieces are Spanish and they are beautiful and pieces she should know, but they are not typical rhythmic Spanish dance type pieces, if that’s what she’s after. It would help to know exactly which Spanish dance she heard.

[barbara-brundage]

Yes, you can still get the music. Contact Alberta Gerum, Barger & Barclay, 1741 SW 36 Ave, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33312 (954-583-6240).

[barbara-brundage]

Hi, Carl. Usually at that point they have a worn spot from inside where the pins are up near the kneeblock from sliding the harp in and out of the car (I put a pillow under the kneeblock to support it once it’s in). Those sharp ended tuning pins they use these days are heck on covers. I’ve tried patching, but that never works for very long, so I don’t know how much use they’d be to you.

I don’t have anything that’s near replacement right now, but I’ll keep you mind if a cover like that would be of any use.

[barbara-brundage]

I just regard a new cover every so many years as a necessary expense, like new strings or regulating. It bothers me that I can’t think of a useful way to recycle the old ones, though.

[barbara-brundage]

Well, shrinking is the main thing that worries me. I once washed the canvas cover for a concert grand and it was useless after it dried, since I didn’t have a 12 to use it on. 🙂

I’ve always thought of harp covers as spot clean only, and with the transport cover, even after scrubbing the outer nylon with soap and water it can take several days for it to dry all the way through. With a washing machine on gentle cycle, you wouldn’t get a vigorous spin so it would be pretty wet afterwards, too.

Still, if it’s a choice between throw it out and throw it in the wash, it’s worth a try. That was my situation with the brown canvas one–it had to get clean or go, so I lost nothing by the experiment.

[barbara-brundage]

Have you actually done this, Catherine? Washed a transport cover, I mean.

[barbara-brundage]

Hedwig’s theme (the best known one) is quite chromatic. Personally I don’t think it translates well to lever harp at all, myself, unless you’re happy playing with one hand and flipping with the other.

For pedal harp, you can get Fluffy’s Harp and Hedwig’s Theme:

http://us.harp.com/info/products/pact_show/id_19397555/

[barbara-brundage]

Barger and Barclay used to sell direct, and they were in Ft. Lauderdale for quite a while. The only person I know who might know if there’s still anyone down there handling their music is out of town for a week, but I’ll ask her when she gets back.

Maybe Clinton might know?

[barbara-brundage]

Are you thinking of Hugh Jones from Australia?

http://www.harpaustralia.com/info/about_us.html

I saw something a while back about how he’s developing something called an “ergonomic orchestra harp”, but no pictures and there’s not even a mention on his website. He’s supposed to be on tv in Australia next week, though:

http://www.throng.com.au/new-inventors/new-inventors-29

[barbara-brundage]

Hi, Deb. That’s a pedal harp (Camac I think) and Rouet, in my opinion, is pretty hard for levers for what it is. It’s a very easy piece if you have pedals, but there are a lot of fast lever changes in it.

You might want to check out Sea Anemones by Patricia John, which has the same sort of descending three note arpeggio pattern but is more suited to the lever harp.

[barbara-brundage]

I would keep what you have, but have someone take a look to see if anything can be done. The performance levers aren’t bad levers, but they’re often badly installed. It could also be partly something simple like the way the string is wound around the pin, etc. Regulating a lever harp isn’t a huge expense.

[barbara-brundage]

Rachel, do you have a teacher who can look at the harp for you, or are you in an area where there’s anyone who regulates lever harps who can look it over?

Yes, the performance levers are string eaters but there’s often something that can be done to mitigate it a bit.

[barbara-brundage]

Yes, very true, Sam. I didn’t think of that.

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