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Paul Hurst had a pedal harp arrangement of the second movement. I don’t know if it’s still available or not, though.
There is a flute/harp transcription by Dewey Owens, but I personally don’t care for it because the harp never gets a run at anything in it (flute always gets the moving line so to me it’s not that interesting from an audience viewpoint). I myself prefer a standard flute/piano edition. I have an one that was published by Southern Music, and I would presume that’s out of print now, but there should be others available. However, the Owens (available through Lyra) is somewhat easier than the piano versions.
The guitar part to the Aranjuez used to be available in Zabaleta’s transcription for harp. I see that now the only thing that pops up is his harp/organ transcription. I would guess that may be the solo part with an organ reduction of the ensemble, but I really don’t know. (I’m assuming you’re looking for solo with orchestra rather than a transcription for completely solo performance.)
Not necessarily. I have a friend who is a phenomenal harpist who saw a clown playing a harp on a children’s tv show when he was 4, and gave his parents no peace till they got him started.
Yes, although for me his sound, which is very distinctive (Kim Robertson plays his harps, so you can get a good idea of the sound) doesn’t work so well for what I do, there’s no question that his 40 string is the most strings in the smallest package out there. I don’t know that I would say that they’re particularly loud harps, though, despite the stringing, if that’s the primary consideration.
Jerusha, do you have personal experience of the Sligo harps? What are they like.
Yes, it would be better to list it there, since there are lots of people who come here to read the classifieds who don’t follow the forums.
I thought the Morceau de concours was the big main piece, and the Morceau à déchiffrer was the sight-reading piece, incidentally. Is that wrong?
>Who wrote the other sight-reading pieces in other years?
It would be interesting to have a complete list. Marilyn Costello published a collection of two of them, by Franck and Delibes, if I remember rightly–too lazy to go digging right now, and I think they’re out of print. Oxford Press, was it?
Oh yes, I wouldn’t deny that the big Dustys generally have a larger sound, for sure.
Amy, the best thing would be if you and your friend could get someplace to try different harps. Whereabouts are you located? Even if there aren’t harp stores/dealers in your area, there are plenty of folk harp events with vendors all over the place these days, if you’re in the US.
The fluorocarbon harps are definitely very bright. Besides the ceili/ceili mor, I think Larry Fisher is the only person who’s really specializing in fluorocarbon strung harps these days, but he’s seriously backordered, since his fluorocarbon harps are extremely popular in Ireland.
Wow, Jerusha, that’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say that thorms are unsuitable for pro use. I’ll have to pass the memo around to Laura Zaerr and all the other pros who use them that we all need to throw them out and get new harps!
I totally agree that given the additional info that Amy provided a gut-strung thorm isn’t the harp for her, but really, now.
It’s not so much a question of brand–most makers make both student and professional grade harps–as of models. But no lever harp is going to work in a medium sized venue chock full of people without being better for amplification (nor pedal harp, either). You can play any harp in an empty cathedral and it will project just fine. You can play the largest loudest concert grand in a small packed venue and not be heard. If she wants to play professionally, amplification is a fact of life, I’m afraid, except sometimes for wedding ceremonies.
For lighter weight harps, pretty nearly anything from a lever harp maker is lighter than a lever harp from a pedal harp maker (like the Ana or the L&H prelude or Camac Mademoiselle). Is she willing to trade the pedal harp shape of the Ana for the more basic triangle of a dusty, thormahlen, etc?
Personally, I would think the Ana, if hers is decent, is a pretty nice harp for gigging. I’d get a dolly and an am, if it were me, instead of a different harp, unless i hated the harp I had. In the US, other options would be some models from dusty strings, thormahlen, triplett, Rees, Kortier–there’s a whole long list. Since she’s used to gut strings, I’d probably say to start by investigating the folk-gut thormahlens, as closest to what she’s used to.
But are you in the US? That makes a difference, and so does the kind of playing she plans to do.
Yes, you have to be somewhat more cautious when loading a harp with an extended board, but it’s not a big deal. It also does mean that you need higher clearance in the back of the car, which can make a difference in shorter cars with angled back windows.
But I wouldn’t let that dictate what harp I got, for sure. Just get a good transport cover. You need some kind of padding under any harp, too, extended board or not, so that’s not an issue particularly.
