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The question isn’t “what’s fair”, the question is what you are contractually obliged to do for your client. In my performance agreements, I state “all final decisions about repertoire are at the discretion of the contractor”, which allows me the final word on what I will perform or not, whether it be a piece that is completely inappropriate (No, I can’t to the rock and roll music from “Top Gun” as your recessional), difficult or impossible to play on harp, or just too much trouble to learn (I had a two day before the ceremony request to play the Cantina Band music from “Star Wars”). That way, I can either decline the request (“see, it’s in your agreement”) or agree to play it with a stipulation (extra fee). Your performance agreement should have all of this outlined in it, so there is no debate as to what is “right”…it should be about what is stated in your agreement.
The typical scam is he contacts you with a lot of bizarre flowery language, and the event is booked. He then sends you a check for $2000 and wants you to send him a check for the overpayment difference. It’s a scam anyone can see coming a mile away. You can take the fake check to the bank to see if they want to pursue it, but they won’t, and neither will the postal inspector, as they get so many of these.
I think a harp tech would say that after a year or two of normal usage, the felts pack down (whether they are entirely bushing cloth or rubber wrapped in cloth) to the point where either they are likely to tear or they start becoming noisy when pedaling, so changing them out at the time of regulation just makes sense, since regulations generally occur every year or two as well. This way, the regulation is done with the new felts in place. If, however, the felts are in good shape, you are correct, they don’t have to be changed.
The entire movement is in Cb Major. Just because it briefly modulates to Gb Major when the F natural comes in to play doesn’t change the overall key of the piece. The Handel Concerto is in “Bb Major”, and while it goes in and out of a number of related keys, it doesn’t change the fact that it is a Bb Major concerto, just like Mozart Symphonies, etc… are named after the key around which they are centered. There’s nothing modal about this movement, other than the chant that it’s based upon. It’s just Cb Major.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Duet_for_Harp_and_Piano,_Op.38_(Dussek,_Jan_Ladislav)
Salzedo wrote a duet for piano and harp also
Sid is right, but, like he said, your teacher is acting as a contractor at that point. She collects the full fee and then pays you your agreed upon fee, keeping a percentage for herself. Contractors usually charge a minimum of 20% of the total fee. And, they often require that you pass out their business cards only, not your own. If you’re working for a contractor, expect to make a little less money, but you won’t have to deal with the client until the day of the event; you just show up and play, while the contractor handles all the details.
I like the rubber picks that Sylvia Woods sells. They are about the closest sound to a finger that I thing picks get. I find the felt ones too percussive and they get floppy quickly. When you get them, drill or poke a hold in them and thread through and tie off some elastic string so you can drape them around your neck and not worry about dropping them. The last thing you want to do in December is get giant callouses on your fingers, or worse, get a blister. I’m sure the Woods Harp Center can overnight them to you, or you might find them in a music store.
Both of these You Tube links played back fine on my computer on Internet Explorer:
Noel Provencal (Grandjany, solo harp) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDwygJDqjvc
Il est ne (arr. Noel, harp and string quartet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Ttzel-Aus
Hi Karen,
Actually, Patricia is incorrect on this. The Grandjany “Noel Provencal” is completely different than “Il es ne”. “Il est ne” is a bouncy children’s carol in 2/2 time, and the Noel Provencal is in 6/8 with a couple of variations. You could probably play the main theme on lever harp, but the variations would be tough without major lever harp modifications. There’s also a gliss section at the end that involves using flats while in a sharp key. You can listen to a pedal harp student play it on You Tube if you just type in “Noel Provencal”. You can hear my own arrangement of “Il est ne” for harp and string quartet on You Tube here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Ttzel-Aus
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/the-lord-s-prayer-sheet-music/3152046
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/the-gift-of-love-sheet-music/482123Mimimum order on the Hopson is 6 copies of the octavo, but it’s only $10 for six. You can hear them both on You Tube. The Gift of Love is definitely lighter…the melody is “The Water is Wide” so has a more simple, folky feel to it.
The Malotte “Lord’s Prayer” for soprano and tenor with piano…the piano part can be pretty easily adapted for harp. Also, Hal Hopson’s “The Gift of Love” in two parts is based off of 1st Corinthians, piano part works perfectly on harp.
There is a solo harp version of it in Sharon Watson’s opera book,
http://us.harp.com/info/products/pact_show/id_19396250/
which incorporates the violin and cello parts in to it, and it sounds to me this is what’s going on in the trio version you heard…the violin and cello playing their regular parts, and the harp playing everything: melody, harmony, and the moving 16ths of the opera part. There are other solo harp version of “Babbino” available at Lyon and Healy also if you do a search under “O Mio Babbino Caro”. Pair the solo harp version with the trio parts from the other arrangement, and I’ll bet you get what you’re looking for.
http://us.harp.com/info/products/pact_show/id_19394244/
It’s not the same as the one you hear on the video (the harp part in the published version above is almost identical to the opera part), but it’s still a nice arrangement.
I encourage you to be the best musician you can be, and if you want to be a full time musician, the truth is that it will probably be a difficult road, so while your non-music major friends will get higher paying jobs, be promoted, and develop careers with more and more responsibility and pay to match, you will probably be playing weddings, casuals and teaching children for the rest of your career (and many people are perfectly ok with that), but that still may not be enough to live a regular life where you can afford a mortgage, health insurance, children, etc… unless you are a truly exceptional harpist and can land an orchestral job, or you have a spouse that has a higher paying career. I highly encourage you to seek a graduate degree in something non-music related if you have interests outside of the harp. When Kathleen Bride (teacher at Eastman) was in California, she told us all that none of her excellent harpists at Eastman were solely music majors; they all were pursuing dual degrees. Here is an interesting article about Juilliard grads and what they are doing now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/arts/music/12waki.html?pagewanted=4&_r=0
I know you asked for encouragement, but I’m encouraging you to be realistic, start mapping out your life, and make the best decision you can for now. You can always “course correct” as you go.
