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Thank you Michaela….
Reviewing the raw video was a very educational experience… revealing things I need to work on. Oh the nerves, which affects my speaking tone, has a negative affect on tempos when the nerves kick up, etc. But also, I had no idea how many times I scratched my nose and learned there is no need to thank the audience for the applause after each tune. It becomes redundant after three or four times. A gracious bow is enough.
Thanks to all again for the nice compliments.
Thank you Cheryl…
Now I’m trying to figure which videos to leave on YouTube and which ones to remove for now. I’ve also got three more hours of video to edit in the near future.
Happy Holidays!
Saul said: “I think it is a complete waste to use gut strings in the first and
second octaves unless you are very wealthy or want dull notes.”Saul, I think you are 100% correct! I don’t think it has anything to do with price, but I feel nylon is superior in the top two octaves on a concert grand pedal harp. Also, I don’t understand why Lyon & Healy started using gut in octave 2 in recent years… nylon strings are much better because they resonate better in the high register and they don’t break so easily. The only negative is they really need to be changed every 6-12 months as they tend to loose their elasticity.
Thank you. John answered the question. I’d like to add that you can only bend a string with nylon strings.
I studied piano only “Classical” for years, and I still feel I have a box around me because of that. I feel freer on the harp, picking up tricks like this… and stumming and tremelos from Latin American harp techniques. The tremelo has to be altered with a bent finger for strength as the concert pedal harp is strung more tightly….
Just this week, I had the desire to jump inside my piano and play it like a harp 🙂
The big diffence you can point out is composers/arrangers don’t realize that they are writing for harp on a keyboard with 10 fingers, but the harpist only uses 8 fingers……..
ahh…. OK…. now I’m seeing it. “Classic French Technique” works so very well in intimate settings like this. To my ears, it is totally pleasing, and works well with Pop music.
In the same vein, pianists that were trained and use that Eastern European quintessential orchestral technique often sound too harsh playing Western Pop Music. Some musicians can switch gears and become chameleons to the task at hand. To explain this in different terms, most singers sing a certain style best. One of my favorite Broadway singers on stage sounds horrible adapting to a studio setting. Every once in awhile, there is a singer who can cross those lines, from the Broadway stage, to Rock ‘N Roll, to Jazz, to movie scores, to duets, etc. Hmm…. now that producer, singer, and actress from Yentl keeps popping into my mind….
Michel Legrand is a genius!
I think the greatest and unique movie score ever written was Michel Legrand’s “Yentl”. Of course, I’m sure he got a lot of direction from another genius who produced, sang, and starred in the movie 🙂
I try to play some Legrand music every day. Of course, it works better for me on the piano since he will change keys twice in the middle of a bar…. for example he’ll go from Eb to B
Carl…. I’m fascinated with watching and listening to Michel and Catherine! As to your comment, I would guess that the arrangement for this harp is not written down note-by-note. There seems to be a lot more going on. I would make an educated guess that her score is more of sketches and not written down like Classical music note-by-note. She is putting more of her heart and soul into this than just playing notes.
Also, I am memorized by incorporating her technique and musicality together. I’ve been to harp festivals where I see so many harpist look and play soooo stiff, with their wrists bent backwards and elbows in the air. Catherine seems to flow like a feather floating in the sky.
Michel certainly is playing the full orchestra on the piano rather than a piano solo. I can almost see and hear his thoughts…. violins here, harp here, drums here, etc.
So, if you have contact, please tell them I am now a big fan of both separate and as a musical union…
Thank you Nat.
It is soooooo much easier playing in the middle of a grand lobby with lots of activity, in the corner of a restaurant, or in the pit of a show. This venue has been a gift to me to play in front of a sitting audience, which is my Thanksgiving blessing this year…..
ahhhh…… thanks for sharing. Michel LeGrand is my favorite composer of all times. I didn’t know he was married to a harpist. They play like one soul joined together.
I’m currently working of a medley of Michel LeGrand’s “Summer of ’42” and Ennion Morricone’s “Se” from Cinema Paradiso….. one of my other favorite composers.
France and Italy….. where great art and music are born….
As I say over and over. Life is ultimately about choices. You can chose to make it boring, or YOU can chose to make it exciting.
A trick I’ve learned is changing the order of your repertoire each time you play. You NEVER want to play a set in the same order twice.
Best wishes on your musical journey!
Thank you for the compliments. I’m meeting the video guy again on Monday and will hopefully finish a few more videos, most are clips put together.
Michaela… very funny. I see where the railing is in front of me. I sit very low as my height is from the waist up. That way I don’t have to bend over so much if I sit normal height.
I uploaded another video… this time piano. Hopefully in a couple of days I will have some that I really want to share….
