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Jonathan, I would recommend you consult with Howard Bryan (www.hbryan.com) and/or Carl Swanson (www.carlswansonharps.com). Both are in the States and can help you with identification, costs, and restoration advice in general. Both do exquisite work.
That’s a lot of questions! I already had a bachelor’s degree (not in music) when I went back to school for a diploma in harp performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. My teacher there was the superb Ann Hobson Pilot. It was an amazing experience, both having Ann as a teacher and mentor, and also for the many orchestral and chamber music opportunities. There were many sacrifices involved in making this happen, but it was the right choice for me and I am grateful I was able to do it. I have been a freelance harpist since graduating in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Though not connected to any one particular orchestra, my career has been a series of wonderful opportunities. It has also afforded me the flexibility to raise three children. So…no complaints. It’s been a great work and a great life.
It hasn’t happened to me yet, but in this Brave New World we are now apparently living in, I expect it will become more common. How awful for you—especially the ten hour drive!
Hmmm….seems that borrowing or renting a harp in LA would make more sense and be much, much cheaper. Unless of course you want your harp for other reasons, besides this one gig. There are lots of harps and harpists in your area, and my experience is that harpists genuinely want to help each other out. Why don’t you make some inquiries through your local chapter of the harp society, or try calling or emailing Harp in LA? If you do decide to ship, you might call them for a recommendation about that, too. Good luck!
I’ve played the Ravel Pavane in arrangements with string quartet, flute and viola, solo cello, solo bass, etc….
I agree with those who love the purity and clarity of the original scoring (Britten Ceremony). The choir not being able to hear the harp, though, is almost always a problem regardless of the arrangement or the size of the choir, particularly in some of the movements (esp. “In Freezing Winter Night”).From your responses (thank you Brook and David), it sounds like it is not just the size of the hand, but also the muscular memory of spacing and the ability of the brain to adjust quickly one way or the other. Is Camac standard string spacing narrower than L&H, Salvi, Venus, etc? I played a Camac only once and did not notice it particularly. (Maybe because so many other things felt different)! My hands are actually pretty small, sometimes a challenge when reaching huge chords, but I think narrower-than-normal spacing would throw me off as well.
How kind of him to take a moment and reach out to thank you. And how wonderful for you, to know the beauty and joy you contributed to their (all too brief) time together.
What a beautiful harp! I LOVE the variety of colorful soundboard art on lever harps. I really wish more pedal harp manufacturers would think outside the box and create unique art instead of the standard brown “dead vines” design on most CG soundboards. Love the vivid colors, and of course, the ammonite. That is a lovely and novel idea. The pale wood is also quite pretty and ditto for the carvings. Congratulations!
I think it really depends on what you want to do with the instrument. Do you love the lever harp repertoire? Do you want to play Irish music, folk music? Do you want to play orchestral parts, Debussy, Ravel? What literature do you want to learn/study/play? This will help you to determine which instrument you need.
Also, how do you see the lever harp….do you view it as a stepping stone to a pedal harp, and will you become frustrated by its limitations? Or do you see it as an instrument in its own right, with its own repertoire and traditions? Either path is perfectly fine, but it is necessary to know which path you are on.I was contacted by someone once who wanted harp lessons. The local music store had referred him to me. After about a minute of conversation, it became clear that he was asking about harmonica lessons. We both had a good laugh and wished each other well!
I am not sure exactly when that other color scheme was popular. Probably before I was born. I started playing when I was eight in the late sixties, and two of my older teachers had harps with the red color pattern, and I rented a concert harp from Lyon and Healy in 1971 which had the red strings with green C’s, too. Someone more up on harp history could tell you more about when and why that was done. It must have been phased out when I was very young, because I never saw it again after 1971.
Absolutely fascinating, I had never heard of this before!
When I started playing the harp, some instruments had very blue (not black) F’s, and some had purple F’s. There was also a color scheme (which was falling out of favor but which I encountered a few times) which had green C’s, blue F’s and all the rest of the strings red.
I agree with the suggestion that you should talk to a string manufacturer about custom sets. I wouldn’t coat the strings with anything, because it’s likely to affect the sound. And I’m not sure you should try to re-train yourself; it may not be fully possible, and it may make playing too confusing and frustrating.
Find a string maker with outstanding customer service, and see if they will work with you! Good luck!
