Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
https://goodmorningbritten.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/listening-to-britten-a-ceremony-of-carols-op-28/ is the exact link for the reference to A Ceremony of Carols.
Answer all your email and voice mail the same day or, at the latest, the day after. If a concert promoter has to wait to hear back from you, he or she may call someone else in the mean time. Leave for the gig in plenty of time to get lost, unload everything, tune and warm up. Find out in advance where to unload and park. Have a contract for every engagement. Only take the amount and difficulty of work that you can do well.
You don’t always have to suggest the fingering in your beaming. I think most musicians would rather have the beaming reflect the rhythm. Your original excerpt at the top of the page is much more legible to me than this last one. I don’t use the same fingering as Saul’s, so it would not be helpful for me to see it this way. I prefer the most straightforward representation, and we harpists can use our pencils to indicate our own preferences.
I play this section with both hands, using isolated sounds when possible. My fingering is 1,2,2,2,2,3. I change the A and B natural pedals simultaneously. I hope this helps.
This really looks very simple to me, as it is in your example above. Any professional harpist will be able to figure out their own fingerings, and left hand turnarounds are fine unless they are so high up on the harp that we either can’t get our left hands into the small space or we punch ourselves in the nose. This register is fine for the left hand. The fingering that I suggested will lead smoothly to the next bar.
The short answer is that yes, it is playable, with no re-writing necessary. The easiest fingering would be left hand taking the first three notes, right hand taking the next four notes, then the left hand turning around at the top.
If the string has dents in it near the discs, or if it will not stay in tune, it’s time to replace it. Sorry; that’s all I can suggest. I always have a spare set of strings on hand, just in case a random string breaks even when it looks fine.
It is almost impossible to clench your teeth while breathing deeply, so concentrate on your breathing while you play. You may also benefit from biofeedback, which helps internalize the feeling when you are breathing correctly.
Even the greatest musicians have good and bad days, but it’s all relative. The wonderful thing about accumulated knowledge and technical ability is that the bad days get less bad all the time. If your brain feels like it just is not absorbing anything, don’t give up. Keep plugging away at it, and you will find that the rough passages will be much better the next day.
When writing glissandi, write the notes that you want as a scale in a small-case font or as 32nd notes, so that there is no confusion. I dislike it when it just says “Em”, because it does not tell you which kind of Em (natural, harmonic or melodic) or if they want the chord. Personally, when in doubt, I choose the harmonic minor scale, but my ears will tell me if I need to change that assumption. I don’t recommend putting in pedal patterns, especially if you are not a harpist. They can be wrong, but the notes don’t lie.
Today’s the deadline! There’s still time to tell students about the VSO Institute at Whistler! We have a fantastic pool of applicants from all over the world and we’ve almost tripled our target numbers for year #1. Summer music in one of the most beautiful places on earth- June 28-July 5. Help us spread the word!
http://www.vsoinstitute.caDebussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande does have two harp parts, but not the Fauré suite based on the same story. From Wikipedia:
The plot concerns a love triangle. Prince Golaud finds a mysterious young woman, Mélisande, lost in a forest. He marries her and brings her back to the castle of his grandfather, King Arkel of Allemonde. Here Mélisande becomes increasingly attached to Golaud’s younger half-brother Pelléas, arousing Golaud’s jealousy. Golaud goes to excessive lengths to find out the truth about Pelléas and Mélisande’s relationship, even forcing his own child, Yniold, to spy on the couple. Pelléas decides to leave the castle but arranges to meet Mélisande one last time and the two finally confess their love for one another. Golaud, who has been eavesdropping, rushes out and kills Pelléas. Mélisande dies shortly after, having given birth to a daughter, with Golaud still begging her to tell him “the truth”.
