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We just played this show, and most of the harp parts were obliterated by thick orchestration. There was one “cadenza” which I had fixed up so that it worked well…but here’s the sad thing. They travel with this show, but seemingly print out fresh parts every time, so that the next harpist has to re-invent the wheel.
Marie-Pierre Langlamet told me that Sylvain is wonderful. I totally agree! We are SO happy that he is coming to Vancouver in July to perform the Goldberg Variations at the World Harp Congress. He is also a conductor, harp technician, a great teacher, and a very nice person!
I am spending my Christmas holidays re-writing most of the “harp parts” for a Pops show that shall go un-named. The arranger obviously wrote everything on a computer, because I don’t think this could even be done on a piano. There are some pieces, I kid you not, with a tempo of 176 to the quarter note, that have running 32nd notes going all over the map in unusual patterns that would bring any rhythmic pulse to its knees, even it were playable. Oh, yes, and chromatic scales here and there. I am so glad that I thought to get the music in advance, otherwise I would have gotten this two days before the show, like everyone else. There are no indications as to what is exposed and what is covered in the orchestration. Oh, and one piece was done with all the notes in the treble clef, even though they go down into the C in the bass clef. Meanwhile, the bass staff is empty. I just went over to the computer and re-wrote it on my Sibelius software so that it’s readable. I should be getting copyists’ fees.
I agree that concert hall decorum has gone the way of the dodo. The most egregious thing I ever witnessed was during a youth orchestra concert. As a young cellist was performing a concerto beautifully, the teen-aged oaf next to me kept sighing loudly, shuffling, making noise, and showing everyone that he did not want to be there. I turned to him a few times and stared at him, and finally I quietly said to his mother, “Why doesn’t he leave if he doesn’t enjoy the concert? He’s ruining it for everyone.” Then the man in front of her turned and said, “My four-year-old daughter has better concert manners than that son of yours.” The woman, with her progeny, then got up and left as obnoxiously as possible, complaining as loudly as she could, destroying any vestige of enjoyment the audience could have had. Unbelievable. The poor cellist; I don’t know how he was able to play, and his archival recording of the piece was destroyed as well.
We just performed it, and yes, julia Shaw’s answer is the correct one. This is a beautiful piece! I am surprised it isn’t performed more often. One thing to watch out for, Alex, is that the rehearsal numbers aren’t always on the phrases.
You could also try contacting the New Zealand Harp Society. Anna Dunwoodie edits the NZ Harp Society newsletter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOiKy6sXfM
Leave out the “Doesn’t” and this link will work.
It’s not so much the pedalling, but the reading of this piece. It’s almost all in enharmonics, so you spend hours circling notes in pencil and more hours peering at them until you have memorized the music. It’s a great piece and worth the effort, but it would be lovely to have an edition in which the enharmonics were all written out. Maybe after the World Harp Congress is over, I might see if I can do it myself, but I wonder whether the copyright laws would make it impossible to publish.
Are you keeping your wrists stable, and not letting them follow your hands as the fingers cascade downwards?
Are you bringing your fingers downwards and into the palm?
Are you taking a couple of bars at a time and playing those quickly until you have them just the way you want?
You might be doing all this and more, but without knowing your playing, it’s hard to make any useful suggestions. I hope this helps!
Dear Tayce,
I did not know you were a physicist! Dr. Chris Waltham is another physicist who loves the harp, and he is presenting his research paper on soundboards at the 11th World Harp Congress, along with his colleagues François Gautier and Jean-Loïc Le Carrou. He lives in Vancouver and teaches at UBC.
