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How much crackling? Minnesota harps would crack along the edge of the veneer in their first exposure to cold, but they were fine after. I never saw one entirely crackled. But finishes today may not be the same as they were, just as they were different before the 1980s than when changed.
He had more than one, I think the one he toured with, in the USA, at least, was his first Obermayer harp, which had the muffling pedal, a felt-covered flat piece covering all of the wire strings, if not more, that would abruptly stop them when he used the pedal. It was so abrupt and total, it did not sound musical at all. It was not a very good-sounding harp, like his later Horngacher. He had a leather cover that was put on it immediately when he finished playing so no one could look at it or dare try it or touch it. He was very dignified. A man started snoring during his first piece, and he stopped playing and yelled at him for several minutes, expecting him to get up and leave, and he did not. After a bit, he went back to playing his program.
It wasn’t a rhetorical question. I want people to say how much music they own, however they measure it.
Certainly, each harp is individual and can vary. The last time I visited the factory, which was several years ago, I tried every instrument and they were all of good quality, even the Chicago models, yes, and very consistent. There were two types of sound, one open and clear-pitched, the other, fuzzy and disorganized sounding, so to speak. Hard to describe, but I think basically they found a way to produce a harp that would either appeal to a Salzedo player or a “French” player.
The worst harps were by far the two Prince Williams there from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which felt like rocks with zero resonance.
I have heard from unreliable sources that the gold harps are now made for the Asian market who care about the looks more than the sound, so that the very best harps are the natural 23s, and that is because the wood has to be carefully matched, as the grain is exposed. That said, my walnut 23 has turned out to be a truly great instrument over time. It’s what you make of it.
But blindly disparaging remarks are an insult and injury to a great company we rely on for our very art and existence. While Salvis now run a very close second, to my ears, and have a very different quality, could take over in the future, the Lyon & Healy remains the ideal, the standard. Venus produced some fine harps, and it is a loss not to have them anymore. To me, a Camac is simply unplayable. (Did I say that?) They are imitations, not musical instruments. (Because they do not respond well to sudden changes in dynamics, and sound like plastic.)
By the way, I added a gold crown to my harp, and it was just enough to lend a hint of glamor to the sound, adding a tint of brilliance. If you can afford a fully gilded harp, get one, but just make sure they know what sound you are looking for. I would love to have a Style 3!I can say that they have used deception a number of times to try to join my Harp Rent, Sell, Buy group in Facebook, false identities, etc., and I have blocked them every time. One set of horror stories was quite enough. They said they are trying to improve the instruments, but I think they are just a waste of precious rosewood.
I very much doubt it. It was a temporary problem that they corrected. I have been using the same set of heavy gauge gut strings for over two years, and they are superb.
He has a lot of unnecessary doublings. You do not need to play a chord on the downbeat in that tempo, not when the following notes are the same as the chord. It should be two harps to have those notes played. Isn’t this scored for two harps? Yes, it says to have two harps, so harp II should play the chords and harp I the moving notes. It should all be divided. You can always eliminate a tone that is played higher in the right hand, and if he write cgce in the left hand, you only need cge. If he writes cace, you only need to play cae. Get it? I wish I’d known this when I was handed the Sea Symphony out of the blue.
And tuning forks will last forever, tuners will not. That said, my second-oldest Korg tuner is still my best one.
I believe the major factor in aging a pedal harp is how often and how carefully it is moved. While I saw a professional harpist put her Style 85 in the trunk of her car with no padding, maybe not even a cover, few harps would stand up to that kind of treatment. Moving is very hard on the neck and the base. Clicking comes from playing a lot, and that can start after 20-30 years. If a neck is going to fail, I suspect is more likely to do so quickly, which is why they have the five-year warranty check-up. I will say that my harp’s sound improved with every rebuilding job, three of them. Especially when they put a stirrup on the bottom of the center strip. When I first got my harp, in 1979, it was very plain, but even from top to bottom. If it hadn’t been so even, I’d have sent it back. But I thought, something might come of this. So I worked at it, and eventually it became totally responsive and richly resonant as I dreamed it might be. Adding a gold crown gave it just the right distinction. So, now it is 42 years old, and the main problem is the riveting. But I also stopped moving it 11 years ago because I noticed I was having trouble tuning it after being moved in a car. That told me the neck was being destabilized by not having been cushioned sufficiently or laid totally flat.
Salzedo’s Preludes for Beginners in the Method introduce most of them in beautiful music, climaxing with his famous Chanson dans la Nuit. Montsalvatge’s Variations employ several of his colors, albeit in Spanish. Persichetti’s Parable uses them extensively.
Yes, good news, indeed. I was told by a colleague that they had done so on new 85s and such, so I am greatly relieved that it is a false rumor.
