Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Manhattan School of Music has a style 15 that is one of the finest harps I have ever played. They also used to have one that was one of the worst. So they vary. I played one in college that had a good sound, but it later broke apart at the soundboard base. It’s all a matter of the quality of the wood in the particular harp.
What is really helpful is the AHS Evaluations, where you get to play for the jury two times, so you have time to improve.
Miss Lawrence always recommended using an organ to accompany a concerto rather than piano, so you could do any concertos in your repertoire. You could try the duos for harp and piano by Boieldieu and Dussek that way. Dewey Owens wrote a (large) piece for harp and organ, I think it’s called Rhapsodic Poem, and isn’t there a piece by Leo Sowerby?
There is a huge amount of repertoire, you just have to search and search. There are arias for voice and harp from a number of operas. I have never seen a comprehensive list of them.
Yes, I am only interested in nylon. I would never use the fluorocarbon strings on my harps, or play on them again. The difference in tension caused injury. You have been very helpful. I don’t suppose you know of a similar chart for Pirastro? I used to get their heavy-gauge nylon strings, but they stopped making them. The quality of their nylon also seemed to change. I have the Bow Brand heavy-gauge gut strings, and they are magnificent!
Salvi and Lyon & Healy pedal harps are the only ones that are all wood. This makes a big difference in tone quality and response. One major reason people may need major repairs on their harps is moving them frequently and often incorrectly, with not enough padding and support. That’s a pretty sure way to need to replace the neck. A harp that is fifteen years old certainly has shown its structural integrity. A new harp will last the longest and have the most innovative parts. The one thing I do not like about new Lyon & Healy harps is the matte/satin finish as opposed to the glossy finish which you will find on the older harps. I don’t think I’ve heard of any problem harps from Lyon & Healy since the 1990s.
What area of repertoire are you looking for, beginning, intermediate, advanced or what? You should email me.
The cons are the weight, increased size, heaviness on your shoulder, and whether you like the sound or not. Even with the improvements, I still find Salvi harps lacking when compared to Lyon & Healy’s, particularly in the treble register. On the other hand, a Salvi is very sturdy.
I’m not sure what you are referring to.
The Salzedo School repertoire consisted of his published music, that of Marie Miller, and before the Method was published, the Bochsa Universal Method and LaRiviere Exercises. Also any music by other composers edited by Salzedo or Lawrence.The wire strings would likely not be broken, but many gut strings would be broken in half, or at the top, and dangling. Occasionally, one might break at the bottom and dangle from the top. Some string ends could be wound around the tuning pins on the neck. Strings near the top end are more likely to remain. The sounding board can definitely have vertical cracks, especially along the center strip. If it’s an antique harp, it could have horizontal cracks. There can also be ripples in the veneer, with cracks where it curves out the most. The neck can be twisted, with cracks at the treble end, and the column could have vertical cracks between strips of wood. There can also be a gap or total break between the bottom of the sounding board and the base. The feet can be gnarled from use. Scratches, divots, bangs, gouges can be anywhere on the harp. Only so much dust would accumulate, but there could certainly be many spider webs, and mouse dung. It might well groan in a draft. It could also fall over, all by itself, or with the slightest vibration or bump. If a string broke, that would be a loud snap followed by groans, and a wire string would make a loud snap and whine.
I have tried all the possible resolutions if indeed that was a misprint and none of them work any better. I also went over them with Miss Lawrence, who rejected them. Play it as written.
I conceived of Concedo strings at least thirty years ago or more, because I noticed that the dyed strings did not break when tying a knot, they were more flexible than the natural strings. I suggested this back then, and when they began making them, I wasn’t notified, so I’ve never tried them. I am now using Bow Brand heavy-gauge gut strings and love them. They’re not actually heavy, they’re the original gauging before they were thinned back in the ’90s.
