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I don’t see anything wrong at all. It seems to me that you are nitpicking. A handmade instrument is likely to have slight variations, as you pointed out, or someone else did. I don’t see a major change in the string spacing. What matters is the sound. 3/8 of an inch is tiny. Just enjoy it.
That’s odd, as it is in Solos for the Harp Player, edited by Lucile Lawrence, which has never gone out of print. Are there any differences between the editions?
Why ask for possible trouble that doesn’t have to exist in the first place? Pencil and eraser can’t be beat for markings. And the craft of page turning is fun to learn. And no distractions for the audience, no intrusions of technology in an analog art.
Simply put, you’re too old. Going to school will give you an education and lots of performing experience, and you will learn far more than you would with private lessons. That said, you might as well do private lessons twice a week, if you can practice four-five hours a day. It takes at least that much to learn to study enough music to give a recital. The only orchestral work you are likely to get is with part-time or community orchestras. You won’t be competitive with young harpists in their 20s, or those with one or two decades of professional experience already. But, miracles can happen. I’m surprised that a performance program would accept you at your age, unless you are paying cash. You may become a good harpist, and play lots of chamber music and recitals on your own. You can probably freelance as well, but it’s very hard work, not much of it, and not paying as well as it used to, with so many amateurs playing professionally.
You might consider working in a harp business, or being a harp supporter. You could start a harp concert series and run it, or start a music school. There are many things you can do, but to be competitive as a professional, it totally depends where you are and who else is there, and is not very likely to work out. It’s harsh, but true. When I started performing as a singer, a professional friend who was a star said, when talking about someone else, “he thinks he can become a star, but he’s too old.” and I took that as advice to myself to not have any illusions. So, go into it, but without illusions. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to start young and get experience while young.The risks one takes when young. When I had to get my harp to Chautauqua Institution to play in the festival orchestra for the summer, the only car I was able to rent was not long enough, and was a hatchback, so the base of the harp was sticking out, and, while padded underneath, I had to tie a rope around it so it wouldn’t fall out, and luckily, it did not. I had no choice, but how stupid.
I discussed this with Miss Lawrence, and she said that Flagello saw the final copy and did not ask for any changes. The accidentals are wrong, but just play it as written. Those chords are not in the bass, so even though it would make the accidentals correct, the jump from treble to bass does not make sense. The tonality of the passage is extended anyway. Kathleen Bride published an article in the American Harp Journal discussing supposed misprints, but as mentioned, the composer did not ask for any corrections at the time of publication. It is not easy on the ear, but that’s the style. European lullabyes tend to be rather grim and nightmarish at times.
I strongly recommend that anyone who has soft-tissue injuries to see a radiologist who uses ultrasound for examination and to guide injections or other treatments. Dr. Levon Nazarian of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital pioneered this remarkable treatment and has trained many doctors in it, who are now dispersed around the country, so check if they trained with him. What he does is, after you get a referring prescription from your doctor, he uses the ultrasound to get a visual picture of exactly what is happening inside you. You can watch as he does it. He can see every blood vessel, artery, vein, tendon, ligament, muscle, everything but bone. He can see exactly where you have a pocket of inflammation, which is a cause for bursitis, tennis elbow; or he can see if a tendon sheath is inflamed, or if you have trigger finger. Instead of blind injections, he can then use the ultrasound to guide his needle to inject medicine into the pocket of inflammation. The first time I went to him, I had tennis elbow, and had been getting useless injections. He looked and saw that there was a second pocket of inflammation above the elbow, and that was why the lower injections did not work. So he injected the upper pocket, which also dribbled down into the lower one, and fixed it. He has also fixed trigger finger for me so I did not have to have surgery. It is remarkable! Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is similar to bursitis and can be a pocket of inflammation or a tear, perhaps, and is treatable the same way. If treated properly, then the physical therapy will be much more effective. As for strengthening the arms for playing, physical therapists always wanted me to do counter-strengthening, such as in the upper back, but when I used my weights to strengthen my hold in the forward position I use for playing, that’s when it was improved. Increasing your strength beyond what you need for playing, logically, will make playing easier and less stressful. Stronger muscles protect your joints and tendons. But that’s about as much as I know, aside from being effortless when playing. So I will be very curious to see what you come up with, along with your husband.
I would say that the 23 is going to have finer-grade wood and be made with a little more care and attention to detail, if not a lot. 85s, I would characterize as having a big sound, but a little heavier in character, and having the immediate contact of string and sounding board, with no nylon piece there, the sound comes out more quickly, speaks faster. That also can make it slightly more crude sounding. One must not ignore the influence of the column on the sound. The more carved the column is, the more diffuse the soundwaves coming out of the harp. I believe the 85 is also heavier in weight, which has another effect. If an 85 is all you can afford, it is a very good harp. If you can afford a 23, get that, and add a gold crown if you can. But also, have your harp French polished to a glossy finish, not the matte/satin finish sold now. Compared to a 23, a 30 has a bigger bass tone, but the sound is more directional, with the column being uncarved. The 100 is closer to a 23 for that reason, the fluting helps disperse the sound.
Another factor is how thick the finish is, if it is applied too thickly, it will hold back as much as 10 percent of the sound.I would think the oldest libaries in France would have copies. Salzedo’s earliest publications are also missing. Apparently, French publishers were very disorganized, did not archive properly, and were also disrupted by more than one war.
No, I don’t think that would be from the harp itself. I would see a dermatologist to make sure it’s not an infection or boil or anything. It could be trapped fluid. Or it could be a nerve problem which could be coming from much higher up.
You may not have a local teacher with a similar approach, but there are a good number available, and probably any one of them will do lessons by video call. I do.
