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I hope to have missed out on this crisis, as I buy sets of strings in advance, and have not used all of mine yet. I have not noticed any problems from having strings for several years before using them, as long as they are in the sealed pouches.
I had hoped that with her exposure, she might have become a national spokeswoman for the harp. Maybe she will yet come to do that? But I’m not holding my breath.
Well, how do you think a guy feels? When I lived in New York, I could not work in any of the hotels because they would not hire guys, except for the one that had a guy in residence who did not want me to sub for him.
The only answer I can think of is to seek out opportunities within your community, or to create some. Many people have that challenge, and it is unfair, because not everyone is gifted in that way.
As a man, as a Jew, I find it utterly disgusting for blondes to be given preference in hiring. But it is often women doing the hiring, so what can you say? No one is immune to discrimination.Lucile Lawrence demonstrates the execution of the symbols and notation in her instructional video. Everyone should watch it.
A chair with a back can cause problems as your upper body has to be able to move, so make sure it is flexible enough not to impede that. As you pedal, your back adjusts, too. A brace helps strengthen the core muscles a lot, and doing core exercises, which can be fun, will support your back better. If one performs, it is important to have a bench or chair that matches the harp well.
Basel, if it is possible, you should contact a reliable place such as Morley Harps in London, or Lyon & Healy in Germany, to see if they can store your harp and music for you until you land in a stable situation. To leave them behind is a waste, and will they be used by anyone? I’m sure someone would like to help you, I would hope so. If not that, send them to where your parents go and they can be later sent back to you. Have faith in the future.
This is a great example of why Salzedo’s notation should be known by all harpists, and how to play it correctly, and being tested on it in school would ensure that is accomplished! Fortunately, his notations are explained mostly in the Method and Modern Study of the Harp, as well as in individual pieces.
There is no such thing as a captioned accent, unless you mean the mark that has an asterisk and a footnote. You are confusing it with the vertical symbol, the inverted cucumber, as Miss Lawrence called it, that indicates to slide with suppleness up and down the string. What I believe Aglaia is asking about is the Expressive Accent, that is its name, which is used in Bolero. It means to give the note an emphasis that is expressive, rather than dynamic or rhythmic. Where a tenuto would mean to lengthen the note slightly and an accent mark would mean to play it more sharply, in this case the note is emphasized, but lyrically, melodically to be more expressive. This is noted at the bottom of the first page of the Bolero, where Salzedo simply says, to play more expressively. It would be slightly louder, but not sharpened in attack in any way. It is worth noting that this valuable asset was uniquely invented by Salzedo, and though it could be profitably used in all music by all composers, they don’t seem to know it now exists. I use it in my music, though it is very hard to get the computer to make it. If you look at its shape, it is derived from a tenuto mark, but it has an extra push to it, like the shape of the thumb on its side.
He wrote a lot of harp music, and his Sonata da Camera for flute and harp was, most remarkably, written while in a Nazi prison camp!
I have pretty much completed my new edition, which is completely from the original, with ornamentation, voicing and completion of the figured bass. It is full of surprises, too. I hope to have it ready for publication in the next year. It has an original cadenza.
I don’t think it is particularly important “how” it was played in Handel’s time, as composers in those days were rarely satisfied by the instruments in use, and were always pushing for improvements. Whether or not the harpist who originally played the piece was a virtuoso or not has no bearing on what we would do now. If you applied the same standard to music written recently, it is quickly apparent that it makes no sense. What matters is understanding the notation, what is expected to be added to that, and being consistent with Handel’s music as a whole, and I have relied on other harp music he wrote as guidance to accomplish that. All that said, I love Salzedo’s edition, and think it is the best of the modern editions, and his cadenza is spectacular, and very authentic to the 20th century.
I like to recommend the Harvard Dictionary of Music as a general reference book. If a student reads it cover to cover, they will arrive very well-prepared for college.
If Shostakovich is dictating multiple harps, but there is only one part to be played, then I am sure he is saying it should be played by that number of harps, doubling, not a solo part.
