Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Harp seems to be different from flute or voice, where multiple teachers is the norm for some reason. Two different harp techniques at the same time are not compatible. It is hard enough to master one. If the one is not sufficient, then you should learn a different approach.
I don’t understand the numbers here. One teacher is 1,000e per lesson and the other is 164e? I would like to get 1,000e per lesson.
But seriously, you are being self-serving and disrespectful of your teachers.
I firmly believe that a harp should be recorded in a warm, lively room with a high ceiling, and a microphone placed in the room, not near the harp.
That is a professional’s tempo, I’d say. You can hear a recording of Salzedo playing it online. He does do it that fast. It’s a lively piece. It’s not all that idiomatic to the harp, but if you get your fingers closing well and fast, it is doable at quite a pace. It’s meant to be showy.
And please don’t forget that soggy old chestnut, “The Mermaid’s Song on the Banks of the River at the Spring in the Forest while Bathing” by Jan Fcedekl, the well-known Fredonian harp master who was Harpo Marx’s teacher in Animal Crackers.
It was recently published and is easily available. It is a nice piece.
Salzedo transcribed the First Song without Words, and it is difficult, but very rewarding to perform. A few others are playable, and he also transcribed the Spring Song. I believe Renie transcribed a couple of them as well.
I don’t know this well, but I would say, play something with much harder pedaling, and it will seem easier. Renie had to have a way to do it, so keep trying. Sometimes it is a question of timing, moving a pedal slightly early or late.
I think they gave you a fairly low price to repair it. They are not responsible after the warranty, as you know. It is the extra price one pays for buying a cheaper model. You could skip the regulating and try to do it yourself, or have someone local do it, but it would cost about the same.
You got ten years use, and moved it around, so it cost you about $100 a month, if you had been renting it, or somethign like that. It is time for a bigger harp anyway, so take the trade-in, or buy a second-hand harp. You should get a 23.
It is very tricky to know when one is overpracticing something. 100 times in one day is way too much, I think. 50 times is probably a good maximum. After a while, I doubt one makes progress.
I don’t think this pieces works that well on the flute, because it goes below the range. I have heard various ways of dealing with it, the best being having a b-flat foot on the flute, but it is marvelous with a good violinist.
It has some tricky parts, is rhythmically tricky, and it lays in the hands similarly to Hindemith’s Sonata, as I recall. Stokowski made a splendid recording of it in which the harp is quite prominent. Balance is very tricky with the harpsichord.
I think you have to buy or sell quite a few of their harps to become a dealer. And then you might get 10% off. Not that much. If you want a real discount, buy one second-hand.
I have always worked from the solo piano transcription by Alfred Cortot. Dewey Owens did a transcription direct from the score some years ago, but I prefer the Cortot.
I have not seen another edition of Gliere’s Impromptu, it is not a very substantial piece, but effective in the right place on a program if you don’t make too much of it.
Danse du Moujik is not terribly interesting music, and I don’t find Tournier’s Images to be very challenging, good student material, or filler on a program.
Faure’s Une Chatelaine en sa tour is a small masterpiece. We are so lucky to have it in our repertoire. It is difficult, but not awkward with my fingering and pedaling, just challenging.
Harpists should measure the innate value of pieces, and Une Chatelaine is a good one to use as an example of the best value.
