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Dear Irene,
You certainly show dedication. Can your teacher not provide you with at least a substitute? You should not be without lessons for such a long period, not at all. At least you can use Skype or the equivalent, if absolutely necessary. And remember, we don’t know anyone’s background when they post here. And it is extremely important to buy cds and music, or they cannot be produced. Check Sara Ericsson’s cd, I’m pretty sure Night Breeze is on there, along with all the other Short Stories.Salzedo’s music is very specific, and is not open to all kinds of individual interpretation. He knew what he wanted and notated it very clearly. He especially did not want rubato added unless indicated. We should respect this, particularly when we are close enough to him in time to still know what he wanted. Just think how much time pianists spend figuring out what Beethoven wanted. Playing music however you feel like may be self-satisfying, but it doesn’t necessarily get you closer to the music.
There are professional recordings of Night Breeze by harpists who know this tradition, I am pretty sure. I think one was titled Night Breeze.
Relying on performances on YouTube for guidance as to how to interpret a piece, or learning how it goes is not wise. Many if not most are simply casual play-throughs, amateur or student performances and the like.
To improve, it sounds like you need much more practice with the metronome, and much more exercise practice. Exercises will help you develop even tone, consistent and simple finger action without excess movement, and when you have that, you will begin to have dynamic control. If you are not sure what the notation is calling for, then you should get a copy of the Lawrence-Salzedo Method and study it for explanations. You should also spend a good amount of time practicing pedal changes. Listening carefully to the harp is a key element.
Playing should not be a struggle. You should have consistent hand position and movements, whatever your technical approach. Your fingers should go in and out of your palm consistently and surely.
Corrected. However, whenever possible, Miss Lawrence insisted on doubling the harp part in Don Juan.
I am sure you can take Carl’s word over your teachers. There is no greater stress on the E and B pedals, and you can take back your E# and B#. The spring and pedal stud can be moved to adjust the tension.
You might give Pirastro nylon strings a try. They are a little bit thicker than the usuals, and are less harsh sounding. If you play lower on the strings, they sound more like gut. Even they are more plastic sounding, at least they do give true pitch and are responsive. I can’t stand guts above middle c because they sound false. I also can’t afford them. I am sympathetic. Bow Brand thinned their strings some time ago. You can also try to get heavy gauge Pirastro nylon, which are the best, from Salopian. There is also heavy gauge gut if you can find it.
If you are having harp lessons, I would get in touch with the instructor now regarding the harp, and what music to bring to work on.
Cleveland and Buffalo, or Erie, are the closest cities. Chautauqua is, or was, dry, so you won’t be able to sip sherry between lessons. No alcohol permitted. The lake is rather cold, so the swimming is brisk, the waves can be big, and the water deep. The professional orchestra is quite wonderful and do concerts about three nights a week. I had a charming practice cabin in the woods. Bring mosquito repellent, or get some when you arrive. There are limited shops, and they tend to be expensive. It can be cool at night, and quite hot by day. You might want to make side trips to The Gorge-they’ll know what you mean-and to Mayville, a town full of psychics.
I would bring spending money for snacks and whatever. If you won’t have use of a car, you will be there for the duration. It’s a large colony, but enlosed by a wall, which can feel odd after a few weeks. It has many Victorian homes and long-time permanent summer residents. I hope you enjoy it.Working abroad is an option when an orchestra holds auditions in this country. Quite a few harpists worked in Latin American orchestras in the 1980s and 90s. Some work on cruise ships, and now we see positions in resorts in the Middle East.
My impression is that in many foreign countries, where schools and orchestras are state-supported, we Americans cannot get any jobs. Or, at least that was known to be true of German orchestras, and maybe still true with teaching positions. Very few are ever advertised, but the internet at least makes it possible to find out about them. Meanwhile, some of our positions are held by foreign-born harpists, as we are more open to immigration than the countries they came from. There is certain to be more government arts funding in European countries, at least until very recently. It is quite hard for American harpists to do well, I don’t think many people realize that. It is very competitive, the resources are unevenly distributed, the level of harp activity varies widely from one area to another, etc. Many people here wish to play harp and can’t afford one, or the instruction. Most students who inquire about lessons seem to only have enough for lessons or an instrument, but not both.Boieldieu was a very well-known and successful opera composer. He was not a harpist-composer, but he did write quite a few pieces using harp.
I suggest that you get a book on ornamentation, Mr. S. The most comprehensive reference is by Frederick Neumann, and it covers ornamentation in each period and style of baroque and classical music. Most editions from the years 1850 or so to 1990 or so print the ornaments incorrectly. They write appoggiaturas as grace notes before the beat, the first note of trills is written before the beat, but even if you simply read the Saint-Saens edition of the works of Rameau, I believe you will find by reading the introduction, that no matter how the notes are placed on the page, an ornament takes its rhythmic value from the following note, which means it begins ON the beat, and if it is coming from a higher note, it begins with the note above the melody note, not the melody note, with some exceptions.
Bochsa explains it clearly in the Universal Method, which also shows how late in the 19th century ornaments were still played ON the beat with the UPPER auxiliary note starting, ie. DCDC for a trill marked on a C, not CDCDC.
The two ornaments that seem to occur between the notes are a turn, and what I am currently calling a liaison, such as playing AB between a written G and a following C. This occurs in Gluck, for example. Turns are common enough.
Another good reference is the book by CPE Bach, the Art of Continuo Playing, which is also rather entertaining to read.
ALL harpists who play anything written before the 20th century must learn at least the basic rules of reading and playing ornaments to play music of those periods. If they do not, they will not sound literate to any musician or music lover who understands baroque and classical music, and I would not want to be in that position.
The only exception I would make to that rule is if you are playing a transcription by Renie, Grandjany or Salzedo, in which case you should do as they have written. But better to learn to make your own transcription, then, with proper ornamentation and registration. Many of Salzedo’s transcriptions do have correct ornamentation, depending on when he made them. The early French editions of the 20th century engraved ornaments in a misleading way, putting all the notes before the beat, even though the introduction says to begin the ornament on the beat.
There have been other threads on this subject. I think every conservatory should be teaching this to their students. To not know the difference between ornaments is to not understand the music very well. They have purpose and function, and are not mere decorations.
This is not an organized lecture on the subject, but I hope a spur to do one’s own investigations.
As for the opening of the Boieldieu, since we do not have an urtext edition, it is hard to say if the turn leading into the trill should begin on the beat or just before. What is more rhythmic? If you do it before, keep the beat that has been established. I think the first two notes should be played just before so the trill begins on the upper auxiliary on the beat with an accent. If you are doing a one-handed trill for some reason, then starting the whole thing on the beat will reduce the number of beats/alternations that you have to put in the trill.Why I don’t like a one-handed trill: it lacks the freedom, flow, brilliance and flexibility of a keyboard trill or one on most other instruments. I have not heard many harpists who could do one that well, and I find it physically risky. A two-handed trill, on the other “hand” allows for complete freedom of execution. One may vary the speed, the tempo, the number of beats/alternations, the dynamics, the texture, the reverberance, all those wonderful things, and I am known for my trills, if I may say so.
Some music where trills should start on the upper note on the beat: Handel, Bach, Scarlatti, Dussek, Spohr, Naderman, Bochsa and others of those periods. A triple meter piece such as a rondo may be an exception, in which a “snap” is called for; in that case you play a very short grace note with a strong accent on the melody note. For Parish-Alvars and later, you might start on the beat with the melody note or some other arrangement.
With 20th Century composers who are writing in a classical style, it is tricky. I look at the musical function. Is the trill there for dissonance and accent? Then on the beat with the upper note. Is it there for melodic decoration? Then on the beat with the melody. What are the other instruments doing? In Halffter’s Sonatina, there are different ornaments happening in different instruments, so the conductor should coordinate everyone for unity.
I talk to my harp to tell it what kind of tone I want. Establishing command is part of directing the wood’s response to your playing. Seriously. Studies have shown that wood fibers realign themselves differently according to whom is playing, so by talking to my harp, I think I establish clearer intention, and it focuses my intention. As a result, my harp has changed, and become a stunning instrument.
Moving across country can be done by truck. I would get the large cardboard box from Lyon & Healy, if that’s what would fit, and find a trucking company that will take it in one vehicle, no transfers, with temperature control if in the summer. If it has to transfer once, in Chicago, that would not be too bad, as the boxes are well padded.
It certainly does test one’s endurance. When you know it securely, you should be able to play the notes more easily and increase the tempo then. Composer’s tempos are what they hear in their head, and minus the acoustics and effort. So, shaving 20 numbers is quite normal. I believe the left hand under the trill is played by the strings, so you don’t need to duplicate that. A two-handed trill is the only trill on the harp that sounds like a trill should sound, except for a four-note trill. The ornaments should be played on the beat and beginning on the upper auxiliary, ie. not as written, but in the baroque-classical manner. The piece is all melody, and needs to sing just as a lyric soprano or coloratura would. The left hand does not have enough to do for my taste. The orchestration is simple but exciting. It is a very energetic piece. The Dussek concertos are a finer alternative, if one is needed.
