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Carlos Salzedo did magical things with folk music, and Dewey Owens is my next favorite, especially his Irish tunes.
Eligible to be listed, yes, but that doesn’t mean they get listed, there is not enough space for all that are released. American String Teacher publishes a few reviews twice a year. That’s nowhere near the amount that gets published, though.
P.S., that this video even exists is a miracle. It was the only surviving portion of a tape among many that were destroyed while in storage, so I was told.
Carl, your criticism is so unwarranted, it is hard to believe. If you don’t like Mr. Layne’s teaching, you can create your own video showing us your expertise. I have probably seen hundreds of harpists play in the position he describes, so I don’t know where you have been all these years. And given the amount of dreck posted on YouTube, we should be grateful.
If you or others don’t care to play that way, so what? Drawing a clear distinction between different types of playing is a natural way of teaching, and it is necessary when you are teaching a student to play with their arm elevated because, without strength or understanding of the concept, most students will let their elbow drop. And playing with the elbow completely down does tend to cause it to “flop around” when you are moving very actively. Salzedo’s technique developed as a progression from traditional French playing, as he was
I could see Steven Sametz’s Angelus being played a lot.
I was thinking about this today, and whether there is a sufficient need for a harp publication that is solely a review of music.
I can’t imagine negotiating who will tune first, second and last. It would probably take longer than the piece itself!
Do you mean Pirastro, by any chance? That is what I use. Doug Rioth played on my harp not so long ago, and I asked him about my stringing, and he said, more or less,
I don’t like sharing the spotlight with a lutenist, plus it makes the balance difficult, I should think. I have heard Ellis’s recording, and it’s cute, but I think the lute detracts from what the harp can say on its own. Who spends more time tuning, I wonder, a lutenist or a harpist?
They made rubber flutes?
I don’t think nylon strings are ideal, but in the upper range I prefer their responsiveness and the longer duration of the tone, and the luminous quality. If I hadn’t been taught to use them, I might not have, but the positive qualities they have make up for any shortcomings, or at least I hope so. I can’t switch to gut in any case. But I definitely don’t like gut in the second octave or higher.
The Camac harps I have heard sound very good, just up to a point. The newer ones may be different. They don’t reverberate to the same degree I expect, I don’t hear the overtones enough, and their response to sforzando notes seems, the only word for it I can find, that they bark. The notes leap out, without context and perhaps die off too quickly without supporting ringing of other strings. The aura of tone is not the same. It’s maybe the last 10 percent of tone quality, the 90 percent is there, but for a recital, that last 10 percent is all important to me. I haven’t played on one, to know how it feels under the fingers, but I go by the sound.
I would like something other than nylon, but have not found anything suitable, and at least they are made of petroleum product, which is sort of natural.
I wonder if anyone has tried making silicone strings.
