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I have to vote for Lyon & Healy, based on all the harps I’ve heard in performance. I have not heard a Swanson in performance. I have played one. It is very different to hear one in a hall than to merely play one. If you are buying a harp for home use only, it makes less difference. Then the main issue is maintenance and lifespan, if you like the sound and feel. If you are aiming to be professional in North America, I would recommend the LH concert grands as the standard sound we’ve come to expect. Salvi’s tend to be darker and project less, and the Camacs I heard lacked warmth and ring, comparatively speaking. One thing not in their favor: the use of materials other than wood. Wood fibers realign themselves in accordance to the player over time, personalizing your sound; synthetic fibers probably can not do that. As far as I know, LH, Salvi and Venus are all wood, which means the whole thing resonates similarly. It seems to me the point of playing an instrument like the harp or guitar, or recorder, is to experience the beauty of wood and acoustic sound. Lots of people like their camacs, you probably will too, if you get one, but there’s a lot to be said for following one’s teacher’s advice. My first teacher insisted her students buy style 23s, for their quality, value and lifelong usefulness. I am so thankful to her, because otherwise we probably would have gone a cheap route, and I wouldn’t have the world-class instrument that I now have to play.
I have the NAXOS recording and love it very much. This is such an ethereal, sensitive work. Suzanne Willison is the harpist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Lloyd-Jones.
Elizabeth Volpe is a wonderful teacher in Vancouver and she plays principal harp with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. I don’t want to give out her contact information on here without her permission, but you can easily find it from the Vancouver Symphony’s website.
I’ve played both and I love both. The harp I learned to play first was an old Lyon and Healy
model 17. It is probably about 80 years old now, a smaller harp with a huge sound. It is a
little the worse for wear from being hauled around our university, but it is tough and
durable and has the same wonderful sound today as it had 40 years ago.
When the time came for me to buy my own harp, I chose a Venus Concert Grand, a
mahogany custom made finish with roses lightly brushed with gold. To me it is the most
gorgeous harp ever made.
How eloquent. I bought the Naxos recording, but haven’t listened yet. I know I heard the piece a long time ago on the radio.
Thanks very much for your responses. I am taking all of this into serious consideration.
…Eric Marrero
I too am looking for the piano sheet music for the instrumental version of The Princess Bride Storybook Love. Can anyone please send it to me at cathypotato@hotmail.com
The Harpsicle is probably your best choice for under $400. Unfortunately Harpsicles don’t have bridge pins, so I don’t think levers can be added. I’ve used Harpsicles at schools before, and it has worked well for beginners. I did arrange a lot of music for lap harp without levers for this harp. If you could spend a little more the Dusty Strings Ravenna is a good choice, and Blevins Harps have discounted specials.
Young students may feel they are “interpreting the music” by “expressing themselves,” but I think they have to be guided by their teacher in what the music calls for. I disagree with using any period-instrument recordings as I find them to be least musical and expressive performances of music I have ever heard, in most cases. I think the finest recordings of baroque and classical music were made by groups like the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, I Musici and such. They played with full understanding of ornamentation as I recall, which is necessary to play any music, but with melodic feeling. I think I was shaped greatly by my exposure to Handel’s Sonatas for flute/recorder, which I heard over and over, and hearing continuo playing. The classical values of baroque music actually go against “personal” expression as they call for balance and emotional sort-of abstraction. I was discussing that with my voice teacher, and we agreed that the factor of performing for aristocrats and royalty may have called for not showing open emotion, that it had to be balanced with formality, pomp and ceremony. It is hard sometimes for the student, but they have to learn to speak the language. I would look for small places where it is innocuous to give them a free choice in what to do. One doesn’t want to be oppressive. One thing about baroque music is that two people can play the same piece in the same way, and it will sound different, and the personality of the player will come through. The student should learn to have faith in the process. When they have mastered more of their technique and tone quality then they will have more to work with. Ruth Slencynska wrote an article or handout that gave a brief but thorough list of ornaments and how to play them. The piano collections by Denes Agay sometimes do so as well. I recommend reading C.P.E. Bach’s The True Art of Keyboard Accompanying, because it is so clear, explains ornamentation and style so well, and because it is actually rather funny and entertaining. The Neumann is a great compendium. I am still waiting for someone to come up with a volume for harpists, reflecting the music and composers we deal with, like Dussek, Spohr, Nadermann and such, some of whom have a style not like keyboard instruments. I find that in most cases ornaments should be assumed to begin on the beat, whether even in value or short-long. This is true until the late 19th century. Not every one may know that publisher’s editions cannot be trusted. From early on, they printed ornaments incorrectly, turning appoggiaturas into grace notes routinely. I look at what way of playing the ornament will be more expressive, serve a stronger melodic function and be less disruptive rhythmically. Thus, I consistently find I am in most cases playing the ornaments on the beat, subtracting their rhythmic value from the following note. Even in 20th Century neo-classical music, like Ernesto Halffter’s Danza de la Pastora, as it is in the style of Scarlatti, it should be ornamented in that style. This I have found supported in his orchestral score, and the work of a colleague, Palau, who specifies that his ornaments of the same type should be played on the beat. I think it is very clear from the Zingel edition of the Spohr Fantaisie, that regardless of the printing, the ornaments should be treated as classical and played on the beat, expressively. Spohr is a very classical composer. The early 19th century was transitional, with composers writing classically and showing romanticism yet using classical language and figuration, like Berlioz and Schubert. Amadeus published a wonderful book on this period in French music which discusses the harp quite a bit. A friend of mine described telling the students to give the notes a bit of color to be more expressive. I think another way at it is to show how they have been using their head to learn the notes and memorize the music, and now they should listen to it, and use their ear only. That may lead them to do some very nice things. As Carl says, literacy is very important, and the student will gain that from listening to great musicians on other instruments, not just the harp. I would recommend any of the legendary performers of the 1930s through 70s, not contemporary players. You have to learn style from those who had it, with the authenticity of interpretation derived from knowing the culture of the music. Too many modern famous performers are lacking in that.
“Ornamentation: a Question and Answer Manual” by Valery Lloyd-watts and Carole L. Bigler. Published by Alfred.
This is an excellent resource for understanding the differences in both ornamentation and overall aesthetic of the different periods in history. It includes a chapter titled “An overview of the influence of art and architecture on the development of music”. It includes chapters on the use of ornamentation in each style period and a chapter on how to realize ornamentation in Baroque music. It is a concise reference with 64 pages and costs about $9 US dollars. Alfred also has performance practice videos, one for each style period for piano. It would be quite excellent if a harpist/scholar were to do a series for harp!
Iv?n!!! Qu? bien, al fin encontr? a alguien que haya tocado este concierto. Cada vez que me lo llevo a la casa para revirsarlo sigilosamente, me encuentro con un nuevo error…ya estoy harta, as? que te agradecer?a mucho que me lo pudieras mandar, pues necesito sacarlo pronto. Ah, por cierto, vas a tocar ese concierto en el concurso, o que vas a tocar?? Yo estoy sacando este concierto, pero para hacer algunas aundiciones en unos conservatorios por ah?…des?ame suerte. Av?same si puedes mandarme el concierto arreglado por fa. Ciao!!!
