Harp Column’s annual 30 Day Practice Challenge returns on January 1st! This year, we challenge you to Go For The Gold by practicing like an olympian. Need ideas for an Olympic-level piece? Scroll down for our recommendations of pieces from around the world that are sure to give a gold medal-worthy performance.
Titles marked with an * are playable on lever harp.
BEGINNER SOLOS
IRELAND
*Captain O’Kane by
Turlough O’Carolan
SPAIN
*Romance Anonimo
(Also known as Romance Espagnole, this melody is adapted from the guitar solo believed to be written in the 19th century)
CZECH REPUBLIC
*The Moldau by
Bedřich Smetana
SCOTLAND
*Wild Mountain Thyme
Traditional Scottish
INTERMEDIATE SOLOS
GERMANY
*Prelude in C by
Johann Sebastian Bach
BULGARIA
*The Summer White Boat by
Angela Madjarova
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
*Nataliana by
Deborah Henson-Conant
RUSSIA
The Lark by
Michail Glinka
ITALY
Quando m´en vo by
Giacomo Puccini
ADVANCED SOLOS
SPAIN
Suite Espagnol—No. 1 “Granada” by
Isaac Albeniz
CZECH REPUBLIC
Slavonic Dance No. 2 by
Antonín Dvořák
BELGIUM
Chanson de Mai, op. 40 by
Alphonse Hasselmans
RUSSIA
Theme from Swan Lake by
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
FRANCE
Clair de Lune by
Claude Debussy
GERMANY
La Source by
Albert Zabel