Meet François Pernel

Meet François Pernel! (In case you didn’t know, he was the inspiration for Camac’s Excalibur!) He has five collections of originals for lever harp that we promise you are going to love! Check ’em out:

 

We asked François to tell us more about what inspires him:

I like to compose my own repertoire, mixing my classical background with modal scales, traditional music and contemporary colors. I want to put forward the lever harp. I’d like that this harp will never more be considered as a “small” pedal harp.

What composition are you most proud of:

I like “Le Rayon de Lune” (moon beam), composed for Mariannig Larc Hantec—modern and mysterious harmonies.

What is your most recent project?

A book named Les aventures d’un petit cochon de ferme (Adventures of a little farm pig.) It includes violin, drums, pedal harp solo, pedal harps, lever harps easy, lever harp medium, children’s choir and a tale I also wrote about a little pig who want to have a special destiny…

Tell us more about your original collections:

Autre Chose pour harpe à leviers is my first book. I put everything in it—arrangements, compositions, and duets… Then, this book was sold out. So I decided to divide it in four books and also add more melodies. Mélange pour ensemble de harpes, Mélange pour harpe à leviers et autres instruments, Autre chose pour harpe à leviers Niveau débutant et intermediate, and Autre chose pour harpe à leviers Niveau Avancé.

Then I realized that I need more very easy pieces to start lever harp. Appetizer (Amuse Bouche) is 60 pieces to start the lever harp (and some difficult pieces at the end also!). They are mainly one page songs with a wide font…

Where do you look for inspiration?

If I spend to much time to think ; it doesn’t work. A context of emergency is helpful for me. And I particularly appreciate to work on demand, for somebody who has a special request.

Are there any composers or arrangers who inspire you?

Kristen Noguès for the harp. Radiohead, Björk, Messiaen, Stravinsky for the others 🙂

What’s your favorite harp music to play?

Bach.

What’s your favorite harp music to listen to?

I don’t like to listen to harp music (even mine)!

Tell us three interesting things about you:

  • Camac harps made the “Excalibur” for me. I have the first one and I’m proud of it and the sound we got, after three prototypes.
  • I was living in a van in Ireland and I was playing (busking) in Galway town for a couple of years. (a lot to learn by playing in the street)
  • I’m french—I like good friends, good wine and good cheese!

What else do you want people to know?

I have a workshop festival in France four weeks a year. You can enjoy the harp and a friendly weekend, learning my brand new composition (from the day before usually!). We also have possibilities of free accommodation during the weekend. (The Loire Riverside is beautiful !)

Find out more about François Pernel at www.francois-pernel.com.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.