In G minor. Will need Bb, Eb and F# levers.
Has four lever changes in the piece (with plenty of time in left hand to change).
Beautiful song.
Easy arrangement, very accessible.

The Children's Album is dedicated to Tchaikovsky's favorite nephew, Vladimir Davydov. On 12/24 December 1878, Tchaikovsky wrote to Lev Davydov: "Tell Bobik that the music has been printed with pictures, that the music was composed by Uncle Petya, and that on it is written Dedicated to Volodya Davydov. The silly little fellow will not understand what dedicated means... Even so, Bobik is an inimitably delightful figure when he's playing, and he might look at the notes, and think that a whole symphony is dedicated to him?.

In a letter of 30 April/12 May 1878 to Nadezhda von Meck, the composer wrote: "A while ago I thought that it would not be a bad idea to make a small contribution to the stock of children's musical literature, which is very modest. I want to create a series of little individual pieces just for children, and with an attractive title, like Schumann`s.

Some months before this letter was written, while staying in Florence on 14/26 February, Tchaikovsky told Pyotr Jurgenson that he wanted "to write a number of easy pieces, like Kinderst�ck?. Evidently, the idea of creating a collection of pieces for young people had not been abandoned by the composer, and after his return to Kamenka in April he decided to begin composition. In the aforementioned letter to Nadezhda von Meck, he informed her: "Tomorrow I shall start working on my collection of miniatures for children".

On 1/13 May the composer wrote to Anatoly Tchaikovsky: "I'm working well and have done rather a lot". On 4/16 May the sketches for all 24 pieces were ready. Shortly afterwards, Tchaikovsky accepted an invitation from Nadezhda von Meck to stay at her Brailov estate until the end of May/beginning of June, before spending a few days in Moscow; from there he went to spend five days with his friend Nikolay Kondratyev at Nizy, and in mid/late June he called at Kiev, before returning to Verbovka. In the days following his arrival, he began to put the finishing touches to all the pieces written in April and May. The fair copy of the Children's Album was begun, it seems, on 13/25 July.

By 20 July/1 August the copying out was completed, and on 21 July/2 August the composer told Nadezhda von Meck that he was working on the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.

On 29 July/10 August the manuscript of the Children's Album, along with a number of other compositions, was sent to Pyotr Jurgenson in Moscow. In October, after the proofs had been corrected, the album was published.



P.S.- Other than a modest suggestion for an interpretation, this arrangements remain absolute faithful to the original composition.

The first version is in the original key of g minor, the second is transposed to ?a minor?, the third one is intended for a little lap harp and transposed to d minor. It sounds better in the original key of g minor. I used a lot the d minor version and performed it with my little harp very often, always experiencing a very deep musical feedback.

A little nuance was added to the arrangements, thus obliged by its minimal use on the original manuscripts.

I included the original long and expressive leggato bows and left out the staccatos for the left hand between the bars 17 and 20. I felt somehow awkward when applying this technic on the harp myself.

May be the staccatos suites you best, and you should try it.

The score was written on Finale.

The sound file was produced with samplers from Garritan,

intended as an audio support for the presentation of the score.

A reproduction of Tchaikovsky`s original manuscript is added to the file as a reference to the original sources of this composition, it is an extra bonus intentionally didactic and obviously not included in the price of the arrangement itself.

Thank you very much for taking your time to read this text and to listen to the file.

I hope you enjoy the music.

Eight original compositions for harp, all two pages in length. This edition contains an eighth interlude found in Mrs. Semman's files after her passing. Some people have told us that Number Eight is the loveliest of all. The pieces in this collection are a representation of the various moods and colors of daily experiences, which inserted in the fabric of gifts and challenges, weave together the essence of life itself. 1 in F in �. 2 in Bb, 6/8 rhythm. 3 in 4, key of G minor, 4 in �, key of Bb, 5 key of G minor, in 4, 6 in G major, mostly single notes with some parallel 3rds. 7 in G minor-ish.

A collection of gentle original melodies playable on lever or pedal harp. Spring Prelude, key of C is in � time,with a very sweet melody. Just One Kiss of Spring is in 4/4 key of G, slow with a few large rolled major 7th chords. Spring Clouds is in 6/8, key of A minor, fairly moving with a key change to F. There is also a C# lever change. Rain is in E minor, almost monotonous and excellent for meditation. An April Lullaby, in G and �, is marked ?tenderly,?. Good Morning to May, in G and �, is a lovely slow and simple tune. Here?s to June, in 4/4, key of G, has more drive than the preceding tunes. Spring Nocturne, in C and 4/4, is very simple to play, with only a few full chords. Although a few low notes are found here and there, all of these pieces can easily be adapted to a harp with 29 strings or even 26.

Table of Contents:
Spring Prelude, Just One Kiss of Spring, March Clouds, Rain, An April Lullaby, Good Morning to May, Here's to June, Spring Nocturne

A lever harp arrangement of Merry Go Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi from Howl?s Moving Castle. It can be tricky to play on the harp but it?s definitely very beautiful! For this arrangement, I tried to preserve as many harmonies as possible. In the video, the tempo played at is around 70bpm (slower than the original) to give enough time for the many lever changes. But the tempo can of course be adjusted according to skill level.

Suitable for advanced intermediate level players on lever harps tuned in Eb major. Sheet music has lever change markings indicated. A guide to the harp octaves has been included in the PDF.

Key: G minor
Lever/Pedal changes: Multiple
Range: C6 ? F1

**Note: There are minor revisions to the score from 14 April 2021 based on feedback (thank you!).

If you purchased it before that, the revisions made are as follows:
1) Measure 4 (RH) ? Eb down to D at the minim
2) Measure 14 ? Enat6 lever can be set from the beginning of the piece
3) Measure 79 (RH) ? A down to G
4) Measure 82 (LH) - Eb down to D
5) Measure 96 (LH) ? Eb down to C
6) Measure 97 (LH) ? Eb down to A

About SMP Press

This book contains 50 one-page harp solos, ordered progressively from easiest to most difficult. The actual difficulty range is approximately easy to intermediate. You can use these pieces as melodic studies, as teaching/learning pieces, at gigs, etc.

There are several sample pages for you to view. The audio sample is an excerpt from "Meditation."

Many of the pieces contain some fingerings and brackets. None of the pieces include chord symbols. There are no lever changes within any of the pieces. You will need levers on C, F and B strings. The solos are in C, F, G and D, along with related minor keys.

My website: https://www.blevinsmusic.com

My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTv5LTRQW-uI_pIxg94IkQ?