Old Songs is a small lovely piece from Pièces de Genre op.10 by Jules Massenet
this edition for lever harp include two different arrangements

The score is taken from the book Four Romantic French Songs (Quatre Chansons Romantiques) arranged for lever harp
​This book contains four pieces of music from late French Romanticism, arranged for lever harp. In all the pieces the timbre resources of the instrument are exploited to the maximum, with the use of harmonics sounds, notes at the soundboard, glissandos etc. Nevertheless, the arrangements are of intermediate difficulty, accessible to non-professional instrumentalists and students.

This book contains two pieces of music from late French Romanticism, arranged for lever harp. In all the pieces the timbre resources of the instrument are exploited to the maximum, with the use of harmonics sounds, notes at the soundboard, glissandos etc. Nevertheless, the arrangements are of intermediate difficulty, accessible to non-professional instrumentalists and students.
The collection includes:
Théodore Dubois (1837 ?1924)
Chanson Lesbienne (Song of Lesbo)
Chanson d?Orient (Oriental Song).

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 Kinderstück?. 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.

?Annie?s Song? is a John Denver classic that people will be so excited to hear on the harp! It?s the perfect opportunity to hone your technique and learn a really fun piece that fits so nicely in the hands. Difficulty Level and Skills Required: Late-intermediate. Left hand consists of a few different patterns , rolled chords, and overlapping brackets. Right hand carries the melody line with some quick placing, downward arpeggios and rolled chords. There are several complex rhythmic sections in the piece, but no lever changes! Type of Harp: Big harp version is for 33 string harps or larger, but small harp version works for 26 string harps or larger. Range: For big harps: lowest note is E one and a half octaves below middle C, highest note is E just more than two octaves above middle C. For small harps: lowest note is D almost one octave below middle C, highest note is E just more than two octaves above middle C. Levers/Pedals: In the key of D major (F#s and C#s needed). No lever changes in piece. What's Included: PDF download of 7 pages. Fingering and bracketing are included.

THE MUSICAL ZODIAC - This collection includes twelve magical and evocative songs, easy to learn and satisfactory for late beginners and early intermediate player of all ages, paired with twelve unique and beautifully designed coloring illustrations, for your artistic pleasure.


The pieces are written for small harps (29 strings, down to G) and no lever o pedal changes are required. Some extended techniques such harmonics, xylophonic sounds, percussive effects and so on are explored in a simple and fun way.


There is a piece of music and an illustration for each of the twelve zodiac signs:


ARIES, the optimist

TAURUS, the loyal

GEMINI, the talkative

CANCER, the empath

LEO, the leader

VIRGO, the talented

LIBRA, the balanced

SCORPIO, the passionate

SAGITTARIUS, the independent

CAPRICORN, the ambitious

AQUARIUS, the altruist

PISCES, the creative

The collection is also available in a pianoforte version.

See other publications clicking on the author's name

This collection includes the arrangement for lever or pedal harp of 3 traditional folk songs (loch lomond, the water is wide, blue bells of scotland).