SKU: UT.LB-4

ISBN 9788881094479. 6.5 x 9.5 inches.

â??During my career spanning half a century, like all my fellow harpists I constantly had to grapple with the commonly held view that the harp has neither music nor history of its own.
Fortunately, over the years I have been able to give the lie to this myth and have tried to bring to light some of the vast repertoire, both early and modern, expressly composed for this instrument which has been treated somewhat as an outsider in the musical world.
The research work for my books on Italian and Swiss harp music was plain sailing because source materials were specific titles and title pages. Were I to write books on French, German, Austrian, British, Bohemian, Spanish, Portuguese or Scandinavian harp music, the work involved would be equally smooth and straightforward.
However, where Dutch music is concerned, the approach is rather different, because here it is the painters, treatise-writers and historians who provide the evidence and guidance necessary to discover the musical customs and traditions where the harp played a significant part.
Performers looking for pieces of music may use this book as follows: chapter II deals with treatises, chapter III with paintings, chapter IV with history and research accounts. Chapters V and VI are concerned with confusions in terminology. Chapter VII describes recent developments and chapters VIII and IX cover composers and pieces of music. Libraries and publishers are listed with their addresses in chapters X and XI, and finally chapter XII consists of the index based on the various groups of performers.
In this last chapter harpists will find the composers most suited to their programme, and can then turn to chapters VIII and IX for details. The actual pieces can be obtained by consulting chapters X and XI. I wish you every success in your search, in your rehearsals and in your concerts !
In order to define what is Dutch or non-Dutch in early music, I have followed the current approach, i.e. all art and history prior to the separation of the â??Seven Provin­ces in the 16th century is the common heritage of the Low Countries, whereas everything pertaining to those courageous lands from then onwards is specifically Dutch..

SKU: FG.55011-885-0

Whizzing, growling and rattling – you can produce all kinds of sounds with the harp, not just the fairy-tale shimmer and glissandos that you first think of. Lotta Wennäkoski composed Sigla for harp and orchestra (2021-2022) in close collaboration with the harpist Sivan Magen, to whom the concerto is dedicated. The title of the concerto, Sigla, has different meanings in different languages. In Italian, it means a jingle; in Icelandic, it means sailing; and in Tagalog, spoken in the Philippines, it means vivaciousness or enthusiasm. Wennäkoski has not specifically referenced these in the movements of the concerto as such, but she does allow that the various meanings of the word may be identified with the music according to the listener’s perception.

The recording of the work (Ondine ODE1420-2) was premiered with the Gramophone award as the the best release in the contemporary category in October 2023.

This product is the solo part.

The orchestral material is available for hire from the publisher.

Duration: 19'
Instrumentation:
Harp solo – equipped with paint brush, tuning key and a plastic hair clip
2 Flutes (2nd doubling piccolo)
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in Bb
2 Bassoons
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in C – trumpets and trombone doubling an egg slicer
Bass trombone attached to a piece of wood or a flat cardboard box
Percussion (2 players)
Percussion I: crotales, vibraphone, 5 gongs (a#, bn, c’, e’, f’), bass drum, cymbal, guiro, bell tree, shell chimes, whip, lion’s roar and different beaters including a bow, superball stck and wire brushes
Percussion II: tam-tam, cymbal, snare drum, 2 cowbells, 2 temple blocks (med/lg), triangle (small/med), vibraslap and different beaters including a bow, wire brushes and superball stick
Piano – equipped with a plectrum, wire brushes and 2 soft percussion beaters
Strings.

SKU: HL.431600

ISBN 9781705163382. UPC: 196288064633. 9.0x12.0x0.234 inches.

Meticulously curated, Beautiful songs for Harp features 28 timeless melodies, thoughtfully arranged for harpists of all levels. Suitable for both pedal and lever harps, this new collection is perfect for harpists looking to enhance their current repertoire. Songs include: And I Love Her • Bless the Broken Road • Bring Him Home • Can't Help Falling in Love • For All We Know • God Only Knows • Hallelujah • I Will Always Love You • If Ever I Would Leave You • Mia and Sebastian's Theme • Morning Has Broken • On the Street Where You Live • The Rainbow Connection • The Sound of Silence • You've Got a Friend • and more.

SKU: FG.55011-912-3

ISBN 9790550119123.

Luonnonjumala (God of Nature) is Tauno Marttinen’s adaption for harp of his piano suite Taara op. 34. The manuscript for harp was found in January 2024 by Rauno Marttinen, composer’s son.

Duration: c. 15’
Movements:
1. Virran ääniä | The Voices of the Stream
2. Luonnonjumalan lähde | The Spring of God of Nature
3. Metsässä tuulee |The Wind Blows through the Forest

Tauno Marttinen (1912–2008) studied in Viipuri and later in Helsinki at the Helsinki Conservatoire. His piano teachers were Ilmari Hannikainen and Selim Palmgren, but he soon became increasingly interested in composing. Marttinen was also the conductor of the Hämeenlinna City Orchestra in 1949−1958 and the founder and principal of the Hämeenlinna Music Institute.

Marttinen started his composing career in late Romantic vein. However, his first concerts in the 1940s met with criticism since the winds of Modernism had already landed in Finland. He then became interested in Dodecaphony and studied under Vladimir Vogel in Ascona but later abandoned strict dodecaphony and found his own, personal style incorporating elements from Neo-classicism and free-tonality with a hint of mysticism – he was called the Shaman of Hämeenlinna (his hometown).

Tauno Marttinen was an incredibly productive composer; he wrote around four hundred works with opus numbers as well as a wealth of other pieces. His oeuvre includes 10 symphonies, concertos for various solo instruments, operas as well as vocal, chamber and instrumental works. Many of Marttinen’s pieces have become popular standard repertoire, such as the piano piece Kimalluksia (Gleams).

SKU: ST.H495

ISBN 9790220224942.

Set for the Trinity examinations, Grade 3, Skylark is an atmospheric musical impression for pedal or non-pedal harp of the view from the composer's home, overlooking the farmland and broad aerial vistas of Norfolk. Contrasting textures of open arpeggios and accompanied melody convey the various stages of the bird's flight, and its singing from on high, rising to the climax of its song on a musical 'thermal' of sustained, arpeggiated chords before a descent to rest in pastureland. Contemplative, even quietly ecstatic in mood, Skylark will prove an effective element in balanced programme-building, whether as required by the Trinity syllabus, or as engaging repertoire for young players.