SKU: CF.H84
ISBN 9781491165539. UPC: 680160924530.
Marcel Tournier (1879–1951) was one of the most important harpist/composers in the history of the harp. Over his long career, he added a significant catalogue of very beautiful works to the harp repertoire. Many of his solo works, almost one hundred, have been consistently in print since they were first published. But in recent years harpist Carl Swanson has discovered a treasure trove of pieces by Tournier heretofore unknown and unpublished. These include the Déchiffrages in this edition, as well as songs set for voice, harp, and string quartet, and ensemble arrangements of some of his most beloved works.All of the works that Carl Swanson found were in manuscript only. With the help of the great harpist Catherine Michel, he has put these pieces into playable form, and they are being published for the very first time. He and Catherine often had to re-notate passages to show clearly how they could be played, adding fingerings and musical nuances, tempos, pedals, and pedal diagrams.Tournier wrote these pieces when he was in his 20s, and before he became the impressionistic composer those familiar with his work know so well. They are written in the late nineteenth-century romantic style that was being taught at that time at the Paris Conservatory. They are beautiful short, intermediate level pieces by a first rate composer, and add much needed repertoire to that level of playing.Marcel Tournier (1879–1951) was one of the most important harpist/composers in the history of the harp. He graduated from the Paris Conservatory with a first prize in harp in 1899. He also studied composition there and won a second prize in the prestigious Prix de Rome competition, as well as a first prize in the Rossini competition, another major composition competition of the day. From 1912 to 1948 he taught the harp class at the Paris Conservatory. But composition, and almost entirely, composition for the harp, was the main focus of his life. His published works, including many works for solo harp, a few for harp and other instruments, and several songs, number around one hundred pieces.In 2019, while researching Tournier for my edition MARCEL TOURNIER: 10 Pieces for Solo Harp, I discovered that there was a significant list of pieces by this composer that had never been published and were not included on any inventory of his music. Principal on this list were his déchiffrages (pronounced day-she-frahge, like the second syllable in the word garage).The word déchiffrage means sight-reading exercise, and that was their original purpose. Tournier numbered and dated these pieces, with dates ranging from 1900 to 1910, indicating that they were in all likelihood written for Alphonse Hasselmans’ class at the Paris Conservatory. Tournier was probably told how long to make each one, and how difficult. They range in length from two to four pages, with only one in the whole series extending to five, and from thirty to fifty-five measures, with only one extending to eight-five. The level of difficulty for the whole series is intermediate, with some at the easier end, and others at the middle or upper end.We don’t know if they were intended to test students trying to enter the harp class, or if they were used to test students in the class as they played their exams. The fact that they were never published means that students had to not only sight read them, but sight read them in manuscript form!I worked from digital images of the original manuscripts, which are in the private music library of a harpist in France. She had twenty-seven of these pieces, and this edition is the second in a series of three that will publish, for the first time, all of the ones that I have found thus far. The manuscripts themselves consist of little more than notes on the page: no pedals written in, no fingerings, few if any musical nuances and tempo markings, and no clear indication as to which hand plays which notes. These would have been difficult to sight read indeed! My collaborator Catherine Michel and I added musical nuances, fingerings, pedals and pedal diagrams, and tempo indications to put them into their current condition.At the time these were written, Tournier would have been in his twenties, having just graduated from the harp class himself (1899), and might still have been in the composition class. These are the earliest known pieces that he wrote, and they were written at the very beginning of a cultural revolution and upheaval in Paris that was to completely and profoundly alter musical composition. Tournier himself would eventually be caught up in this new way of composing. But not yet.All of the déchiffrages are written in the late romantic style that was being taught at that time at the Paris Conservatory. Each one is built on a clear musical idea, and the variety over the whole series makes them wonderful to listen to as well as to learn. They are also great technical lessons for intermediate level players.The obvious question is: Why didn’t Tournier publish these pieces, and why didn’t he list them on his own inventory of his music? Actually, four of them were published, with small changes, as his collection Four Preludes, Op. 16. These came from the ones that will be in volume three of this series from Carl Fischer. His first large piece, Theme and Variations, was published in 1908, and his two best known and frequently played pieces, Féerie and Au Matin, followed in 1912 and 1913 respectively. We can only speculate because there is so much still unknown about Tournier and about these unpublished pieces. He may have looked at them, fresh out of school as he was, as simply a way to make some quick money. The first several pieces that he did publish are much longer than any of the déchiffrages. So it could be that, because of their shorter length, as well as the earlier musical style that he was moving away from, he chose not to publish any more of them. We may never know the full story. But all these years later, more than a century after they were composed, we can listen to them for their own merits, and not measured against whatever else was going on at the time. The numbers on these pieces are the ones that Tournier assigned to them, and the gaps between some of the numbers suggest that there are perhaps thirty or more of these pieces still to be found, if they still exist. They will, in all likelihood, be found, as these were, in private collections of harp music, not in institutional libraries. We can only hope that more of them will be located in years to come.—Carl SwansonGlossary of French Musical TermsTournier was very precise about how he wanted his pieces played, and carefully communicated this with many musical indications. He used standard Italian words, but also used French words and phrases, and occasionally mixed both together. It is extremely important to observe and understand everything that he put on the page.Here is a list of the French words and phrases found in the pieces in this edition, with their translation.bien chanté well sung, melodiousdécidé firm, resolutediminu peu à peu becoming softer little by littleen diminuant becoming softeren riten. slowing downen se perdant dying awayGaiement gayly, lightlygracieusement gracefully, elegantlyLéger light, quickLent slowmarquez le chant emphasize the melodyModéré at a moderate tempopeu à peu animé more lively, little by littleplus lent slowerRetenu held backsans lenteur without slownesssans retinir without slowing downsec drily, abruptlysoutenu sustained, heldtrès arpegé very arpeggiatedTrès Modéré Very moderate tempoTrès peu retenu slightly held backTrès soutenu very sustainedun peu retenu slightly held back.
SKU: HL.128725
ISBN 9780936661636. UPC: 888680012588. 8.5x11.0x0.038 inches.
Castle on a Cloud is sung by the child Cosette in Les Miserables. It is a hopeful song of her imaginary world where life is beautiful, and she is not subjected to the drudgery of her hard existence. Sylvia Woods has arranged this lilting song for lever or pedal harp. There are 7 lever changes in the piece, so it is for lower intermediate to intermediate level players. Fingerings and lyrics are included, as well as lever and pedal changes. Two, 2-page versions are included: one for lever harps tuned to C, and the other for lever harps tuned to flats. Pedal harpists can play either version. The arrangement for lever harps tuned to C is in the key of D (2 sharps), with A and C lever changes needed. The arrangement for lever harps tuned to flats is in the key of C, with B and G lever changes needed. Either version may be played on most small harps with about 26 strings if you play everything an octave higher than written. There are special instructions in the introduction telling you what you'll need to change if you have a small harp.
SKU: HL.48180980
UPC: 888680878504. 9x12 inches.
Composed by the famous harpist Henriette Renié, Pine trees of Charlannes is an easy small piece for lever harp with piano or harp accompaniment. This piece for beginners is really nice to play and to start playing ensemble music. The principal harp sections feature some really melodious sections and some sections with quavers going up. It alternates these sections with the accompaniment played by the piano or a second harp. Henriette Renié was a virtuoso French harpist born in 1875. With professors such as Alphonse Hasselmans and Théodore Dubois, she received the First Prize for the Harp in 1887. She wrote numerous works for harp including chamber music, and a concerto.
SKU: BT.ALHE32022
French.
As a student of famous harpist Lily Laskine, Denise Mégevand (1917-2004) received high quality musical education and was significantly instrumental in the revival of the Celtic Harp. She compiled numerous, prolific books for theinstrument, Play and Learn the Celtic Harp being no exception. The Celtic Harp characteristically has metal strings, and is notoriously challenging to play. However, Mégevand's Play and Learn the Celtic Harp provides excellentand clear instruction to progression on the instrument. The book addresses general principles of the Celtic Harp, intervals, arpeggios, chords and scales, as well as including 13 pieces. For all aspiring players of the CelticHarp, Mégevand's Play and Learn the Celtic Harp provides excellent insight and instruction for beginners.
SKU: HL.131541
ISBN 9780936661667. UPC: 888680025564. 8.5x11.0x0.031 inches.
Say Something is an original song by the American duo A Great Big World. The lyrics are about letting go when a relationship ends. It became an international hit when Christina Aguilera joined A Great Big World on a re-recorded version in 2013. Sylvia Woods has made a 4-page advanced beginner to intermediate arrangement, playable on either lever or pedal harp. This music features a pedal point (also called a pedal note or pedal tone), which is a sustained or continually repeated note that is held constant while harmonies change in other parts. A pedal point is usually found in the bass, but here it is in the middle register. Virtually every measure includes a middle C note on the downbeat. Sometimes it is played with the right hand, and at other times with the left. But it is almost always there. This pedal point harmony is what originally drew me into this beautiful piece of music the first time I heard it on the radio. The music is in the key of C, and no sharping levers are required, as there are no lever changes. Fingerings, lyrics and chord symbols are included. The harp range required is 24 strings from a low C up to an E. It can be played on 24-string to 26-string harps with a C as the lowest string if you play both hands an octave higher than written.
SKU: HL.48181026
UPC: 888680878597.
This book, the first volume of Famous Studies for the Harp - Fifty Studies, Op. 34 by Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, was dedicated to J.B. Cramer. Edited and arranged according to Hasselmans's methods by R. Martenot, it features the studies 1 to 25 for intermediate harp players and above. This volume is followed by a second book including the studies 26 to 50. Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856) was a musician and composer able to play the flute, the piano and the harp. He became the harpist of the Imperial Orchestra but had to move to London where he was one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Music.
SKU: HL.48184009
UPC: 888680852771. 9.0x12.0x0.027 inches.
“Brocéliande is a piece for Harp by Annie Challan. Lasting 2?30 minutes, this piece was written for elementary level (upper beginner / intermediate level). It can be played on lever or pedal Harps as there are only a few accidentals. This tribute to the magical forest is the perfect piece to be played in recitals. Annie Challan (born in 1940) is a French Harpist who was the youngest player at the Paris Operas when she started working there. She composed numerous pieces for the Harp.â€.
SKU: HL.151332
ISBN 9781495046179. UPC: 888680088941. 8.5x11.0x0.067 inches.
For lever harp players and pedal harp players. Includes lyrics and playing notes from the arranger. Lava is a short film that was released and shown with the Disney-Pixar movie Inside Out. It is the story of a volcano who has waited millions of years for his one true lava. This songs, which tells the story throughout the short, was written by the film's director.
SKU: HL.48181028
Composed by Bochsa, Twenty-Five Studies, Op. 6a is a set of part of the Favourite Studies from the same author for intermediate and advanced harp players. Reviewed by Alphonse Hasselmans, each studies has a different difficulty level and can be played separately. This set of studies will help the harpist to gain in flexibility and speed, and would ideally be played on pedal harps. In the same series, Bochsa also composed a set of Forty Easy Studies, Op. 318, a set of Twenty Studies in two books and one called Fifty Studies, Op.34. All these sets have been reviewed by Alphonse Hasselmans, professor at the Paris Conservatoire, who also indicated the best finger positions to use.
