Harp

SKU: HL.48180979

For Harp. Composed by Henriette Renie. Leduc. Classical. CD only. 3 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL19922. Published by Alphonse Leduc (HL.48180979).

UPC: 888680878399. 9x12 inches.

French harpist and composer, Henriette Renié (1875-1956) lived in poverty for much of her life. However, this did not stop her from composing significant works for the harp, including Grandmother Tells a Story, an easy piece for beginners of the instrument. Despite being a talented composer, Renié lived at a time where fame and success was socially unacceptable for women. In 1940, Grandmother Tells a Story was published. As a easy piece, this Renié work is suitable for beginners of the instrument, including detailed performance directions and fingerings. For all beginner harpists, Renié's Grandmother Tells a Story is an exciting and varied addition to the repertoire.

Chamber Music harp

SKU: PR.110406720

Composed by Samuel Adler. Classical. Softcover. With Standard notation. Duration 14 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #110-40672. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.110406720).

UPC: 680160001316.

I have always been fond of writing works for specific people or organizations. It has been my good fortune during most of my creative career to be asked to compose for many extraordinary performers. The Sonata for Harpsichord Solo is such a case in point: it was written in 1982 for Barbara Harbach, a superb performer, close friend, and collaborator on many musical projects. The Sonata was premiered on March 2, 1984, in a recital given by Dr. Harbach at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. During my formative years as a composer, one seldom heard of the harpsichord as a modern instrument, though while I attended undergraduate school at Boston University, some of us banded together to construct a small harpsichord from one of the first do-it-yourself kits which began to appear in the late '40s. It was also during this time that I heard the Sonatina for Violin and Harpsichord by my teacher Walter Piston and consequently specified that the accompanying instrument for my second violin sonata could either be a piano or a harpsichord. It was not until recently, however, that my interest in the harpsichord as a solo instrument for new music was aroused. This was because of the emergence of so many young virtuosi, such as Barbara Harbach, who are interested in the performance of new music besides the great harpsichord music of the Classical, Baroque, and pre-Baroque eras. The keyboard music of Domenico Scarlatti has always intrigued and fascinated me. The brevity, excitement, and clarity of this sparkling music is charming as well as exhilarating. It is this type of Baroque sonata that inspired the conception and form of my harpsichord sonata. The entire work is loosely based on the musical translation of Barabara Harbach's name, especially the conflict of the B (B-flat) and H (B-natural in German notation). This secondo rub or dissonance especially pervades the first movement, which is in a modified sonata form, pitting jagged and tense melodic elements against most lyrical and smooth lines. This second movement is a song-like melody accompanied by rolled chords which may be played on the lute stop of the instrument if this sonata is performed on a two-manual harpsichord. The final movement is an ever-driving joyous toccata which brings the work to an exciting close with a coda made up of accelerating repeated chords. --Samuel Adler.

By Robert Nicholas Charles Bochsa. Edited by Christopher Hogwood. For Harp. Playing score. Published by Edition HH Music Publishers (U.K. Import).