SKU: UT.HS-231
ISBN 9790215324558. 9 x 12 inches.
Tarascone; Tarantella Capuanese; Valzer; Polka di Vittorio; Tarantella StiglianeseThe history of the Viggianesi, strolling musicians, winds over a period of about four centuries and esprimeun ‘unicum’ musically and anthropologically. Heirs of a travelling musical tradition that from the late Middle Ages inhabited more than just the streets of the Kingdom of Sicily and Naples, the harpists of this extraordinary story made their first appearances as early as the end of the 1600s engaged in musical practices at shrines.Armed with an urgent need to make a living together with a strong musical inclination, adaptability and versatility, the groups of musicians, almost always belonging to the same family circle, became the promoters of the great Italian musical tradition (Southern in particular), and with their harps on their shoulders they became the identification symbol of a well-defined and limited area of Italy: the Agri Valley, in Basilicata.From the many documents examined, a very wide and varied musical repertoire emerges mixing the pastoral tradition with classical tradition (mainly opera, devotional music with songs from the cities (from the Neapolitan tradition to international production). The pastoral repertoire, the subject of this publication, consists of a strongly characterized native repertoire which the Viggianesi had consolidated in both public and private ritual occasions in their native land, even if performing in distant lands.This collection is included among the compulsory pieces of The 7th International Harp Contest in Italy Suoni D’Arpa, 2017, Category A – Associazione Italiana dell’Arpa – www.associazioneitalianarpa.it
SKU: UT.MAG-276
ISBN 9790215326880. 9 x 12 inches.
Johannes Snoer is not one of the most remembered harpists today, but his didactic work was really important and can still be useful today. For didactic purposes, he also published collections of simple pieces by great composers transcribed for harp.Among his transcriptions there is the Adagio from Sonata n. 5 in C minor, op. 10 no. 1, by Ludwig van Beethoven, subject of this edition. The original musical text has been left unchanged, only the ornamentation has been written in full and the harp fingerings and indications relating to the movement of the pedals have been added. The work brings the dedication to Mr. H. Rutters, probably a relative of his wife Antoinette.
SKU: OU.9780193359628
ISBN 9780193359628. 12 x 8 inches.
For solo harp An arrangement of Scenes 5 and 12 from a projected stage-work on the life of Tchaikovsky. They are identical in structure and draw on the set of Russian folk songs that Tchaikovsky arranged for piano-duet, albeit with a high level of distortion and adaptation.
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.â€â€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 àpeu 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 àpeu 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.128724
ISBN 9780936661605. UPC: 888680014209. 8.5x11.0x0.027 inches. Arr. Sylvia Woods.
Tangled is Disney's popular animated film from 2010, based on the German fairy tale Rapunzel. This book includes two songs from the movie, arranged for lever or pedal harp by Sylvia Woods: I See the Light and Healing Incantation. Both pieces include lyrics, fingerings, and lever or pedal changes. I See the Light is the love song between Rapunzel and Flynn, sung in the boat during the lantern ceremony. This 5-page intermediate arrangement is in the key of C with F and G lever changes throughout. The range is 31 strings, from the C 2 octaves below middle C up to the E 2 octaves and 2 strings above middle C. The one-page Healing Incantation is the song that Rapunzel sings when her hair creates the magic. It is in the key of 1 sharp, with G and C lever changes. It can be played by advanced beginners with experience in making lever changes. The range is 22 strings, from the E almost 2 octaves below middle C, up to the E 9 strings above middle C. It can be played on many 26-string harps, if played an octave higher than written. Both pieces are included in this sheet music.
SKU: UT.MAG-274
ISBN 9790215326859. 9 x 12 inches.
Rediscovering, studying and analyzing the musical art of Philipp Joseph Hinner means enhancing a piece of the eighteenth-century harp music mosaic. Hinner's work intrigues for its extraordinary simplicity, for its regularity and harmony; the ordered balance of the parts, symmetry and sense of proportion are essential elements for the author, and give character and unity to his work. The harp repertoire has long been overshadowed by the keyboard one, which boasts extensive solo and chamber literature, and consolidated for over two centuries. The rediscovery of the history of our instrument, however, is still recent and the research work in the field of harp music is still long.Hinner, with the apparent simplicity of his opus 10, can thus regain his role in the harp repertoire of the eighteenth century, as well as covering a considerable didactic value today. The part of the first harp undoubtedly presents characteristics of greater rhythmic and virtuosic complexity than that of the second, which consists of a continuous accompaniment interspersed with simple thematic imitated episodes. Furthermore in the composition are included arias such as O ma tendre Musette, a French popular melody of the 18th century (previously set to music by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny), and <>, taken from the opera-comique L'erreur d'un moment ou la Suite de Julie by Nicolas Dezede, as well as themes from Gluck's Iphigenie en Aulide, which had been all used also by Hinner's first harp master, Francesco Petrini (1744-1819).Hinner's opus 10, originally written in separate parts for two harps, or harp and fortepiano, is presented here updated and completed with its score, for a thorough perception of the work.
SKU: ST.Y259
ISBN 9790220222559.
Far Across the Sea' (Ymhell dros y mor) is the latest instrumental work from a composer noted for her original and sensitive writing for harp and harp ensemble. In this gentle solo, what sounds like a folksong - and a very fine one - is in fact a newly composed tune, crafted with artful simplicity. But as the music journeys further from its characteristically Welsh opening, teasing out new suggestions from the material, the sense of nostalgia becomes definitely more contemporary than traditional, though the uplifting conclusion restores the tone of bardic rhetoric. This work would be a rewarding item for players of intermediate standard, and was recommended for the under 18 category of the 2009 Wales International Harp Festival.
SKU: UT.HS-284
ISBN 9790215326460. 9 x 12 inches.
Melodia for Solo Harp/ Alleluja Modo II - Wachet auf for Harp and OrganThis publication gathers together in these three pieces the only compositions by Santucci devoted to the harp, both as a solo instrument and in dialogue with the organ, his favourite instrument.The little Melodia per arpa, a simple piece having an apparently didactic purpose, does not show the date of composition but, judging by the handwriting of the manuscript, it probably dates back to the period between 1980 and 1990. No other information has reached us as to why the piece was composed.The two pieces Alleluja Modo II and Wachet auf, both dated 20 March 1993, composed for the unusual duo of harp and organ, are dedicated to Anna Maria Restani, first harp in the orchestra of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna from 1965 to 2002, and to her son Wladimir Matesic, organist and now teacher at the Conservatoire in Trieste. Gregorian chant is the protagonist of the first piece, evoking a Gothic and rarefied atmosphere. The second is instead a blatant tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach (right from the first bars the reference to Prelude no. 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier is clear), through one of his most famous chorales (Wachet auf, ruft uns die stimme), also used by Santucci for numerous other compositions, including Il corteo dei Magi [for trumpet, organ, orchestra and choir, 1986, ms.], still performed in the Christmas concerts in Bologna. (Giuseppe Monari).
SKU: UT.MAG-265
ISBN 9790215326422. 9 x 12 inches.
Posse’s compositions for harp are rich and varied, and range from the easy pieces dedicated to his students to the virtuoso concert pieces; we must also remember his didactic works, in particular the ‘Six Small Studies’ and the universally known ‘Eight Great Concert Studies’.It is not easy to draw a balance of his legacy in the harp world. On one hand his technical vision of virtuosity combined with a great stability of the hand and rigor of the fingerings certainly contributed to the development of the 20th Century harp technique; on the other hand, his use of the pedals, often driven by two together with the same foot (a very old French technique), has gradually become more and more difficult on modern harps. From the point of view of his contribution to the harp repertoire, the constant run-up to the piano has heavily influenced his compositional production, making him often completely miss the idiomatic effects of 19th Century harp music (except for the use of harmonic sounds), which were so loved by his friend Liszt in the compositions of Parish Alvars.
SKU: UT.MAG-266
ISBN 9790215326439. 9 x 12 inches.
SKU: UT.MAG-221
ISBN 9790215318625. 9 x 12 inches.
Martin-Pierre Dalvimare, born in 1770, in Dreux (Eure-et-Loir), from a distinguished family, learnt music as an entertainment art, and was obliged to make it a resource for his existence, after the troubles of the Revolution in 1789. He had acquired a remarkable talent for the harp; when he arrived in Paris he made a very good impression. Then, man of the world, knowledgeable in many fields, which is rare for a musician, he was welcome everywhere, and very soon came in friendly terms with some of the most renowned artists and men of letters of his times. The marriage certificate of the poet Legouve (15 pluviose of the year XI, or February 1803, 12th municipality of Paris), shows that Dalvimare was one of his best men and that at the time he was thirty-two years old. He became harpist of the Opera in the year VIII (1800), and was definitively confirmed in the month of fructidor of the year IX. At the time of the institution of the emperor Napoleon's private music, M. Dalvimare was appointed as his harpist. In September 1807 he obtained the title of harp master of the empress Josephine. A lucky change of his fortune allowed this artist to renounce to practise his talent for living, he resigned from all of his positions on March, 12th, 1812, and he retired in Dreux, where he still was living in 1837. For a peculiar weakness, he does not like to speak about his artist career, which had been entirely honourable, and he would like to forget his success too. His first composition was a symphonie concertant for harp and horn, which he composed with Frederic Duvernoy, and published in the year VII (1798); notwithstanding, he counted as his first opus a collection of romances with accompaniment of piano or harp, which he later published with Pleyel.In 1809 Dalvimare composed, for the theatre Feydeau, a one-act opera-comique called The Marriage for Imprudence. The music was weak; the work did not succeed, and people used to say that the greatest imprudence had been the one of the authors who had it performed. Nevertheless, the score of this opera was published in Paris by erard. (Francois-Joseph Fetis).
