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.
Howev er, 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: 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.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: 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.