Chamber Music harp

SKU: CF.H84

Composed by Marcel Tournier. Edited by Carl Swanson. Collection - Score. Carl Fischer Music #H84. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.H84).

ISBN 9781491165539. UPC: 680160924530.

Marce l 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 But in recent years harpist Carl Swanson has discovered a treasure trove of pieces by Tournier heretofore unknown and unpublished.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.

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

Harp

SKU: HL.48181018

Composed by Marcel Tournier. Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 22 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL20003. Published by Alphonse Leduc (HL.48181018).

UPC: 888680907761. 9x12 inches.

Theme and Variations by Marcel Tournier is a piece for advanced harp players. Starting with a main theme of arpeggiated chords, the piece then follows with a number of variations, including chords, arpeggios, glissandos, and numerous nuances and speed variations. The piece starts in Allegro moderato, then evolving to Allegretto, Allegretto Scherzando, sometimes more energetic or quieter. This piece is great to master speed, flexibility and agility as well as the different types of nuances. Marcel Tournier (1879-1951) was a French harpist and teacher. He studied with Alphonse Hasselmans at the Paris Conservatoire and composed numerous pieces for solo harp: Russian Lullabies, Six Christmas, Four Preludes and Three Images, Suite 1, Op. 29, among many others.

Harp

SKU: FG.55011-912-3

Composed by Tauno Marttinen. Classical, contemporary. Score. Fennica Gehrman #55011-912-3. Published by Fennica Gehrman (FG.55011-912-3).

ISBN 9790550119123.

Luon nonjumala (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.

Marttin en 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).

Harp

SKU: HL.48182311

Composed by Marcel Grandjany. Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 12 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL23442. Published by Alphonse Leduc (HL.48182311).

UPC: 888680787066. 9.25x12.25x0.055 inches.

Written by Marcel Grandjany on a tune of Haydn, Fantasy is a piece for Harp that includes 5 variations of the main theme. Ideally to be played on pedal Harp, it would fit the skills and abilities of advanced Harp players. The technical difficulties encountered are various as this piece involves some hand-crossings, arpeggios, natural harmonies, accidental alterations as well as some pedal changes. Marcel Grandjany is a French-born American who lived in the 20th century. He studied with Alphonse Hasselmans at the Paris Conservatoire from the age of 11 and got the First Prize at 13 years old. He composed numerous pieces for Harp, of all levels: '3 Very Easy Little Pieces, Op. 7', 'Divertissement, Op. 29', 'Variation on the Londonderry Air, Op. 20' and 'Two Duets for 2 harps, Op. 26' among many others..

For Harp. Composed by Marcel Tournier (1879-1951). Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 18 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL20059. Published by Alphonse Leduc

Composed by Samuel-Rous Louis August. Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 20 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL20038. Published by Alphonse Leduc

Harp

SKU: HL.48180013

Composed by Gabriel Pierne. Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 9 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL10381. Published by Alphonse Leduc (HL.48180013).

UPC: 888680787660. 9.0x12.0x0.061 inches.

Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937) was a French composer, conductor and organist. Despite being predominantly remembered as a conductor, his Impromptu-Caprice remains a popular performance piece in the advanced harpists' repertoire. Pierné studied at the Paris Conservatoire before taking up the position of chief conductor for the concert series, Concerts Colonne in 1910. He remained in the post until 1933, and during this time, he notably conducted the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird. Pierné composed for a variety of instruments, Impromptu-Caprice being one of four solo works by the composer. This Pierné piece for harp contains many characteristics typical of the French style, such as significant tempo changes, flourishes of semiquavers and many alterations in dynamics. Impromptu-Caprice is a varied piece essential to the repertoire of aspiring harpists.

Harp

SKU: HL.48185288

Composed by Serge Lancen. Leduc. Softcover. 4 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL28751. Published by Alphonse Leduc (HL.48185288).

UPC: 888680858773. 9.0x12.0x0.06 inches.

French pianist and composer, Serge Lancen (1922-2005) studied at the Paris Conservatoire where he won first prize for composition in 1949. His professional career saw him winning many prizes for his compositions and For Raphaele remains popular in the Harp repertoire. As exemplified in For Raphaele, Lancen's compositional style remained attached to the French characteristics, featuring luscious melodies, balance and clarity of tone. With a typical performance lasting about 2 and a half minutes, Pour Raphaele demonstrates the versatility of the Harp, addressing flourishes, dotted rhythms, syncopation and variations in dynamics. For all intermediate harpists, Lancen's For Raphaele is a delightful addition to the instrument's repertoire. .

Harp

SKU: HL.48181035

For Harp Solo. Composed by Marcel Grandjany. Leduc. Contemporary, Educational. Softcover. 8 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL20039. Published by Alphonse Leduc (HL.48181035).

UPC: 888680787653. 9x12 inches.

French born harpist and composer, Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) studied at the Paris Conservatoire before spending much of his working life in America. His Trois petites Pièces were composed in Grandjany's early career and are simple and enjoyable works, suitable for beginner harpists. Grandjany was a teacher of harp at the Julliard School for 37 years whilst also composing and transcribing many works for the instrument. Made up of three movements, Trois petites Pièces begins with a delicate Rêverie (daydream). The second piece, a Nocturne, contains variations in tempo, time signature and dynamics. The Barcarolle third movement is the most challenging of the three pieces, in 6/8 time signature and sixteenth-note flourishes. All these combined aspects of Trois petites Pièces by Grandjany make for a thrilling performance for beginner harpists.

Composed by R Nicholas- Charles Bochsa. Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 69 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL21149. Published by Alphonse Leduc

Composed by R Nicholas- Charles Bochsa. Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 29 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL21148. Published by Alphonse Leduc

Composed by R Nicholas- Charles Bochsa. Leduc. Classical. Softcover. 32 pages. Alphonse Leduc #AL20030. Published by Alphonse Leduc