Isabelle Perrin and Barbara Fackler have created a guide to harp notation as used by composer Bernard Andrés with the intention that this collection be shared freely among harpists at no cost.
Tuesday, 20 January 2015
Sunday, 14 December 2014
In the bleak midwinter
A lovely Christmas video - featuring Tine Thing Helseth on Trumpet, Birgitte Volan Håvik on harp and Elise Båtnes on violin.
I had the pleasure of playing this arrangement with Tine when she was special guest with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for their series of Christmas concerts a couple of years ago. It's a really well arranged carol and she is a really fabulous player.
This is the first year for some while now (8 years I think?) that I'm not playing with the RLPO for their run of Christmas concerts. This year, instead of doing RLPO carol concerts, I'm working with a fantastic group of players presenting special one hour performances of the film "The Snowman" with live orchestral backing. Before the film, it's a seasonal introduction to the orchestra and excerpts from the Nutcracker Suite. We are currently on the final part of the tour and it's been pretty full on with 19 performances of the Snowman (and the Nutcracker cadenza) in 7 days!!!!
The Snowman is such a lovely film and the music is so wonderful and perfectly scored. Some tickets are still available for shows this coming week if you fancy a seasonal treat.
I had the pleasure of playing this arrangement with Tine when she was special guest with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for their series of Christmas concerts a couple of years ago. It's a really well arranged carol and she is a really fabulous player.
This is the first year for some while now (8 years I think?) that I'm not playing with the RLPO for their run of Christmas concerts. This year, instead of doing RLPO carol concerts, I'm working with a fantastic group of players presenting special one hour performances of the film "The Snowman" with live orchestral backing. Before the film, it's a seasonal introduction to the orchestra and excerpts from the Nutcracker Suite. We are currently on the final part of the tour and it's been pretty full on with 19 performances of the Snowman (and the Nutcracker cadenza) in 7 days!!!!
The Snowman is such a lovely film and the music is so wonderful and perfectly scored. Some tickets are still available for shows this coming week if you fancy a seasonal treat.
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Tapestry
Paul Mitchell-Davidson's epic suite for mandolin and harp is now on soundcloud.
It's a real journey of a piece and I remember after one live performance a member of the audience came up to me and said, "I've never been to a classical music concert before... that last piece was like surfing a wave!"
Dance of Limewood, Smile of Ash is very still and etheral with astonishing harmonies.
A Joy of Wild Asses is my personal favourite, quirky and pretty manic.
Harvest of the Quiet Eye is a beautiful "folky" and evocative piece.
A Full Moon Rising Red is a real whirlygig epic, full of spirit & feverish dances and is the piece which inspired the "surfing" quote above.
Tapestry by Paul Mitchell-Davidson
Alison Stephens - mandolin
Lauren Scott - harp
It's a real journey of a piece and I remember after one live performance a member of the audience came up to me and said, "I've never been to a classical music concert before... that last piece was like surfing a wave!"
Dance of Limewood, Smile of Ash is very still and etheral with astonishing harmonies.
A Joy of Wild Asses is my personal favourite, quirky and pretty manic.
Harvest of the Quiet Eye is a beautiful "folky" and evocative piece.
A Full Moon Rising Red is a real whirlygig epic, full of spirit & feverish dances and is the piece which inspired the "surfing" quote above.
Tapestry by Paul Mitchell-Davidson
Alison Stephens - mandolin
Lauren Scott - harp
Monday, 17 November 2014
Silent Night
A brilliant gliss-tastic arrangement of Silent Night by Graham Fitkin, beautifully played by Ruth Wall and available on her new CD, The Three Harps of Christmas available from this link.
Carols re-arranged by Graham for concert harp, bray harp and Gaelic wire strung harp.
I bet the harpists out there will be trying to figure out the pedal settings for all the gliss chords after listening to this!!!
Carols re-arranged by Graham for concert harp, bray harp and Gaelic wire strung harp.
I bet the harpists out there will be trying to figure out the pedal settings for all the gliss chords after listening to this!!!
Friday, 14 November 2014
Little Big not Blue
I have a new harp!!! I finally finished paying off for my Salvi Iris, so I thought it was a good time to take the plunge and take out another loan whilst I still could and get this lovely harp... a Camac Little Big Blue.
It's an electro-accoustic harp and I'm really delighted with it. The acoustic sound is much better than I thought it would be, and it's perfectly usable as an instrument as it is without any amplification. I'm still getting used to the pedals as they feel very different from my Salvi, and of course the string spacing at the top is also different. But after a couple of weeks of playing I'm not finding it too difficult to go between playing this and my Salvi.
I particularly went for the smaller model - only 44 strings, as I wanted a smaller harp which was easy to move about. I really didn't want to take a blue coloured harp out on a gig, as I didn't want it to look any different from a normal acoustic harp, so I ordered a maple one. I've also bought a small battery powered Roland amp; more about the amp in another post.
I haven't had a chance to play around with loop pedals yet, but will do when work calms down a bit and I have some time to experiment.
However, I have used it already on a couple of weddings and it's been absolutely brilliant. It's so much lighter to move around, it really makes a huge difference. Using the amp has taken a little bit of getting used to, as I'm just not used to being able to simply turn a switch to turn the volume up. It still feels a little bit alien to play at a normal level and the extra sound coming out of the amp a distance away from the harp. But that's just a basic thing I need to get used to having only ever played acoustic instruments my entire playing career!
The major benefit was that I found it was so much easier when playing for long periods of time, and I definitely felt physically less tired.
Viva la revolution!
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| Camac - Little Big Blue (in maple finish!) |
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| A pick up on every string |
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| Where you plug in the lead |
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Sunday, 19 October 2014
UKHA 50th Anniversary concert
It's been a busy old week and a very enjoyable one! In between some freelance work in Birmingham, I managed to fit in a trip to London to see Sioned Williams performing at the Purcell Room. It was a fantastic concert, brilliantly conceived and performed and it was very well received by the near capacity audience.
The concert was put on by the Park Lane Group and was also part of the UKHA 50th birthday celebrations. And what a fantastic turn out by harpists from across the country who came to the concert. Playing the harp can be a solitary affair and it's not often we get the chance to all meet up, so it was lovely to meet up with so many harpists. I met some harp friends that I hadn't seen for nearly 20 years!!
It's been 18 months now since I became Chair of the UKHA and I was really pleased to meet so many young harpists at the concert. There is a real sense of a new generation of younger harpists coming through and being active in the UKHA, which bodes well for any organisation going into it's 50th year. For any organisation to have 80% of the committee being made up of people in their 20s and 30s is quite remarkable.
We have a new bursary scheme which is being launched in January, and we hope to be present at more harp events across the UK in the coming year.
Belonging to the UKHA is a fantastic way for harpists in the UK to connect with other players, whether they are a student, amateur, professional or harp maker. If you love the harp, join the UKHA and network with other harpists across the UK.
Setting up the UKHA table in the foyer of the Purcell Room before the audience arrived ;-)
The concert was put on by the Park Lane Group and was also part of the UKHA 50th birthday celebrations. And what a fantastic turn out by harpists from across the country who came to the concert. Playing the harp can be a solitary affair and it's not often we get the chance to all meet up, so it was lovely to meet up with so many harpists. I met some harp friends that I hadn't seen for nearly 20 years!!
It's been 18 months now since I became Chair of the UKHA and I was really pleased to meet so many young harpists at the concert. There is a real sense of a new generation of younger harpists coming through and being active in the UKHA, which bodes well for any organisation going into it's 50th year. For any organisation to have 80% of the committee being made up of people in their 20s and 30s is quite remarkable.
We have a new bursary scheme which is being launched in January, and we hope to be present at more harp events across the UK in the coming year.
Belonging to the UKHA is a fantastic way for harpists in the UK to connect with other players, whether they are a student, amateur, professional or harp maker. If you love the harp, join the UKHA and network with other harpists across the UK.
Tuesday, 30 September 2014
Bartok concerto for orchestra
I've just been practicing two lots of recital music I have coming up with flautist Clare Southworth and my trio Caliente, when I had a niggly feeling I really should be looking at some music for orchestral work I have in a couple of weeks with the CBSO.
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I'm very glad I've dug it out! I do think this has to be one of the hardest second harp parts out there.
There aren't that many notes to play, but every passage has it's scary moments when you play it in the orchestra.
Especially the ones that look like they should be easy on paper.
Last time I played this was with the RLPO and the conductor took off like a rocket for the last section. I nearly had a heart attack!
There aren't that many notes to play, but every passage has it's scary moments when you play it in the orchestra.
Especially the ones that look like they should be easy on paper.
Last time I played this was with the RLPO and the conductor took off like a rocket for the last section. I nearly had a heart attack!
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
Hark, a Lark
I've finally got round to sorting out finishing off some demo recordings with my fantastic singing partner, Anna-Clare Monk.
What a voice!
We are working on some new recital programmes at the moment which is great, you can't beat a really lovely song. It's so good to be working with a singer, especially one as fabulous as Anna-Clare.
Next up on the to-do list, getting some more gigs... I really need a P.A
What a voice!
We are working on some new recital programmes at the moment which is great, you can't beat a really lovely song. It's so good to be working with a singer, especially one as fabulous as Anna-Clare.
Next up on the to-do list, getting some more gigs... I really need a P.A
Monday, 8 September 2014
Spiral of Discovery and Adventure
If you are in London next month, Tuesday October 14th, do go and see this concert at the Southbank Centre featuring Sioned Williams playing 6 new pieces by English composers.
A concert put on by the Park Lane Group, it also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the United Kingdom Harp Association of whom Sioned is president.
You can book tickets here and it will be great opportunity to meet up with harp friends old and new!
A concert put on by the Park Lane Group, it also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the United Kingdom Harp Association of whom Sioned is president.
You can book tickets here and it will be great opportunity to meet up with harp friends old and new!
Friday, 29 August 2014
have harp, will travel
A harp you can pack in your suitcase?
What a great idea for keeping your fingers in shape whilst away on holiday!
I love the way it fits in the suitcase, although that does look like a pretty big suitcase.
Pretty nifty travel harp made by Don Peddle of randomsound music in Canada and it sounds ok as well.
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