Day 47 - Orchestral harpists and a special surprise

I have a slightly later start on a Friday so managed to get 20 minutes in this morning. An absent pupil meant that I could catch up with my Harp and Harpists book by Roslyn Rensch that I had packed along with Clarinet Basics and Selected Grade 1 Flute Pieces. Even after the double action pedal harp was developed care was still needed when writing for the harp as time to change pedals and do certain trills was not always allowed by the composer. Berlioz was considered a master of harp writing and in his Treaty on Instrumentation and Orchestration he discussed effective ways to write for the harp. He was inspired to write challenging harp parts after hearing an English born harpist by the name of Elias Parish Alvars. Alvars was a particularly impressive player and Berlioz heard him play on a number of occasions. However other harpists couldn't match Alvar's technique and many found the parts for Symphonie Fantastique and Harold in Italy too hard. Berlioz felt his harp parts were too easy but at a performance of Harold in Italy in Brunswick the harpist there played the part fine in rehearsal but had a panic attack during the concert and just stopped playing during a very important moment accompanying the solo viola! While writing my blog I have Symphonie Fantastique playing. The best movement to hear from the harpist's point of view is The Ball. You may recall that I am playing The Ball for my grade 1 but where mine represents a spherical bouncy thing Berlioz's one is a Waltz at a party and much more glamorous. There are two harp parts and Berlioz even suggests at least two players on each part.

After school I checked my emails and was delighted to have received a message, through Caroline, from much admired harpist Sioned Williams! I imagine Sioned will have played Symphonie Fantastique many times in her position as principal harpist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She is not too well at the moment so I really appreciate her communication and I wish her a speedy recovery. She has made a donation therefore I have great pleasure in dedicating this afternoon's practise to Sioned. I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable sessions I have had, possibly because of my esteemed sponsor but perhaps also because I am now officially on half term! I lost track of time but think it was over an hour. I started with a few scales then moved on to the orchestral pieces. The GOAT Music is really coming on but the trick will be to play in time with the conductor and rest of the orchestra and not stop at every mistake. I set the metronome to the required speed (crotchet at 132 which is quite quick) and I found most of it worked. The six bars in the middle are still too hard but there may be a way of sharing that out with the others on the day. If we play alternate bars the sound is still there and we each get longer to prepare for the next entry. The end is also unpredictable but hopefully by the time we get there everyone will be playing loudly and our wrong notes will not be noticed. I just hope no one else has the same game plan! I played my exam pieces, still working on dynamic contrast, and went through some of the other grade 1 pieces Rohan has provided 'for fun' and there are some lovely ones in here. I was instantly attracted to Lullaby and The Merry-go-Round, both by Anne Macdearmid. I can play them fairly well and may aim to put them into one of my mini performances in the week. They are not quite up to the standard of my current exam pieces so I will definitely be sticking with Azaleas in Houston, The Ball (the one by Bouchaud, not Berlioz) and Rondo.

It was then off to Sawston Youth Drama to play the clarinet in their production of Fiddler on the Roof. Mazeltov!