Harp

Giacomo Gotifredo Ferrari studied in Naples before finding esteem in the Parisian musical world of the late 1780s. Fleeing the Revolution he settled in London. His compositions divide equally between vocal and chamber music, but also include two piano concertos. His Four Duets for Piano and Harp reveal clearly the main features of his art: easy melodic grace founded on his studies with Paisiello, high musical quality, formal balance, and a veneration of Haydn and Mozart. Intended for professionals and amateurs alike, slow movements are expressive and rondos full of vigor. In this recording original instruments are used to do full justice to the period timbre of Ferrari’s dialogues between fortepiano and harp.

In 1805, on the basis of his brilliant yet expressive playing, the 21-year-old Louis Spohr was appointed Konzertmeister at the ducal court in Gotha. By this time he had also begun to make his mark as a composer, and during his years at the court he would add several pieces for the harp to his list of works, inspired by the young harpist Dorette Scheidler. Spohr later recalled his reaction to her playing: ‘I was so deeply moved that I could scarce restrain my tears… I took my leave – but my heart remained behind!’ Only months later, the two were in fact married and Spohr began to compose works which would form the repertoire during future concert tours.

Five different works of five different composers, each piece with its own approach to form. The sound of the harp is used in different ways to construct the universe of these pieces. Together they make up a variation of postures. Different angles of vision on concepts of time, (life) energy, development, standstill, longing, departure. Some of the pieces have intense, uninhibited energy, some look inward and are standing still, while others flow off in a kind of blissful, lyrical mood — carefree and harmonious.

As described by the New York Concert Review as ‘Stupendous…totally original and engaging’, British harpist Keziah Thomas enjoys a reputation of a lively and engaging concert artist. Discover Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, in her new arrangement for harp.

The composer João Marcondes will release the album Afro-Brazilian Suite Ancestry for Harp, Cello and Clarinet, on September 19, by Azul Music. On the disc, his work is performed by Sole Yaya (harp), Marialbi Trisolio (cello) and Ovanir Buosi (clarinet).

Harpist to Queen Victoria, the Welsh composer John Thomas (1826–1913) also wrote prolifically for his own instrument, both for solo harp and for duos of two harps or harp and piano – a combination where the different sounds of the two instruments enhance the clarity of the texture. Thomas’ original works use the elegant Romantic style of his own day, but he also left a generous legacy of transcriptions, especially of operatic favourites. Although some of his music was intended for the Victorian drawing room, other pieces require a virtuoso technique – and all of it has a thoroughly engaging melodic appeal.

“It’s not the destination, it's the journey,” suggested American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay Self-Reliance. But in Smith’s case, the reverse is true.

In a new arrangement for solo harp, celebrated harpist Gwyneth Wentink presents Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt’s Canto Ostinato and Aforisme No. 2 (a transcription by Jeroen van Veen on behalf of Simeon ten Holt). “I first heard Canto Ostinato on piano in 2011 and I felt as if I was on fire.

GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty’s Harp of Ages pays homage to the illustrious history and enduring beauty of the harp, an instrument that has enchanted listeners from ancient civilizations to the modern era. Divided into seven movements, the concerto evokes genres and memorable figures associated with the harp, from the poetic lyre of Sappho in classical Greece, to the wild glissandos of Harpo Marx in 1930s Hollywood, and the jazz harp of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane in 1950s Detroit.

Youliana Tochkova-Patrouilleau est une compositrice, harpiste et pianiste d’origine bulgare. Après ses études à l’Académie Nationale de Musique de Sofia où elle obtient plusieurs premiers prix, elle s’installe en France ou elle s’intègre rapidement à la vie musicale et artistique.