Strike the harp- Australian Christmas Music

Well, it's definitely that time of year again. I don't know about you, but I'm really enjoying the Christmas season this year! Though for those of you out-of-towners I do have to tell you about our crazy Melbourne weather with 17C one day and then up to 41C a few days later. That's been a little hard to live with, and particularly hard for the harps to live with! (Broken strings, anyone?)

I've been tucking into a healthy smattering of traditional Christmas music, and am busy getting my fingers around the Waltz of the Flowers cadenza for a concert next week. I have an enormous folder of Christmas music, which includes some fantastic Australian carols.

The most enduring Australian Christmas carols were written by William James. A boy from Ballarat (north of Melbourne), James studied in London around the time of the First World War. He returned to Australia after the war and became involved in the beginnings of radio (being the first music director for the fledgling Australian Broadcasting Company) and in the establishment of the state orchestras, regularly travelling OS to convince artists to make the long trip down under.

He wrote his 6 Australian Christmas Carols in collaboration with John Wheeler and published them in the early 1960s. The ABC Shop has CD's of the songs available.

Otherwise check out these YouTube vids for a preview. 'The Silver Stars are in the Sky' is one of my all time favourites- so beautiful!

While 'Christmas Day' opens with the north wind tossing the leaves- just right for our hot Australian Christmas where the north wind comes from the desert centre of the continent.

Keep an eye on my Facebook page where I'll be posting some more Australian carols in the lead up to Christmas.

And have yourselves a merry little Christmas!

What's on the iPod- From Bach to Piazzolla

I have to start this review with a disclaimer. Ever since I heard Maria Luisa Rayan-Forero play live at the 5^th Australian Harp Festival I was a fan (read more about that concert here). Then I had the pleasure of working with her myself on some pesky Bach ornamentation and became an even bigger fan. She’s just such a lovely lady!

So naturally I went out and bought her latest CD ‘From Bach to Piazzolla’ to relive the performance and to study her Bach a little more closely. While it’s impossible to completely capture the magic of a live concert in a studio recording I am not at all disappointed in what I got.

Maria Luisa Rayan-Forero has put together a wonderful CD of old classics, new classics and harp classics.

Here’s the track listing:

1.        Marcel Grandjany- Rhapsodie

2.       J.S. Bach Partita in B-flat major BWV 825- Praeludium

3.       Allemande

4.       Corrente

5.       Sarabande

6.       Menuets I & II

7.       Giga

8.       Heitor Villa-Lobos- Preludio from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4

9.       Astor Piazolla Cuatro Estaciones Portenas- Verano Porteno

10.   Otono Porteno

11.   Invierno Porteno

12.   Primavera Portena

13.   Serie del Angel- Milonga del Angel

14.   Muerte del Angel

15.   Resurreccion del Angel

16.   Libertango

 I came across a listing of the cd on the CD Universe website http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8776380 which categorises the music on the recording as

Category

Classical, Modern, Baroque Period, Dance - Classical, Rhapsody, Partita, Tango

 Which makes it sound a little indecisive in it’s make up. It’s anything but.

Maria has researched at length the influence Bach had on Piazzolla, so from that angle pairing the two otherwise vastly different composers makes sense. Working off her own transcriptions brings out her background learning still further, making for a very detailed performance throughout. The harmonic richness of the opening track (Grandjany) is then reflected in the language of Piazzolla, so it all wraps up very nicely.

Maria announced on Facebook recently that the album is being considered for a nomination at the Grammys, which is an amazing achievement for a solo harp CD. Here’s hoping she gets the nod for a nomination and, even better, a win!

Either way, grab yourself a copy and enjoy!

What's on the iPod- L'arome de L'est

In preparation for the upcoming Marie Antoinette concert (read more about that here) I had recently downloaded L'arome de l'est by Masumi Nagasawa, a fantastic Japanese harpist based in Maastricht. She specialises in music for the single action harp and has SO many CDs. I've already mentally spent an enormous sum of money just reading about them. You can check out her website here.

I'd ended up buying this CD because it was readily available on iTunes and I confess I needed it in a hurry. Things in the post can sometimes take a very long time to find their way to Australia. It was the only solo harp CD that came up when I was searching for music by Krumpholz. Lots of recordings of concertos, works with flute etc but not so many solo pieces. It's a great collection all round:

"L'arome de L'est"

Harp Music from Eastern Europe and beyond

Performed on the

Erard Single-action pedal harp (around 1820)

Etcetera KTC1362

Jean Baptist Krumpholtz (1747-1790)

Sonate en scene de stile pathétique op. 16 bis

dedicated to Madame la Comtesse de Rzewuska

Etude du Renforcement (Adagio from the Sonata op. 14)

Jean Baptist Cardon (1760-1803)

Sonata in F moll

Variations on the theme of “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman”

Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812)

3 sonatinas

from the six Sonatinas dedicated to Madame Krumpholtz

Andrei Sikhra (1766-1851)

Variations on the Russian theme “Au milieu des collines

John Field (1782-1837)

Nocturne Es dur

arranged by Elias Parish Alvars (1808-1849)

Louis Spohr (1784-1859)

Variations on the theme of “Je suis encore dans mon printemps”

from the Opera by Etienne-Nicolas Méhul (1763-1817) Op.36

Alexandre Varlamov (1801-1848)

Melodie

Michail Iwanowitsch Glinka (1804-1857)

Nocturne Es dur

Nocturne “Solitude/ Razluka” F moll

I fell in love with Krumpholz's Etude de renforcement and was able to find the original score through IMSLP. It's looks beautiful, and is readable for today's harpist, but contains a LOT of markings, some of which are unfamiliar for a modern player. I think they relate to the use of the swell doors that open and close at the back of single action pedal harps. There's a picture on Masumi's website.

I just wish iTunes includes the CD booklet notes so I could read all about it. Or does it, and I'm so technologically challenged I don't know it?