2 pieces for young harpists, by Georges Aperghis

piece no. 2

sing only the pitch of La b on the vowel “A”

piece no. 1

each performer should find their own phrasing in relation to proportional notation

Proportional notation: time is not divided into precise units, but into relative durations whose length, left to the performer’s initiative, is suggested by the spacing of the notes.

note: there is a mistake in the score: in the last system, a “vi” is indicated on a D, but it should be an E as from the beginning

to listen: the MMC (Maison de la Musique Contemporaine) playlist “Georges Aperghis en son”:

Georges Aperghis en son | MMC

Le rossignol perdu, by Maarten Lingier

“Le rossignol perdu” for lever harp invites the student to explore the narrative power of music. The piece describes a lost nightingale: at first it seems lost, then it begins to sing in the center, but the way back remains unfound.

Ritournelle à siffloter, by Gilles Carré

“Ritournelle à siffloter” is built on a five-bar structure (3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 4/4, 3/4). Learn the first five well… you’re on the right track! The next five are just a transposition.

And the cycle continues: thus, you find bar 1 in bar 11, bar 2 in bar 12… etc., up to bar 30.

Transposition, retrograde motion, inversion, accumulation of elements lead you to the cadence (bar 31) tasked with dissolving everything.

The ritournelle, like a memory, seems to emerge intact!

Big Ben, by Edith Canat de Chizy

The main idea of this piece is that of a chime, hence its title “Big Ben”, recalling the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London that strikes every hour… The tempo at quarter note = 60 evokes seconds, marked from the beginning in the left hand, and the repetitive patterns throughout the piece suggest the passage of time. It is specified in the “performance notes”: “let everything resonate like a chime”.

Video produced by the SACEM on Edith Canat de Chizy

Edith Canat de Chizy | Behind the scenes of creation | Musée Sacem

Vocalise III : Solfeggietto, by Alexandre Jamar

This piece is the third part of a series of Vocalises, where the instrumentalist also becomes a singer. The aim of this cycle is to propose a new way of approaching the synthesis between instrument and voice. The instrumental gestures are only the consequence of vocal actions. Through the choice of vowels, this “little solfège” recalls distant note names whose contours have been blurred by time and distance. The performer unfolds a purified vocal line, which the instrument colors or emphasizes.

https://youtube.com/shorts/xy0RclWFZCU?si=gsLoujQB6SOT4OFR

Vocalise III – Alexandre Jamar [Tuto 2]

La danse d’Escher, by Octavio Lopez

Piece inspired by a lithograph by the Dutch painter M.C. Escher, where two figures resulting from a metamorphosis game, dear to the artist, meet to greet each other.

Thus my interpretation of the image focuses on the rhythmic play developed throughout the piece. A pulse, offbeats, changing meters, and repeated sequences create movements like a slightly disjointed dance.

Swings, by Pascale Criton

Meeting with the composer Pascale Criton

https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/podcasts/les-concerts-de-la-creation/les-concerts-de-pascale-criton-3663277

Muse magmatique, by Marie-Hélène Fournier

Muse Magmatique is the second of the “4 autres Muses” for harp and fixed sounds, as we say today. For “fixed sounds”, from the 1950s to the 1990s one would rather say “for magnetic tape”, referring to the sound medium used. Gradually, with the generalization of digital technology and the variability of sound media (tapes, cassettes, CDs, DVDs, DAT, CD-ROMs, audio files, etc.), the term shifted to the “invariable” characteristic of these compositional techniques, namely fixing the composition onto a sound medium in the same way a draftsman fixes a drawing on paper. This type of writing is also called a “mixed piece” because the composition is built both on instrumental writing rooted in a tradition of interpretation and notation, and on purely sonic writing, fixed in time and including spatial, textural and dynamic aspects. The term “mixed” also borrows from the visual arts. 4 autres Muses is a series of mixed pieces composed in line with the 5 Muses for saxophone. This series is created from the same matrix, namely the composition of the “fixed sounds” part. Each piece can be performed separately, the whole forming a large concert work. To approach this repertoire, it is important to keep in mind that the “fixed sounds” part is essential and foundational, and has been developed with high-level tools and sound definition. Consequently, in concert situations for example, it must be diffused on a high-quality sound system with the same care as that given to the instrument. Then, for the performer, in order to find their space of freedom and interaction with the fixed sounds, knowing the sonic part thoroughly is essential. Indeed, the given timings serve to identify salient elements and set landmarks, but cannot replace the ear, which is far more precise when engaged. Finally, the relationship between instrument and fixed sounds is comparable to that of a swimmer and their environment: the water can be endlessly changing, friendly or unsettling, even threatening. The instrument may at times be submerged, re-emerge, stand out, blend under the waves, or dance on the water.

Après la chute, by Caterina Di Cecca

“Après la chute” is a collection of three short pieces for harp, titled “Chuter”, “Le poids et l’essor” and “L’art de se relever”.

They clearly outline a three-stage journey: in the first piece a downward vector movement unfolds; in the second, the music remains anchored in the lowest register, with small and laborious attempts to rise; in the third, finally, it gradually rises from low to high register, while reaching a more lyrical dimension.

These three trajectories are explored through the idiomatic and timbral possibilities of the instrument. In the initial descending path, a large part of the harp’s range is covered through playing on the strings; in the central section, the pedals take the foreground, notably through the use of extended pedaling techniques; the return upwards is entrusted to brief ascending glissandi.

Signatures, by Maarten Lingier (movements 1, 2, 4 and 5)

“Signatures” is inspired by the sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti: these are miniatures where each piece has its own signature, shaped by a marked rhythmic character, clear motifs or sometimes lyrical lines. Each piece acts like a fingerprint, minimalist in form but rich in contours and personality.

Praeludium et Arioso, by Heinz Holliger

Heinz Holliger, Präludium & Arioso

https://youtu.be/hVH5OmSybdY?si=qoo4Mfawhse9iw4u

Album Perspectives / Anaëlle Tourret : https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/album/4onwjK1ZFdVzKwAQFhX9B2

Upupa Epops, by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber

For trio harp, guitar and mandolin

“This strange Latin name belongs to an equally strange bird, the hoopoe, with an almost humorous beauty. Its large orange crest, its slightly too long curved beak, its proud posture, and its black and white wings offer an unexpected breadth when they unfold. When I learned the Latin name of this bird, I laughed. It sounds like the attacks of the plucked strings of this trio. This piece is not a portrait in the manner of Messiaen, but rather a tribute to the unusual, and to an ephemeral encounter: one summer morning, in the mountains of Majorca, while I was writing, I looked up from my work and saw two hoopoes land on the railing in front of my window. Stunned, I saw them so close that I felt I could touch them. But the moment did not last: the hoopoes saw me, and, offended, flew away, never to return.”