Chimera - ABRSM Grade 5 (lever)
Ronde - ABRSM Grade 7 (lever)
Le Tango Eternal - ABRSM Grade 8 (lever)
Five pieces for solo lever harp - upper intermediate to advanced standard
1. Solitaire
2. As a Cloud
3. Ronde
4. Chimera
5. Le Tango Éternel
1. Solitaire
2. As a Cloud
3. Ronde
4. Chimera
5. Le Tango Éternel
Solitaire is a gift to a close friend who over the last few years has single-mindedly devoted herself to the harp as a late-starter. Like most of us, she suddenly found herself confined to home under Covid restrictions, so it seemed a nice idea to send a little album for her to try her hand at. The first, third and fifth pieces are dance inspired (Kathryn was originally a dancer), the second and fourth are more meditative.
From a composer’s point of view, the lever harp’s tuning mechanism presents interesting challenges that in themselves lead to truly fascinating harmonic possibilities. I decided to write each piece with a minimum of lever changes: number 1 has none, 3 just one and only a couple of strings are briefly affected in the remaining three. But mainly, I wrote hoping that this offering might provide both solace and enjoyment for the solitary player - which doesn’t mean you can’t play it in public!
My thanks to Eleanor Hudson and Lauren Scott for all their help!
Gary Carpenter - January 2022