The
harp is often considered most suitable to play gentle, soft
music, in order to bring peace to a troubled soul. That is probably
the result of the association of the harp with the biblical
King David, who - before he became king - played the harp when
King Saul was possessed by an evil spirit from God. But the
programme on this disc shows a completely different side of
the harp, in particular the pieces by Italian composers of the
17th century.
When
Andrew Lawrence-King recorded this programme, in 1991, the harp
hardly played a role in the performance of early music. Before
that recordings were made with music of the renaissance and
the early baroque, but on modern harps; this way the features
of this repertoire are hardly revealed. One of the reasons is
the use of the modern equal temperament, which flattens some
of the dissonances composers included in their works, using
meantone temperament. This disc contains a striking example
with Frescobaldi's Ciacona (track 18).
As
there are many similarities between the harp, the harpsichord
and the chitarrone many Italian compositions of the 17th century
can be played on either instrument. It is probably also down
to the fact that the harp wasn't as widespread as the harpsichord
or the chitarrone that not many pieces were specifically written
for the instrument. Some of the repertoire for the harp has
been lost. The programme includes three pieces by a composer
called Orazio Michi dell'Arpa. He was considered the most brilliant
harpist of his time, but none of his compositions for his own
instrument have survived. Therefore one can only guess what
his skills must have been like. To give an impression Andrew
Lawrence-King plays three vocal pieces from a collection with
monodies, in which it is very likely that the singer was expected
to be accompanied by the harp. I would very much like to hear
them sung that way, as these are extremely fine pieces.
All
compositions by Frescobaldi are written for the keyboard, especially
the harpsichord. However, as this recording shows, they do very
well on the harp. Because of his thorough knowledge of the performance
practice of the time Lawrence-King provides very dramatic interpretations,
using the dynamic possibilities of the harp to great effect.
It is this feature of the harp which made it a frequently used
instrument in the opera as well.
An
important part of Lawrence-King's interpretation is improvisation.
That is in line with what we know about performances in the
17th century. In particular the many toccatas of that time provide
impressive evidence of the art of improvisation. Sometimes improvisation
is nothing more than adding ornaments, sometimes it means adapting
a vocal piece to the possibilities of the harp. That is the
case in the monodies by Orazio Michi dell'Arpa, which I already
mentioned, but also in the concerto 'Nigra sum' from Monteverdi's
Vespro della Beata Vergine, which receives a wonderfully
creative interpretation here. One would hope that singers of
this repertoire are going to listen to this performance to hear
how one can interpret this well-known piece in a very dramatic
way.
More
free improvisation takes place in the first part of the programme,
which brings music by Spanish composers of the 16th century.
This repertoire isn't often associated with the harp, but in
the booklet Lawrence-King writes: "The toccata owed its
origins to musicians such as Luduvico, an early sixteenth-century
Spanish harpist, whose improvising style (as imitated in a fantasia
for vihuela by Mudarra) shows several features that were to
become typical of toccata-writing ..." Lawrence-King plays
some improvisations of his own, and as the harp was played in
Spain he also takes some pieces written for the vihuela to show
the capabilities of the harp.
Two
different harps are used here, a Spanish and an Italian 'double
harp', both copies of historical instruments. Lawrence-King's
playing is brilliant, and the programme is enthralling. The
interpreter is one of the most prominent experts of historical
harps and harp playing, and some of his knowledge is communicated
to the listener in the programme notes.
I
strongly commend this disc which is as ground-breaking as it was
when released in the early 1990s. It is excellent news that this
splendid recording is available again … and at budget price. Don't
miss it!
Johan van Veen
