Harpestra – Concerto for Two Harps and One Player (Score and Parts)
Harpestra – Concerto for Two Harps and One Player (Score and Parts)
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2(Id alto,IId picc).0.2(IId bcl).1(d cnbsn).-2.1.1.0.-harp(2)-timp-perc(2)-str
duration: 8:18
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Harpestra was written to explore, and exploit, the potential of combining chromatic possibilities between two harps with gestural rhythms that would only be possible to achieve with the coordination between the hands of one performer.
Since I am a harpist as well as a composer, my theoretical and mechanical knowledge of how this might be physically achieved was essential in conceptualizing and notating this work. The score requires the harpist to stand, sit, and even kneel behind two harps, sometimes playing them simultaneously, one on each shoulder.
This double harp concerto for one harpist represents an early direction for me in the realm of 'concert theater,' where visual aspects are critical to the composition—a practice reflected in many of my compositions. However, the impetus behind my initial idea for the piece was to expand the limited pitches available to one harp (limited by the placement of seven pedals) by adding a second harp with an additional seven pedals, so that chromatic densities could be elicited that would otherwise be impossible. I believe this may be the only such concerto ever written.
As the harp soloist, I premiered the Harpestra, commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fromm Foundation, with the D.C. Youth Orchestra at George Washington University in 1995. For this second performance of the concerto, I'm grateful to Raphael de Vivo, Philippe Nahon, and Helene Breschand for their vision in programming and performing this work in France in 2017.
---Anne LeBaron