Music for Solo Harp

The gradual development of the harp, one of the most ancient musical instruments, brought the increased possibility of chromatic notes and changes of key. The double-strung harps of the later sixteenth century led to the introduction of the triple harp, but an important change came with the eighteenth-century single-action pedal harp, which, nevertheless, still restricted the choice of keys in which the instrument could be played. The early years of the nineteenth century saw the introduction of the double-action harp by Erard, with its seven pedals allowing each string to be sharpened from the flats in which it was tuned, to the natural and sharp of each letter-name note. The present release contains works conceived originally for the single-action harp and others written for the double-action pedal harp, of which the English-born harpist Parish Alvars was an important pioneer.

Franz Liszt’s three Liebesträume (Dreams of Love) were origin