AHJ, Vol. 4 No. 3, Spring 1974

came more and more abundant. The decline in musical
taste, however, was considerable since composers (and
often the best ones) followed the current fashionwhich,
alas, lasted a long time--of arranging the
melodies and overtures of operas and operas-comiques
for their instrument: Mme. de Genlis, with her innate
bad taste, was proud to play the overtures of the two
"Iphigenie". [lphigenie en Aulide, 1774, Iphigenie en
Tauride, 1778. Ed.]
Many ariettas, too numerous to list, appeared with
harp accompaniment. Beginning in 1778, the Journal
de la harpe and in 1784 the Feuilles de Terpsichore
served as a recurrent source of musical ideas for amateurs
of all sorts. Along with these purely worldly successes
however, music lost none of its privileges. Beginning
in 1760 (Hochbriicker) performances multiplied
at the Concert Spirituel, and the big religious concerts
always included one, or even two, harpists.
Thus it was that the 13 year old Mlle. Schenker was
in 1776 first harpist in the palace of the Prince de Conti,
and at the same time also a brilliant soloist much appreciated
at the Concert Spirituel. Schenker pere, after
having been in the service of La Poupliniere, also served
chez Conti where he held the posts both of harpist and
horn player.
The lutenist of this prince, Joseph Kohaut, seems also
to have played the harp. Although we lack proof, his
compositions let us suppose that he played it. He published,
in I 7 6 7, 8 trios for harp ( clavichord or lute),
violin and bass, dedicated to the Prince de Conti, which
reveal in their composer a very keen understanding of
harp writing. In the musette which constitutes the second
movement of Trio No. 3 he even seems to anticipate
harp writing of a century later.
The Trio No. 3 is written for the lute in E major, but
the author suggests that the harp should play it in E flat
major (this because of the tuning of the harp; also, the
flat keys are always preferable on this instrument). This
fragment of the musette, which constitutes the second
movement of the sonata, is in E flat minor (example 3).
Joseph Kohaut, born in Bohemia in 1736, died in
Paris in 1793. He belonged to a family of lutenists. His
father was the teacher of Baron and his brother Karl;
the latter was a secretary of the Empress Marie- Therese,
and a stunning virtuoso and brilliant composer.
Joseph Kohaut composed symphonies which were
played at the Concert des Amateurs, and several operas-comiques
performed successfully at the Theatre
des Italiens.
Several years passed, during which-with the exception
of the works of Baur already mentioned-the
literature of the harp seemed to mark time.
Notices in various publications speak of numerous
sonatas with accompaniment of violin, a vogue which
lasted a long time and which revealed a lack of imagination
in the composers.
This is why, in 1778, the Concerto for flute and harp
of W. A. Mozart burst on the quiet scene of complacent
sonata-writers and proved to the French that the harp
could hold its place with the large orchestra of the 18th
century.
It is a fact that Handel had composed, as early as
1736, the Concerto in B flat played by the harpist
Powell during the entr'acte of Alexander's Feast. But
this concerto, which had only an accompaniment of
strings and two recorders doubling the violins, seems
not to have been known in Paris in the 18th century and
it was only in 1791 that Mlle. Duverger (Mme. Clery)
unveiled to the Parisian public the concertos of Johann­
Christian Bach published in London in 1763, performing
them at the Concert Spirituel. The accompaniment
of these concertos was reduced to strings.
In the Mozart concerto the association of a harp with
a flute solo, a quartet, two oboes and two horns was a
novelty. However, the harp part in this concerto brought
nothing to the writing for the instrument, and even the
rondo seemed rather to have been treated in harpsichord
style by the composer; the musical phrase is short and
turns upon itself in a rapid movement which is contrary
to the harp aesthetic. An Alberti bass, almost continuous,
does not help matters (example 4).
The novelty is in the choice of instruments surrounding
the harp. Musicians found with delight that the sonority
of the horn blended wonderfully well with that
of the harp. A phrase from the Rondo is the best example.
It must have impressed the listeners, for up to
the middle of the 19th century the harp and one or two
horns, often without valid reason, were combined (example
5).
Example 3-Fragment from
Musette from Trio No. 3 by Joseph
Kohaut
SPRING/1974 13