HARP LITERATURE IN FRANCE IN THE 18TH CENTURY by France Verni/lat from "Recherches sur la Musique francaise classique," IX, 1969 Translated from the French by Harold Bryson Reprinted by special permission from the author, France Vernillat, and from Editions A. & J. Picard, 82, Rue Bonaparte, Paris, France. At the end of the 17th century (about 1697) a Bavarian maker of stringed instruments, Hochbriicker, contrived a mechanism which, with the help of pedals, allowed the harp to effect certain modulations of pitch. This first harp, provided with five pedals, was later improved by its inventor, who, in 1 720, offered a harp with seven pedals. This invention gradually regained for the instrument the favor of musicians. However, it was in France, in the extraordinary climate of the "Century of Light," that the literature of the harp found its full flowering. Testifying to this is an abundant literature composed and published in France for the most part before the Revolution had dispersed the harp tradition which had originated under the protection of Versailles. The invention of Hochbriicker became known in France rather late: it was only in 1749 that George Adam Goeppfert introduced it, first in a concert at the home of Le Riche de la Poupliniere, and again on the 25th of May in the same year at the Concert Spirituel. [Le Riche de la Poupliniere (1693-1762) was a celebrated patron of learning and the arts who included Rameau, Stamitz and Gossec in his patronage-Ed.] Unfortunately we do not know what Goeppfert played on these occasions. Le Mercure indicates that "Monsieur Goepffem (sic), a German, played the harp and was enthusiastically applauded." Mme. de Genlis, a habitual guest at the soirees of La Poupliniere and one of the pupils of Goeppfert, was no more explicit. However, thanks to her, we know that at this time the literature of the harp was almost non-existent: "As there was nothing printed for the harp except some trifles by Giaffre," 1 she wrote in the preface of her Method de harpe "I began to play some harpsichord pieces, and soon the more difficult pieces of Mondonville, of Rameau and then of Scarlatti, Alberti, Handel, etc." One can imagine that the leading harpists imitated Mme. de Genlis, but that many amateurs simply were content to accompany romantic songs. The majority of the adapters of the 18th century realized that, whether on the harp or the harpsichord, it was logical to observe the technique suitable to the performing instrument. But for a long time writing for the harp was not 6 differentiated from writing for the harpsichord, just as, in the 19th century, the same error was committed in confusing the harp with the piano. In our day numerous harpists borrow from the piano repertoire to impose on their listeners various "transcriptions," more or less effective, in order to remedy the limitations of harp repertoire. However, notating music for the harp is different from notating keyboard music. Without wishing to analyze composing for the modern harp with all the enharmonic combinations which keep it from being "a poor piano," one can readily see that the keyboard instruments, which are played with spreading hands, and the harp, where the position of the hands is parallel, necessarily call for different notations. Some harpists very soon understood this difference and little by little developed a technique which saw its full flowering in the middle of the 19th century with Elias Parish-Alvers. Among 18th century composers who knew how to differentiate the harp from the clavichord first place must go to Jean Baur in spite of the rather late publication date of his sonatas linking the harp and the clavichord (1773). An analysis of the two parts of his work shows how a musician who knew perfectly both instruments was able to treat the harp and the clavichord according to the technique suitable to each. Since embellishments are difficult to perform on the harp, the part written about this instrument is almost totally devoid of them: a few grace notes, some rare turns. It is in the harpsichord part that ornamentation is found. On the other hand, we see in the harp part numerous arpeggios (sometimes for 3 octaves), some broken octaves, and, most important, that flexible and parallel line of the hands which is appropriate to the instrument. Jean Baur was born at Bouzonville, in the diocese of Metz, about 1 719. He came to Paris about 1745 but seems to have made use of the harp rather tardily since his first compositions for the instrument date from 1769. In that year he published a quartet for harp, flute, violin and bass, which unfortunately has not been found. In 1773 he published 12 sonatas, 6 with accompagnement chantant of the harpsichord and 6 with violin. These sonatas are dedicated respectively (in groups of 4) to the Princesse de Lamballe, to the Duchesse de Chartres and to the Duchesse de Bourbon. For an excerpt from the Sonata <strong>No</strong>. IV in B-flat major dedicated to the Duchess of Chartres see examples 1 a, 1 b, le. AMERICAN HARP JOURNAL
I ;. . ,. # ~ j ' • • ·, ~ j J ! 7 ,. ,, J r J I --7 - I Example la. Sonata <strong>No</strong>. IV in B-flat major by Jean Baur; dedicated to the Duchess of Chartres. SPRING/<strong>1974</strong> 7
Change language