On an overgrown path by Leoš Janáček

Po zarostlém chodnícku
On an overgrown path 
Leoš Janáček
arranged for Flute, Harp & Cello by Ernestine Stoop

Born in Moravia (Brno) the son of a school teacher, Leoš Janácek was a gifted child who showed musical ability from an early age.

The music he composed before 1900 gave no indication of the road he was about to take - leaving the path of the traditional, classic romantic structures he was using, he developed his own unique treatments of harmony and rhythm. Only Debussy had made a comparable move in composing. The opera ‘Jenufa’ (1904) was Janácek’s great break-through.

During this period of development the musicologist Jan Branberger asked him to submit a contribution for piano, violin or voice for inclusion in a budget edition of miniature compositions. It took Janácek about 10 years to finish the compositions which became the cycle ‘On an overgrown path’ (1900-1910). Originally intended for harmonium it was finally scored for piano.

Leoš Janácek wrote: “The little pieces ‘On an overgrown path’ contain distance reminiscences. Those reminiscences are so dear to me that I do not think they will ever vanish. Whenever I have a moment to indulge myself undisturbed in these recollections, then I find another such little piece comes to mind. It is on an overgrown path. There is a love song on the path, too, as well as the bitterness of disappointment.”

Ernestine Stoop arranged these 10 pieces for flute/alto-flute, violoncello and harp.

When asked to play a ‘Balkan’ programme, her decision to perform Leoš Janácek’s ‘On an overgrown path’ was not a difficult choice. The simple and honest beauty of each piece speaks for itself.

The choice of instruments was obvious: the flute and especially the hoarse sound of the alto-flute are perfect for most of the melodic parts, the violoncello is a beautiful instrument to colour the flute and take care of the harmonium part, the harp (like the piano) takes care of the harmony and rhythm most of the time. (the harp plays the beautiful chords-solo in the Frydek Madonna).

This edition is dedicated to Harrie Starreveld, flutist and Eduard van Regteren Altena, cellist. They have been the ideal musicians to help me improve the arrangement.

For further information visit Creighton's Collection

Miroirs - Ravel arr. for 2 harps by Ernestine Stoop

Miroirs by Maurice Ravel
arr. for two harps by Ernestine Stoop

I was asked by a friend to play ‘La vallée des cloches’. When I saw the whole cycle ‘Miroirs’ I started to be fascinated by the music and wanting to play the music I thought it would be best to use two harps. Once I started I got so involved in the beautiful notes that I almost forgot to sleep. To take part in following the paths of such a genius has been a treat.

The five different compositions of the cycle have very figurative titles and Ravel placed these in different times of the day:

‘Noctuelles’ at midnight
‘Les oiseaux tristes’ during the siesta
‘Une barque sur l’océan’ in the twilight
‘Alborada del gracioso’ at sunrise
‘La vallée des cloches’ at noon

For further information please visit Creighton's Collection

New Publications from Creighton's Collection October 2016: 

From the Land of the Long White Cloud 

Solos for Intermediate lever Harp by Anna Dunwoodie 

Volume 1
The Copper Rose (waltz) Telynor (air)
Madame Vinegar (waltz)
The Sonsie Lass (slow jig) Windmill Road (slow reel)
As He Gently Breathes (air)

View at Creighton's Collection

Volume 2
The Heron (waltz)
The Resolved Dispute (air)
Miss Laura Robertson (jig)
Lesley's Waltz (waltz)
Planxty Rosemary (waltz)
Always There (air)

View at Creighton's Collection

Volume 3
Clarence Street (waltz)
Mweenish (air)
Jamie's Hiccups (hornpipe)
The Appin Lament
The Fallen Apple (lament)
The Wedding Waltz

View at Creighton's Collection

Volume 4

West Park Waltz 

Skerryvore (lament) 

Vinegar Hill (air) 

Bev's Fancy (slow reel)

Fru Sally (slow reel)

Mrs Raewynn Robertson (air)

View at Creighton's Collection

New Harp Duet: Grand Duet - John Thomas

Grand Duet
John Thomas 
Pencerdd Gwalia (1826-1913)

Both the Grand Duet (1865) and the Souvenir du Nord of 1854 (Adlais 164) are dedicated to a Welsh-born patroness. “Mrs. Lucy of Charlecote Park” was born Mary Elizabeth Williams at Bodelwyddan Castle, St. Asaph, and both she and her sister “Miggy” (later to become Lady Willoughby de Broke) were talented harpists.

In her book Mistress of Charlecote: The Memoirs of Mary Elizabeth Lucy, Alice Lady Fairfax-Lucy quotes a very amusing account of the Abergavenny Eisteddfod of 1853 which led to Mrs Lucy's first meeting with John Thomas at Llanover, and to her subsequent lessons with him at her home. “Mr. Thomas kept me to scales and exercises for the first year, and I did learn his way, and before I was very much older, I was able to play many a difficult duet with him. I would get up an hour earlier to have a good practice before breakfast, and I would go to sleep trying to hold my thumb up.” As her harp teacher, “Mr. Thomas” became a frequent guest and partner in duets on their Erard harps. As an enthusiastic patroness, Mrs Lucy attended his concerts over a period of some 35 years.

John Thomas composed duos, both for two harps and for harp and piano, throughout his life. For the most part, these compositions were operatic fantasias and duos based on familiar Welsh folk melodies. The Grand Duet is an exception, as whereas the others are concert arrangements, this one duet is an original composition.

Ann Griffiths, 2016

Published by Adlais Music Publishers

Printed & distributed by Creighton's Collection

Published Retail Price - £14.00 (set of parts)

Further information available at www.adlaismusicpublishers.co.uk

New Baritone & Harp Music - Michael Stimpson

Dylan for Baritone & Pedal Harp
Michael Stimpson
Words Dylan Thomas
Edited Sioned Williams

The song cycle, Dylan, is a chronological account of the life of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Each song is preceded by a short spoken text, and these, together with the words used for the songs, date as closely as possible to the period and subject matter in question. Many of the striking elements of Dylan’s life are included: the controversy of his character, poverty, alcoholism, the tempestuous relationship with his wife Caitlin, America, and of course his remarkable ability to write and speak so astutely and evocatively.

Published by Creighton's Collection
Published Retail Price - £15.00 (full score) / £8.00 (alternative baritone only part)
Further information available at www.creightonscollection.co.uk

Dylan is recorded on the Stone Records CD "Dylan" 
Performed by Roderick Williams (baritone) & Sioned Williams (harp).
The CD is available from Creighton's Collection - £12  +p&p

Promotional Video from Stone Records using the music from Dylan

New Harp Music - Michael Stimpson

The Drowning of Capel Celyn Solo for Pedal Harp
Michael Stimpson
Edited Sioned Williams

Capel Celyn, a village near Bala in North Wales, was flooded in 1965 to create a reservoir for Liverpool. People were devastated as the water rushed into the valley, drowning the Chapel, Quaker Meeting House, the Post Office, and a number of cottages. There had been considerable protests, including the bombing of a transformer on the site of the dam structure, and in many respects the controversy had wider and longer-term consequences. Michael Stimpson wrote this work to mark the 50th anniversary of the flooding in 2015, as well as the 60th birthday of Sioned Williams.

Published by Creighton's Collection
Published Retail Price - £8.00
Further information available at www.creightonscollection.co.uk

The Drowning of Capel Celyn is recorded on the Stone Records CD "Dylan" 
Harp solo performed by Sioned Williams.
The CD is available from Creighton's Collection - £12  +p&p

Promotional Video from Stone Records using the music from The Drowning of Capel Celyn

New Harp Music: Así hablan los Ángeles by Violeta Ramos

Así hablan los Ángeles 
Violeta Ramos

Así hablan los Ángeles, for Paraguayan harp, was inspired by a phrase from Paulo Coelho’s book, Maktub. "Our Angel is always there, and sometimes, if we need help, he uses someone’s lips to tell us something, but this answer comes in a casual way, generally at a moment when we don't let our worries darken the miracle of life." 

The score is supplied with a study recording CD.

Published retail price £10

For further information & to listed to the study recording please visit our web site: Creighton's Collection 

New Harp Music: Hamabe No Uta - Monika Stadler

Harp Sheet Music from Creighton's Collection
New Publication 8 February 2016

Hamabe No Uta (Song of the beach / Das Lied vom Strand)
Monika Stadler

Hamabe no uta (Song of the Beach) is one of the most popular and beloved Japanese folk songs written in 1914 and arranged here for pedal harp by Monika Stadler. Hamabe no uta talks about memory and reflection. Hamabe no uta is recorded on the CD "Everything will be all right" by Monika Stadler.

Published retail price £7
Available from Creighton's Collection

Hamabe no Uta

(浜辺の歌)
By Hayashi Kokei & Narita Tamezou

Ashita hamabe o samayoeba
Mukashi no koto zo shinobaruru
Kaze no oto yo kumo no sama yo
Yosuru nami mo kai no iro mo

Yuube hamabe o motooreba
Mukashi no hito zo shinobaruru
Yosuru nami yo kaesu nami yo
Tsuki no iro mo hoshi no kage mo

Translation

In the morning as I wandered about along the seashore
I remembered things from the old times
The sound of the wind, the shape of the cloud
The wave that came and the colour of the seashell too

At dusk as I wandered about along the seashore
I remembered people from the old times
The wave that came, the wave that went away
The colour of the moon and the light of the star too