Benjamin Britten - Suite for Harp, Op. 83 (1969) [Score-Video]

[@specialagentdalecooper5367]

thanks for sharing, great piece

[@FS4U-CH]

This weirdly nice!

[@cywiringwlad]

I feel like Britten just went off wandering, creatively-speaking, in his latter years...

[@formerastronaut]

what is up with the notation around 3:00 where it's notated as a Db and a C# in the bass? why not just two Db?

[@chrisneiner]

On the modern pedal harp, the lowest two strings (C and D) are not connected to the pedals. In order to have a C# or Db, the lowest strings have to be manually tuned prior to performance. Britten choses to have the C# so that he can have D natural later on. Hope this helps clarify!

[@formerastronaut]

@@chrisneiner Thanks! I was unaware of this particular quirk of the instrument!

[@chrisneiner]

You’re welcome! The harp is among the quirkiest of instruments to write for.

[@pwoody1958]

@@chrisneiner Formerstronaur is correct about the low bass strings, but he misread your question. The reason there are alternating C#s and Dbs is because if you want a rapidly repeated note, it is more effective on the harp to alternate between two strings instead of repeatedly plucking one. So you set the pedals to raise the C strings and lower the D strings so they are enharmonically equivalent.

[@hiiexist479]

What are the little coda signs?

[@mikehewer6434]

it indicates a muffling of notes and can be used selectively to muffle some but not all notes.