# 2 harps...



## Christian Marcussen (Apr 30, 2006)

Hi... can anyone chime in on a few peices, scores, tunes, etc which use two harps? Vienna Harps includes two of them, but I doubt I would ever compose for two harps. And one I think that, I'm thinking it's because I'm narrow minded and need an ear opener...

If anyone has MP3's, or general theoretical thoughts about scoring for two harps it would be great.


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## Scott Rogers (Apr 30, 2006)

..........


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## Thonex (Apr 30, 2006)

Stravinsky's The Firebird has 3 harps all over the place.

It's also great for having one doing glisses and the other playing melody or ostinato figures.

T


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## choc0thrax (Apr 30, 2006)

Holst's planets use two harps a lot.


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## Stephen Rees (Apr 30, 2006)

Bernard Herrmann used two harps in 'Fahrenheit 451' and in a few of his scores to the original 'The Twilight Zone' television series.


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## Christian Marcussen (Apr 30, 2006)

Gotta love this place - you guys are fabulous. What a wealth of knowledge this place has 

I'll be checking out some of the mentioned peices.

Now, when we are talking midi-orchestration where what ere the benefits of two harps? Thonex mentiones one doing glissses, and another doing ostinatos - makes sense. But when 'cutting through' the texture of the orchestra you could just turn up the volume - or do you think that having two harps playing unison will be sonically different enough to warrent doing it (factoring in the extra Ram/CPU used)?


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## Thonex (May 1, 2006)

Christian Marcussen @ Sun Apr 30 said:


> do you think that having two harps playing unison will be sonically different enough to warrent doing it?



2 harps playing unison will sound much different than a single harp -- if you make sure they are not the same exact patch playing the same samples.... then it will just sound bad in my opinion. Every little detail adds up.... but you already knew that.

T


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## José Herring (May 1, 2006)

The score to ET uses two harps. In unison and everyother way. Beautiful.

Best,

Jose


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## José Herring (May 1, 2006)

Folmann @ Mon May 01 said:


> ... the majority of soundtracks I have heard used a wide panned left / right harp.



Good to know Fo :wink: 

Thanks


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## Christian Marcussen (May 1, 2006)

Folmann @ Mon May 01 said:


> Right. Williams is the 2 harp master ... the majority of soundtracks I have heard used a wide panned left / right harp.



The majority of JW scores, or in general?


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## Stephen Rees (May 1, 2006)

Folmann @ Mon May 01 said:


> Right. Williams is the 2 harp master ... the majority of soundtracks I have heard used a wide panned left / right harp.



That's the way Herrmann often uses his two harps too. One panned left and the other right, then with delicate glisses going in opposite directions on each harp. It creates a magical shimmering sound, especially with the kind of harmonies that Herrmann uses.


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## Christian Marcussen (May 1, 2006)

Sweet - I guess thats how I'll try set the harps on my virtual stage. See how it tickles my fancy 

Now I just have to wait for VSL to release the goddamn thing!


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## jamriding (May 1, 2006)

Scott Rogers @ Sun Apr 30 said:


> ... And on the extreme side is Bantock's Celtic Symphony which uses six harps!...



Doesn't Wagner's opera "Das Rheingold" have also have 6 harps at the very end (Entrance on the Gods into Valhalla)? Mind you, I think the composer chucked in the proverbial sink as well: anvils (lots of 'em), hammer, 8 horns etc. etc. etc. so I suspect that virtually anything goes...

Well, if you've got it then I suppose you've got every right to flaunt it... 

:shock:


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## FrozeN (May 1, 2006)

Berlioz "asked" for 6 harps in his Symphonie Fantastique as well.... though he actually wrote two parts only.... lazy man... :razz: 

Cheers,
Frankie


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## handz (May 2, 2006)

Many classical composition uses 2 harps (what I have seen on live concerts). Scriabins 3rd Symphony for example.


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## jc5 (May 2, 2006)

Its late as I post this, and the mind is starting wander, but if I recall correctly regarding Wagner, the Magic Fire music at the end of Die Walkure contains four distinct harp parts, for pretty much the reasons Scott listed in his first post.

The score for that section is no simple thing to go over with all those densely written harp figurations. :razz: 

One thing to be borne in mind is that the harp is a relatively quiet instrument, and a single one can easily be lost in a thick orchestral texture. It is a cause of much eyerolling ( :roll: ) amongst harpists when a composer marks a part ppp.... :wink:


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## Herman Witkam (May 20, 2006)

FrozeN @ Mon May 01 said:


> Berlioz "asked" for 6 harps in his Symphonie Fantastique as well.... though he actually wrote two parts only.... lazy man... :razz:
> 
> Cheers,
> Frankie



hehe - well I think that had to do with the overall size of the orchestra, being able to reach enough volume to match the other very large sections :wink:


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## KevinKauai (Jun 1, 2006)

The sublime Gustav Mahler used two harps quite a lot -- especially in the larger symphonies (#2, #3 and #8, I'm pretty sure). In general, you need two whenever the complexity of the tuning (and changes thereto) gets high. Also, as has been pointed out, having one harp gliss and the 2nd do arpeggiations is also a fairly standard practice.

 KevinKauai


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## PaulR (Jun 1, 2006)

Stephen Rees @ Sun Apr 30 said:


> Bernard Herrmann used two harps in 'Fahrenheit 451' and in a few of his scores to the original 'The Twilight Zone' television series.



And Vertigo of course.


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