Notes for: August 9, 2022
It could be dubbed “The Harp War Affair.” It was waged by two rival manufacturers of musical instruments. It pitted two differently designed harps against each other. And it drew both Ravel and Debussy into the fray.
The competition began when the Pleyel Instrument Company designed a new chromatic harp and commissioned Debussy in 1904 to write a piece for its new instrument. The Erard Company, which had patented its own double action pedal harp in 1810 but was still refining its mechanism, responded in 1905 by commissioning Ravel to write a piece that would show off the Erard harp. Ravel, who was about to leave on an extended vacation, wrote to a friend, “I was terribly busy during the few days which preceded my departure, because of a piece for the harp commissioned by the Erard Company. A week of frantic work and three sleepless nights enabled me to finish it, for better or worse.” It turned out to be very much for better. The work that resulted is a tour de force for the harp, a work Mark DeVoto described as “a brilliant virtuoso piece making full use of the technical and timbral resources of the harp, with a lushness of color… [and] a remarkably full orchestral sound.”
From the beginning, the score is marked by a richness of texture and sonority and by a demonstration of the pedal harp’s chromatic range. In the slow Introduction, Ravel introduces themes that will appear in the Allegro. The opening melody is introduced by the winds and then the strings, during which the harp makes its first appearance – the first of many magical moments. The cello introduces the second theme, playing over shimmering winds and strings. The Introduction leads directly into a lively Allegro, which begins with a harp solo. A dramatic development section ends with a virtuosic harp cadenza filled with glissandi, arpeggios, and harmonics that showcase the harp’s range and color possibilities, as well as its ability to play chromatics seamlessly. While the cadenza and the rest of the work demonstrate the glories of Erard’s harp, this is also truly an ensemble piece, with all the instruments contributing to Ravel’s distinctive color palette and orchestration.
Ravel’s work demonstrated the rich possibilities of the pedal harp. But Pleyel’s harp could not handle Ravel’s challenging score. So Erard’s harp won the war. And Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro remains a favorite of harpists.