Description
Three short pieces for pedal harp by Henriette Renie: Esquisse, Danse d’autrefois, and Angélus. Moderate level of difficulty. INTERMEDIATE PEDAL HARP This is a very popular collection, and all three pieces are beautiful. The most famous is “Angelus” because it’s full of glissandos and harmonics – exactly what people expect from the harp! Esquisse is one that you can dig your fingers into and play with emotion, too.
Harp Column Blog (www.harpcolumn.com) had a discussion about this piece in 2018 that is very informative:
From Balfour Knight: Thanks for posting this, Gretchen! (Gretchen Cover) The Angelus by Renie has long been a favorite piece of mine, along with the other two pieces in her collection called Feuilletts D’Album, or Album Leaves. The Angelus was rung three times per day, at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. (To see a wonderful painting depicting two peasants bowing in prayer at the ringing of the Angelus, see the beautiful painting by Jean Francois Millet called the Angelus.)
The first piece in Renie’s Album is called Esquisse, or Sketch, and is very beautiful. The second one is Danse D’Autrefois, or Dance of Another Time, again, very nice, but it requires some careful damping on the harp (I enjoy it the most on the piano, with dampers, ha, ha!). The third piece, of course, is the Angelus. These three make a real dandy addition to any varied program of harp music, and they have been well-received when I have presented them.
Hope all of you look these up and enjoy them! I use the Grandjany edition, published by Lyra Music Company, by the way. Thanks again, Gretchen, for bringing this up!
Happy Harping,
Balfour (who is a genius at arranging chromatic music for lever harp, see “Unforgettable Theater Treasures” with Angi Bemiss.) Also, do a search on Balfour Knight on our site for more fantastic arrangements.
