What is your musical background?
I have a somewhat unorthodox background in music, partially fueled by the fact that I could never decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. (And still haven’t!) I started the cello at 10 and then added clarinet, flute, French horn, piano, and bassoon to my musical toy box by the time I reached high school. My freshman year of college, I added pipe organ to the list and attempted to triple major in organ, cello, and horn, but there are only so many hours in the day to practice. I finally settled on horn as a major, but in my senior year of college I took up the harp. I went on to get a Master’s degree in French horn performance, with secondary emphases in cello and conducting. A few years later, I started a Doctoral degree in choral conducting, with an emphasis in Gregorian chant, and organ. My interest in Gregorian chant led me to study at Westminster Choir College, the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome, and at the Abbey of Solesmes, France.  I had to put harp on the back burner for a number of years, but finally came back to it about 15 years ago and studied with several very good teachers who helped me to pursue it more seriously. I have also subsequently taken up the viola da gamba, cornetto, baroque triple harp, and trumpet. If there is such a thing as musical schizophrenia, I certainly have it!

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What types of arrangements do you do? Do you have a favorite instrumental combo?
Most of my arrangements have been for harp solo, but I have a particular affinity for the soprano voice, which I think works beautifully with the harp. I have arranged or composed several pieces for this combo, with optional cello obbligato, which I think is an ideal sound palette. I’ve done a few things for choir and harp, but this doesn’t always work well as choirs will tend to overpower the harp. I am hoping to publish soon a collection of arrangements for harp and cello, as I have had a lot of requests for that combination.

How do you decide what to arrange? 
I arrange for a variety of needs, but I am probably most drawn to arranging for pieces that I find personally inspiring. I am constantly listening to music on Sirius XM radio in the car, on YouTube, on CDs, and of course at live concerts, and I am always wondering if something I especially liked would work on the harp. I also have a particular interest in sacred music and feel strongly about finding pieces that will fulfill a spiritual need for myself, or more importantly, for someone else.

Are there certain criteria you look for when selecting a piece to arrange?
Yes, one criterion—is it too hard? [Laughs] Because I feel a particular sense of mission to create pieces that are playable both on lever and pedal harp, this does narrow the possibilities, but I think it also creates a challenge for lever harpists by arranging pieces that do stretch the technique a bit. So, I look at keys, chromaticism, technical difficulty, etc., but I think the bottom-line question is, “Will this sound good on the harp?” There are certain things the harp does really well, and if I can find a piece that will take advantage of what I call “idiomatic writing,” I will use it. In other words, could I make someone think this was originally written for the harp? The harp is technically a pitched percussion instrument and some things just won’t work very well with this in mind.

What’s the most useful origination of your material? 
All I can say is, “Thanks be to Google!” I don’t know how we lived before the Internet and computers, but obviously folks like Bach and Handel were able to get by somehow. Nowadays, I find a lot of material by searching “free scores” online. As you can tell, I’m quite cheap—I look for free downloads with no copyright restrictions! I am quite fond of arranging Baroque music, and now it’s easy to find scores or keyboard reductions of this at the IMSLP Web site (imslp.org), and it’s all free. I also do a lot of hymn arrangements, so obviously I would use a hymnal for that, or just my own memory of the hymn. I have used full orchestral scores, organ scores, easy piano books, piano/vocal scores—you name it. Sometimes, I have even transcribed stuff from a recording on YouTube just to get the tune, which I can then arrange.

Can you describe your arranging process? What’s the first step?
Well, I hate to give away all my trade secrets, but essentially, once I’ve figured out what I want to arrange, I sit down at the harp and start playing until I come up with something that sounds good to me. I quickly write it down before I forget it! I have given workshops on how to arrange and often am asked about the process, but there is really no method to my own madness.

What do you think is the most challenging aspect of arranging?
For me, it’s getting started! I have a huge long list of pieces I want to arrange, or that people have requested, and it’s so overwhelming that I don’t know where to start! Once I get started and get an idea, it’s difficult to sustain the level of energy and creativity required to finish the piece. I have a full time position as a church music director, so I have to find the time to arrange and compose. I also teach and freelance and travel a bit doing workshops and concerts, so finding quality time to devote to a new piece is very difficult.

How have you chosen to publish your arrangements?
I started this whole business quite by accident—I had made my early arrangements for my own use at the hospice, and then I was asked to present some of them at the Liturgical Harp Conference in Charleston, S.C., in 1999. I quickly put them in Sibelius, the musical notation software program, and ran a few things off at Kinko’s. Much to my surprise, people actually bought them at the conference! I thought about trying to get an established publishing company to distribute them after this, but harp music is such a niche market that this proved unfeasible. I decided to start my own publishing company, Seraphim Music, and with the help of the Internet and music notation technology, it has been more successful than I had imagined. Sylvia Woods was a great help to me early on, as she encouraged me to put arrangements in book form, which she now distributes. I am very grateful that Lyon & Healy, Melody’s Traditional Music, Virginia Harp Center, Atlanta Harp Center, Harp Connection, Kolacny Music, Michigan Harp Center, Camac Harps and many others, have chosen to distribute Seraphim Music Editions.

What’s your advice to some who would like to start arranging? 
Go for it! The harp world needs repertoire, and I would encourage anyone who has the ability to arrange, to exercise that gift. The harp is becoming a more visible instrument thanks to social media, and I think that well-crafted and tasteful arrangements will help to promote the harp as the beautiful instrument that it is.

What’s the most common mistake amateur arrangers might make?
I think this would be “going over your head,” in other words, making arrangements that are either not well-suited for the harp or are too difficult. Technical difficulty does not equal musical quality. It is so important to write for the harp idiomatically, that is, to capitalize on the things the harp does well, and this is not often the case with some arrangements. We need to create something that is “accessible” for the harp, meaning, it lies well in the hands and seems to make sense technically as a harp piece. •

Rhett Barnwell is an internationally known composer and arranger of lever and pedal harp music. He is the founder of Seraphim Music and is a frequent presenter and performer at harp festivals around the country. He has given harp concerts throughout the U.S., Ireland, and Italy, often accompanied by soprano Victoria Lawson. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music, and has pursued Doctorial studies at the University of Georgia. He was the manager of the Atlanta Harp Center and is currently Director of Music at Embry Hills United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Barnwell’s publications are available at www.seraphimmusic.com and at major harp retailers.  

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Arranger Profile is a feature that spotlights a successful arranger of harp music. Do you have a favorite arranger you think we should feature? Let us know! E-mailareese@harpcolumn.com with your suggestions.