Noel Provencal Grandjany for Lever Harp?

[karen]

Does anyone have a copy of Noel Provencal (Grandjany)? It does not say for pedal or lever. I am wondering if it is easily adapted for Lever Harp. It does not seem like too difficult a piece. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[patricia-jaeger]

I do not have a copy of that Opus 24 by Grandjany. However, another title for that carol from the Provence region of France is Il Est Ne, le Divin Enfant, or He is Born, and that carol is familiar to many people. Frequently printed in key of G for many different instruments, the left hand of a lever harp player can use the same G chord throughout the entire piece, and the right hand will need no extra accidentals so it is clearly played easily on a lever harp. If you must have the Grandjany work, search online through several harp music dealer catalogs since Grandjany over his lifetime had his works printed by several different publishers. The carol,so simple to play, is quite charming with no special arrangement. In the Sylvia Woods collection “50 Christmas Carols for All Harps,” it is listed as Il Est Ne on pages 44 and 45, in two levels of difficulty.

[karen]

Thank you Patricia! What a wonderful and comprehensive reply. I really appreciate your taking the time.

[brian-noel]

Hi Karen,

Actually, Patricia is incorrect on this. The Grandjany “Noel Provencal” is completely different than “Il es ne”. “Il est ne” is a bouncy children’s carol in 2/2 time, and the Noel Provencal is in 6/8 with a couple of variations. You could probably play the main theme on lever harp, but the variations would be tough without major lever harp modifications. There’s also a gliss section at the end that involves using flats while in a sharp key. You can listen to a pedal harp student play it on You Tube if you just type in “Noel Provencal”. You can hear my own arrangement of “Il est ne” for harp and string quartet on You Tube here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Ttzel-Aus

[patricia-jaeger]

The link you sent above has somehow been corrupted as there is no sound, though other nearby performances can easily be heard. Yet I learned that there are other noels from Provence, not only Il est Ne. A day is not lost when we learn something new, and I thank Brian for this correction. Therefore, Karen S, I do believe the Grandjany composition could not be played on a lever harp, after all. I hope someone will perform Grandjany’s Opus 24 on youtube.com with sound, so that we can all enjoy it!

[brian-noel]

Both of these You Tube links played back fine on my computer on Internet Explorer:

Noel Provencal (Grandjany, solo harp) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDwygJDqjvc

Il est ne (arr. Noel, harp and string quartet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Ttzel-Aus

[joan-steinberg]

I love this Noel by Grandjany! A friend gave me an antique copy of this a few years ago, and it is gorgeous. I play it every Christmas season. Probably best for pedal harp.

[emma-graham]

The second link works perfectly – and is lovely thank you. However,the first one (the Grandjany) says that the video is private and so won’t play. You might need to reset the privacy so that anyone who has a link can view it.

[karen]

Emma–I also was unable to view the first link listed by Brian.
“Il est Ne” is not the same as Grandjany’s “Noel Provençal”. This is the only youtube video I could find of this lovely song so I am sharing it so you can hear it. I purchased the music from Melody’s. It is best on pedal harp, however, with the help of my wonderful teacher, I can play it on my Pratt Chamber harp (lever). It takes a few lever changes but sounds quite good.
Here is the link for the sheet music:

https://www.folkharp.com/audition-recital-repertoire-pedal/1721-noel-provencal.html

Here is the link for YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OIoFXfgRaU

I hope this helps!

[nataliecannedy]

Hi Karen,

I know I’m a few months late, but I’m wondering if you worked out that Grandjany Noel Provencal? If you haven’t, you definitely should give it a try. My daughter plays it beautifully on her lever harp (L&H Prelude). If you haven’t pursued it already, and decide to, I’d be happy to ask her what adaptations she may have made.
Natalie

[karen]

Thanks Natalie…that is so nice of you. My teacher did help me figure it out. It is a lot of lever changes but we did figure it out!
Happy New Year and thanks for your offer.

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