Listen & tracks

9 works · 46:44

1 Symlen-ben bis Traditional 2:45
The Journey of the HarpHelen Cartridge 3 movements10:12
1. 2 Movement 1 3:34
2. 3 Movement 2 2:59
3. 4 Movement 3 3:39
5 Air ‘Portrait Charmant’ Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa 2:18
6 Rondo ‘Le garçon volage’ Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa 1:33
7 Etude 6 ‘Andante’ from Violin Partita No. 2 Johann Sebastian Bach 4:33
Tema con VariazioniGeorge Frideric Handel 3 movements7:00
1. 8 Moderato 2:23
2. 9 Variation 1 2:04
3. 10 Variation 2 2:33
Six Pièces BrèvesHenriette Renié 6 movements7:20
1. 11 Conte de Noël 1:32
2. 12 Recueillement 1:42
3. 13 Air de danse :47
4. 14 Invention dans le Style Ancien 1:06
5. 15 Rêverie 1:29
6. 16 Gavotte :44
17 Automne Marcel Grandjany 3:02
StormsDavid Holyoake 2 movements8:01
1. 18 Gathering Winds 5:13
2. 19 Lightning 2:48

Automne: Changing Colours of Harp Music is a journey through a kaleidoscope of compositions for the harp.

From traditional folk music we move into the folk-inspired, with a premiere recording of Helen Cartridge’s The Journey of the Harp, a contemporary Australian work based on the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien.

European art music follows: J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel beside harpists who wrote for their own instrument – Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, Henriette Renié, and Marcel Grandjany, whose title track is marked by rich, luscious glissandi.

The disc closes with another Australian premiere. David Holyoake’s Storms draws on the full colour of the harp for gathering winds, lightning and rain – power and delicacy in one span.

Automne is Melbourne harpist Megan Reeve’s first solo recording. She holds a Bachelor of Music with Honours from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Music Performance from the Victorian College of the Arts, and a Master of Arts in Music, Culture and Politics from Cardiff University, and completed a Summer Academy course in Salzburg.

Artists

Megan Reeve

harp

Megan Reeve has performed professionally on the harp for over twenty years. She holds degrees from the University of Melbourne, the Victorian College of the Arts, and Cardiff University, Wales, spanning performance and music’s place in culture and politics.

Johann Sebastian Bach

composer

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a German composer and organist of the late Baroque. His sacred and secular music for choir, orchestra, organ and solo instruments remains among the foundations of the Western concert and church repertory.

George Frideric Handel

composer

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) was a German-born Baroque composer who settled in London and became a naturalised British subject. He is celebrated for his operas, English oratorios, organ concertos and orchestral works.

Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa

composer

Helen Cartridge

composer

Marcel Grandjany

composer

Marcel Grandjany's harp music favours colour and bloom: broad glissandi, singing lines and the instrument's full resonance. Automne is marked by the rich, luscious glissandi that sit at the heart of his writing for the solo harp.