Marcel Grandjany's harp transcriptions and editions
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Abstract
Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) is well known as an outstanding harpist, teacher and composer for the harp, Beyond this, however, he is also very important for his transcriptions for the harp of music originally written for other instruments, and also for bis editions of older works for the harp that had fallen into obscurity, Many of these transcriptions form a basic core of the modem harpist's repertoire, particularly of pre- Classical works. In addition, his transcriptions have generally been regarded as particularly idiomatic for the harp, utilizing the modem instrument's full range and an array of techniques common in the twentieth century,
This dissertation examines ten representative Grandjany transcriptions, to pinpoint what changes Grandjany made, and what purpose these changes serve in adapting the original work for the harp, Such an understanding could be very useful for harpist or other musicians either transcribing or composing for the harp, Grandjany was, however, a man of his own time, and his transcriptions reflect a Romantic sensibility that is often at odds with the modem understanding of historically informed performance, This study attempts to identify non-stylistic elements added by Grandjany, and to determine what the modem performer might do to retain Grandjany's idiomatic sense without losing historical accuracy.