Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher holds Bachelor, Master and Doctor of Music degrees in Vocal Music. Initially trained as a classical vocalist and pianist, she began her harp studies after moving to Upstate New York and has since followed a multi-faceted career path. Her harp playing has taken her from the most formal orchestral concerts to very intimate chamber performances wearing historical costume. Her vibrant singing voice has been heard in numerous stage productions, recitals, concerts and competitions in the United States and abroad. In addition to being a well-known arranger whose harp publications are sold internationally, she is an experienced choral conductor, concert organizer, arts advocate, music journalist and music educator. She gives private instruction at her home in piano, voice and harp and performs extensively in the Northeastern U.S.A. Darhon also pursues her interest in healing as a registered nurse.
The Lively Bard
$25.00
Welsh airs used in this publication were collected by Edward Jones (1751-1824), harper to King George IV. Jones was born in North Wales and in about 1775 moved to London where he enjoyed a nearly 50-year career as composer, arranger, performer, and teacher. He also collected rare books, manuscripts and musical instruments.
Jones was a prolific collector and arranger of melodies and is best remembered for his three-volume work called Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1784-1802). I have adapted Jones’ arrangements for melody instrument with lever harp accompaniment. Guitar chords are included so that the melody may be played by any “C” instrument, accompanied by chords on harp, lute, guitar or keyboard. In addition, the melody could be played as a harp solo, adding the chords to the left hand. Due to space constraints, first and second endings were only indicated above the flute/violin part in the score and dynamics only within the harp part; but these markings apply to both instruments.
These airs have been placed in progressive key order to create a satisfying “Welsh set” that facilitates lever (or pedal) changes. This order also facilitates playing 2-4 tunes in succession as a “Welsh medley.” All tunes were typeset to fit exactly on two facing pages to eliminate any page turns within a piece. Some melodies were transposed from their original keys to better suit the range of the flute. Tunes may be taken “up the octave” where desired, such as on repeated sections. The harp range needed to play all of the accompaniments in this collection exactly as written is only 26 strings (C-G). There are no lever changes within pieces in this entire collection, only lever pre-sets.
