Earth, Wind, Fire: Concerto for Two Harps and Orchestra (Additional Full Score)
by Steven Sametz
Orchestra - Sheet Music

2 harps and orchestra (2[1.2/pic] 2[1.Eh] 2[1.2/bcl] 2[1.2/cbn] -- 2 2 0 0 -- 2perc -- str -- Two Harps) - Professional

SKU: EC.6929

Composed by Steven Sametz. Concerto/Feature. 21st Century. Score & instrument parts. E.C. Schirmer Publishing #6929. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing (EC.6929).

ISBN 600313469299. UPC: 600313469299.

This concerto for two harps and orchestra was written for Andrea Wittchen and her daughter, Samantha. “Atmospheric” or unusual textures and techniques from the contemporary harp literature are incorporated throughout. The opening movement, Earth, is a gradually unfolding crescendo evocative of a time-lapse photo of the earth’s rotation as seen from space; it is also an invocation to the beauty of nature.

 

The second movement, Wind, is a study in textural writing for harp and orchestra with the rustling and rushing of winds. The harpists use tuning forks to create a tremolo in the high register while shifting pedals to alter the harmonic frequency of the sounding board. Behind this, orchestral coloration from harmonic glissandi in the strings and later in the French horn creates a slightly ominous sense of Wind, as the storms build and move without break to the final movement, Fire. Motives from the first and second movements are transformed in virtuosic writing for the two harps, culminating in a fughetto on a theme from the opening movement and a truly “fiery” ending. Duration: 18:00.