Rhapsody for Harp, Op. 10
by Marcel Grandjany
Composed in 1924 while Grandjany was still in Paris, the Rhapsody Op. 10 is the most celebrated work by the French-American harpist-composer and a staple of the international concert harp repertoire. A single-movement work of rhapsodic freedom and Impressionist colouring, it moves through contrasting sections — brooding, lyrical, and brilliantly virtuosic — exploiting the full timbral range of the pedal harp from hushed harmonics to powerful chordal climaxes. Grandjany, who later headed the harp faculty at the Juilliard School for over thirty years, wrote with intimate knowledge of the instrument's possibilities.
Editions
Durand
Marcel Grandjany, 1924
Original edition published in Paris; the composer's own text and the authoritative source for performance.
Carl Fischer
Editorial staff, 1956
American edition that brought the work to wide circulation in North American conservatoires; the most commonly encountered performing text.