10 best pieces ever written for the harp

17 September 2024, 14:31

Harpist Catrin Finch and Debussy. Picture: Getty

By Arwen Withey-Harrison & Kyle Macdonald

Beautiful to look at and incredible in sound – here the greatest pieces written for the harp in classical music history.

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With its gentle plucking, evocative timbre and dramatic glissandi, the harp has been a favourite of composers for centuries. While we might often see it at the side of the orchestra, these are 10 times when the harp has taken centre stage.

Mozart – Concerto for Flute and Harp

Despite rumours of his indifference towards both of these instruments, Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp is one of his most vibrant and playful works. Rich melodies interweave seamlessly and allow each instrument to shine. The middle movement is graceful and flowing with a song-like quality, contrasting with the faster, more energetic outer movements.
This was one of only two double concertos the composer wrote. They might not have been his favourites, but Mozart certainly knew how to capture the charm of a now iconic duo.
Read more: The 15 greatest pieces of classical music by Mozart

Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp – performed live by the LMP with Emma Halnan and Anne Denholm
Handel – Harp Concerto

Harps are one of the most ancient instruments. Depictions of them have been recorded in Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt, and can be traced back over 5,000 years. It was a go-to instrument in medieval times, and is often associated with the saints and the heavenly.
Maybe it was some of this rich history that helped inspire Handel in this sprightly concerto. The composer certainly gave a quiet nod to the saintly quality of the instrument in his programming decisions – it was first performed in February 1736, during a big concert given by Handel in celebration of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music.
Read more: 10 of Handel’s best pieces of music

Handel: Harp Concerto in B flat major / Langlamet · Berliner Philharmoniker
Maurice Ravel – Introduction and Allegro

The sound of the modern harp probably immediately conjures the composers of the French Impressionist movement. Ravel used the harp extensively in many of his works, creating scenes that ranged from the dream-like to the exotic.
His Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet is a piece of chamber music. It’s a short piece, that’s often described as a miniature harp concerto. It was commissioned in 1905 by the harp manufacturer Érard, who wanted to show off the sound capability of their modern instruments. And given the abiding status of this stylish showcase, it was money very well spent.

Introduction and Allegro / Maurice Ravel / Birgitte Volan Håvik / Oslo Philharmonic
Debussy – Dances for Harp and String Orchestra

At the turn of the century, French harp makers Pleyel had invented a new instrument – the chromatic harp. It had no pedals but an additional set of strings, slanting across the others, meaning harpists could now pluck any note in the chromatic scale. This work was written for the new instrument.
The work is two dances – a gentle, scared dance is followed by a ravishing profane one. Both are rich in Debussy’s evocative harmony as he no doubt sought to make use of all the new notes open to the player.

Danse sacrée et danse profane / Claude Debussy / Birgitte Volan Håvik / Klaus Mäkelä / Oslo Phil.
Fauré – Impromptu

Surely most harpists if they could time travel would want to walk the streets and visit the salons of Paris in the early 20th century – it really does seem a golden age of harp music.
Fauré’s Impromptu was written in 1904 and is a piece now beloved by harpists the world over. With ravishing harmonies, sublime melody and a deep sense of mystery, this is a work that uses all the elements of a solo harp to create a sound world like no other.

Fauré | "Impromptu Op. 86" par Anaïs Gaudemard
Henriette Renié – Légende

Based on the poem Les Elfes, which tells the story of a man searching for his lover while tormented by goblins, Renié’s ‘Légende’ is a virtuosic, heart-wrenching musical composition, depicting the wide range of emotions and ominous drama vividly.
French composer Henriette Renié is an important figure in harp history, writing her Méthode compléte de harpe during the Second World War, and going on to teach some of the most prolific harpists of the 20th century.

Henriette Renié : Légende
Hindemith – Sonata for Harp

German composer Paul Hindemith’s offering is another abiding favourite among harpists. Like most Hindemith, this 1939 work is Classical in structure, but richly Romantic in mood.
The final movement is entitled ‘lied’ or ‘song’. It sets a poem which tells of a harp hung in a church upon the poet's death. It ends with the haunting and evocative line: “Often, at dusk, the strings resound softly, all by themselves, like the humming of bees.”

Hindemith, Harp Sonata, 1939
Alberto Ginastera – Harp Concerto

A concerto that pushes the boundaries of any harpist’s playing capabilities, Ginastera’s punchy Concerto for Harp is exciting, percussive, and complex.
Displaying folk rhythms inspired by his native Argentina, this fiery three-movement work challenges the typical assumptions one might make about the harp. Though the middle movement allows both orchestra and soloist room for sensitivity, the final movement is a ferocious battle, sure to leave any harpist’s fingers burning.

A. Ginastera — Harp Concerto Op. 25 / Xavier de Maistre, Jurek Dybał, Sinfonietta Cracovia
Benjamin Britten – Interlude from Ceremony of Carols

A moment of calm amongst the jubilant remainder of Britten’s yule-tide classic ‘Ceremony of Carols’, this Interlude for solo harp exhibits the instrument’s beautiful bell-like harmonics.
The movement begins slowly with a single line, allowing each note to ring, before building to dramatic thick chords. Sure to give any listener goosebumps, Britten’s writing is highly evocative, lending a melancholic edge to this Christmassy work. He writes very well for the instrument despite not playing it himself!

A Ceremony of Carols (Britten)
Caroline Lizotte – Suite Galactique

Though maybe lesser-known outside the harp community, French-Canadian Caroline Lizotte is one of the leading harpist-composers working today.
Lizotte has contributed a large catalogue of works to the harp repertoire, including the thrilling ‘Suite Galactique’, composed in 2000. The work explores astronomical themes, such as the space between Earth’s gravitational pull and the outer universe, showcasing a variety of extended techniques unique to the harp, such as playing the pins and bridge, bending the strings, and placing paper between them. A work both intimate, lofty, whimsical, Lizotte spotlights the diverse sonic capabilities of the instrument, whilst making a lot of fun for the performer too.

Suite Galactique, Op. 39 by Caroline Lizotte performed by Jenna Hunt