Waking Early Stephen Dunstone

Waking Early Intermediate Harp Duet with optional easy 3rd part for pedal or lever harps Please click the "About this work & Performance Notes" heading below for further details This book is supplied as a score and set of 5 parts   Buy this music now £9.50 +p&p

Artist Profile and catalogue of works - Stephen Dunstone

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As with many of my compositions, Waking Early started life as a short, fast, fun piece to develop my pupils’ finger technique. Back then it was just a solo (which you’ll find embedded in this duet as the Harp 2 part from bar 32), but pretty soon it had acquired a second harp part with a more melodic line, and finally the whole dreamy, stretchy, earlymorning waking-up section that this duet now starts with. (The original shorter piece still appears as a solo in Harpo Not Quite Beginners).

When I was first working on it with pupils, I wanted to include some less experienced players in the performance, so I wrote a simpler third part that joined in after the dreamy introduction. When I then published it (in the Pink edition), I created two distinct versions: a duet and a 3-part ensemble. Since the Harp 1 and 2 parts of the 3-part version are identical to the duet, it seemed to make more sense when creating this new Creighton’s Collection edition just to have a single publication that would cater for everyone - a duet with an optional easy 3rd part.

The music in this edition is exactly the same as in the original Pink editions, except that it’s Harp 1 that now starts the alternating descending arpeggios at bar 16: it just seemed easier to achieve a dramatic subito pp if there was a change in player(s) at that point. However, that shouldn't pose problems for any larger groups where some players have the Pink edition and others have this Creighton's Collection edition, so long as they’re aware of the switch!

For anyone interested in harmony it’s worth pointing out that while a huge amount of music through the centuries has been (and still is) built around copious use of tonic and dominant chords (there’s even a lovely piece by Schubert that uses nothing but tonic and dominant harmony throughout), Waking Early only has one tonic chord (an E flat major 7), and that is at the very end of the piece. It also has no dominant chords whatsoever. In fact if you try to include one anywhere it sounds strangely crass and out of place. Instead, the music is made up entirely from the repeated use of F minor 7, G minor 7, A flat major 7, and, later, C minor 7, until it eventually comes to rest on that E flat major 7.

Title:	Waking Early
Composer:	Stephen Dunstone
Instrumentation:	2 Lever or Pedal Harps (or 3)
Level:	Intermediate with optional easy 3rd part
Format:	A4 stapled score and set of 3 A4 parts
Weight:	106 gm
ISMN:	979-0-57046-458-6
Our Ref:	SD1039
Publisher:	Creighton's Collection
Printer/Distributor:	Creighton's Collection
Edition/Year:	2005
Origin:	UK