Pedal or Lever Harp

A Dozen Dowland Songs & Ayres for voice and harp by Verlene Schermer PDF and mp3 Downloads

Item #p7305
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$20.00

For lever or pedal harp.

This PDF contains twelve of the most lever-harp-friendly pieces from the three books of John Dowland's Songs & Ayres from the years 1597 to 1603. These Renaissance songs were originally transcribed for voice and lute. Verlene Schermer's harp arrangements, which are intermediate to advanced level with several lever changes in most of the pieces, were transcribed from the original lute tablature. She has also added introductions, interludes and endings that incorporate the melody and accompaniment on solo harp. Words to all verses are given so that the melodies can be sung by the harpist or another singer, or they can also be played on a melody instrument. The melodies fit well on flute, violin or recorder, but could also be played by a second fully levered harp.

The keys range from 1 flat through 2 sharps. Most pieces require lever changes, which are written in the music. There are no fingerings.

Here's how Verlene describes the vocal ranges of the songs.
I have lowered the keys for many of the songs so that a singer with a more moderate range of voice can easily sing the melodies. The highest singing note on a few of the songs is E, which should be within the range of mezzo-sopranos and even some altos, or baritones (one octave lower than written). The low notes never go below middle C, which is within range for sopranos and tenors (one octave lower).

Although these arrangements are designed for lever harps, they work great on pedal harp, too. Lever changes are included, but no pedal changes.

This download includes the 39-page PDF and a zipped file of twelve mp3s of Verlene singing and playing the pieces on a lever harp.

This product is a PDF file, to be downloaded to your computer. We do not sell it as regular printed music. It is only available here in this PDF download format.

Click on the blue titles below to see a sample of the first few lines of music.

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