Sheet music: Transcriptions for solo pedal harp
Because I’ve needed many hours of repertoire for gigs, I’ve transcribed many pieces from the piano, orchestral, and opera repertoire. I’ve chosen pop classics that get requested often, and that people hum along to, even if they may not know the names of the tunes. These have served me well over the years, and now that I’m becoming a veterinarian and retiring from gigs, I’d like to pass them on to other harpists (and help a little with vet school expenses).
These transcriptions are excellent for background music gigs, though most would also be very good for advanced student recitals and concert encores. They vary from intermediate to advanced. Some have quite a few pedal changes, though I’ve minimized them as much as possible. (Some of these pieces hadn’t been transcribed for harp before because there were many pedal changes. In other respects they fit the harp beautifully, so I’ve just gone ahead.) I’ve arranged the page setups for the fewest and easiest page turns for harpists.
Clicking on the link in each title will lead you to the pdf file. The Adobe pdf reader is the best, and avoids errors. If you don’t already have it, you can download it for free here:
We go by the honor system. After looking at a transcription, if you’d like to print it out, please fill out the Paypal form for $5 a piece. (Also, please let me know if you live in Colorado so that I can pay the $0.15 (2.9%) sales tax). If you are a starving student or on a really tight budget, just email me and print out a piece for free.
“Aquarium” from Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium3pages.pdf (fun, eery, quite a few pedals, intermediate to advanced, quite a few pedals, about 2-3 minutes when played at speed)
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony’s main them (aka “Ode to Joy”): Beethoven9ththreepp.pdf with this transcription based on Franz Liszt’s piano solo fantasy for a little more interest (intermediate to advanced, about 3 minutes when played fast, at Beethoven’s original tempo)
Themes from the three movements of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto, #5, the “Emperor”: BeethovenEmperor1eightpp.pdf,
(Normally I wouldn’t take such liberties with a whole concerto, but this one is packed with fabulous melodies, and surprisingly harpistic. Advanced, about 3 minutes each)
“Bist Du Bei Mir”: BistDuBeiMir2pages.pdf (a lovely piece by one of Bach’s contemporaries. Intermediate on the easy side, about 3 minutes)
Borodin’s Nocturne from String Quartet #2: BorodinNocturne6pp.pdf (the source of the melody in “And This Is My Beloved,” intermediate on the difficult side, 4-5 minutes)
Brahms’s Hungarian Rhapsodies 1, 4, and 5:
(A lot of fun, flashy, not too difficult. Intermediate, about 3 minutes each)
”Caro Nome” from Verdi’s Rigoletto: CaroNome6pp.pdf (the heroine’s lovely aria, intermediate to advanced, 4-5 minutes)
“Celeste Aïda” from Verdi’s Aïda: CelesteAida2pp.pdf (intermediate, about 2 minutes)
“Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from Gluck’s Orfeo: DanceGluck3pages.pdf (often played with flute and harp, intermediate, about 3 minutes)
“Dance of the Hours” from Ponchielli’s La Gioconda:DanceofHours4pp.pdf (yes, this is the hippo ballet from Fantasia, also the basis for “Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder.” Sort of graceful and goofy at the same time, so fun to play. Intermediate, about 3 minutes)
Theme from Finlandia, Jean Sibelius: Finlandia2pages.pdf (would be good for church services, too. Intermediate on the easy side, 2-3 minutes)
“Funiculi, Funicula,” Luigi Denza: Funiculi4pp.pdf (a real crowd-pleaser, and my mother’s favorite. Intermediate on the easy side, about 3 minutes)
“Habañera” from Bizet’s Carmen: Habanera4pp.pdf (the sexy song, intermediate, about 3 minutes)
“Il Dolce Suono,” the famous virtuosa Mad Scene from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor: IlDolceSuono10pp.pdf (Bel canto harp! The first melody, in the first two pages here, is the haunting aria of the Blue Alien Diva in the film “The Fifth Element.” The whole thing is about 8 minutes, but worth it)
“The Jewel Song” from Gounod’s Faust: FaustJewelSong6pp.pdf (the gorgeous coloratura aria, notoriously difficult to sing, easier on the harp, so I’d describe it as intermediate to advanced, about 4 minutes)
“Largo al Factotum,” from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (the “Figaro” song): LargoalFactotum7pp.pdf (another crowd-pleaser, many campy glissandos and such. Intermediate on the advanced side, about 3-4 minutes)
Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody #1: Liszt1stHungarianRhap15pp.pdf (the Big Virtuouso Piece, for harpists who want a real challenge. I worked it up only because it’s one of my favorite all-time pieces of music on the piano or for orchestra. It fits surprisingly beautifully on the harp, but it is definitely advanced. I’d love to see other harpists playing around with it, and if anyone wants to modify the arrangement, that’s fine with me, so let me know if you’d like me to email the Sibelius file to you. Maybe with enough input we can get a piece that becomes part of the standard harp repertoire. About 10 minutes.)
Lohengrin Prelude, Wagner: Lohengrin4pp.pdf (tricky due to pedal changes and different voices -- hey, it’s Wagner! But fairly close to the shimmery original. Advanced, 3-4 minutes)
Love Duet from Madama Butterfly, Puccini: MmeButterflyduet6pp.pdf (Not as well known as some of the other Madama Butterfly music, but lush and very harpistic. Intermediate, about 5 minutes)
“Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot: NessunDorma2pages.pdf (the archetypal opera aria, nice and short and exotic. Intermediate on the easy side, 2-3 minutes)
“O Patria Mia” from Verdi’s Aïda: OPatriaMiaAida3pp.pdf (Aïda’s beautiful lament for her homeland, one of the most lovely bits of music anywhere. Intermediate to advanced, 3-4 minutes)
Theme from Parsifal, Wagner: Parsifal4pp.pdf (the main theme from the opera, good for church services, not many pedals and relatively easy though it’s Wagner. Intermediate, many arpeggios, 2-3 minutes)
Duet from Bizet’s The Pearlfishers: PearlFishersDuet4pp.pdf (very pretty, lots of arpeggios, intermediate to advanced, 3-4 minutes)
Pizzicati from Delibes’s Sylvia: Pizzicati2pages.pdf (short, fast, fun -- the Marx brothers clowned around with this, racing each other to the end. Intermediate, 2-3 minutes)
The Poet and Peasant Overture, von Suppé: Poet&Peasant8pp.pdf (some of the best melodies ever. Intermediate, 4-5 minutes)
“Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” Debussy: PreludeAftnFaun12pp.pdf (another Big Piece. In some respects, with tone quality and such, it fits the harp just perfectly, so that it’s almost a tragedy that Debussy didn’t write it originally for harp solo, or, say, harp and flute duet. In other respects, e.g. those darn pedal changes, it’s a real nuisance that harpists have understandably avoided. As with the Liszt piece, I’d love to have other harpists playing around with it, and will be happy to email the Sibelius file to anyone who’d like to take my version as a rough draft. Advanced on the advanced side, about 8 minutes)
The Queen of the Night’s Vengeance Aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute: QueenofNight4pp.pdf (the famous aria written to torment sopranos with, but which fits very comfortably on the harp. Great for Halloween. Intermediate, 3-4 minutes)
“Recuerdos de la Alhambra,” Tarrega: RecuerdosAlhambra4pp.pdf (lovely meditative piece, originally for guitar, intermediate on the easy side, about 3 minutes)
“Slavonic Dance,” Dvorák: SlavonicDance2pages.pdf (fast, fun rhythms, a good short contrast to your more lyrical pieces. Intermediate to advanced, 2-3 minutes)
Theme from Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony: StSaensOrganSymph4pp.pdf (also used as the theme from the children’s film Babe. Intermediate to advanced, 2-3 minutes, many arpeggios)
Three from Swan Lake:
The waltz: SwanLakeWaltz4pp.pdf,
The main theme: SwanLakeTheme4pp.pdf,
The Pas de Deux: SwanLakePasdeDeux2pp.pdf (this is the melody that follows the harp cadenza, and it can be combined with any standard version of the cadenza. All three are intermediate to advanced, about 3-4 minutes each)
Tannhauser Prelude, Wagner: Tannhauser4pp.pdf (Also the theme for the “Pilgrims’ Chorus” in Tannhauser. Who ever said that Wagner couldn’t write a hummable melody? Advanced, about 3 minutes)
“Toreador” from Bizet’s Carmen: ToreadorfromCarmen3pages.pdf (advanced, with tricky fingerings, but people love it. 2-3 minutes)
Triumphal March from Verdi’s Aïda: TriumphalMarchAida4pp.pdf (another tricky advanced piece leading to that great melody that everyone knows, 4-5 minutes)
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” brief theme and variations based on Mozart’s variations:
TwinkleTwinkle2pp.pdf (keeps the kids happy. Intermediate on the easy side, 2-3 minutes)
“Under the Double Eagle/The Stars and Stripes Forever”: UnderDoubleEagle7pp.pdf (a silly, jaunty melding of these two infectiously cheerful marches, tricky but not all that advanced, 3-4 minutes)
“Where’er You Walk” from Handel’s Semele: Whereer2pages.pdf (nice, solid, pretty Handel aria, intermediate on the easy side, about 3 minutes)
Theme from Rossini’s William Tell Overture: WilliamTellOverture3pp.pdf (a popular request, campy, and it actually works! There’s a touch of the 1812 Overture snuck in, for fun. Good for anything except a wedding march. Intermediate to advanced, about 3 minutes.)
