What do you think of when you think of harp music? Tinkling arpeggios? Beautiful melodies? Luscious glissandos? Does it maybe sound a little like this? (Start at 3:35.)
Many of the most skilled performers and teachers in mid-19th-century France taught and learned at the Paris Conservatoire. Henriette Renie studied at the Paris Conservatoire with her teacher, Alphonse Hasselmans. Alphonse Hasselmans studied at the Conservatoire with his teacher, Ange-Conrad Prumier (Oxford Music Online: “Hasselmans: (2) Alphonse Hasselmans; must be logged into Oxford Music Online through the HBLL website to view). Through this pedagogical genealogy, harp teaching and learning was passed from teacher to student, teacher to student.
This pedagogical line extends into the present. I am the product of this very line of pedagogical genealogy. Renie’s most famous student, and the one to whom she entrusted the continuation of her famous method, was Susann McDonald, and Susann McDonald was my harp professor at Indiana University.
Miss McDonald helped me play pieces that Renie composed. By following her advice, I played Renie’s pieces (including “Contemplation”!) exactly the way Renie herself taught Miss McDonald to play them. In this way, folk knowledge of playing “Contemplation” has passed through several pedagogical generations: from Henriette Renie, through Miss Susann McDonald, and on to me, Holland Hettinger Denny. Ask for my autograph--you’ll need it later ;).
This pedagogical line extends into the present. I am the product of this very line of pedagogical genealogy. Renie’s most famous student, and the one to whom she entrusted the continuation of her famous method, was Susann McDonald, and Susann McDonald was my harp professor at Indiana University.
Miss McDonald helped me play pieces that Renie composed. By following her advice, I played Renie’s pieces (including “Contemplation”!) exactly the way Renie herself taught Miss McDonald to play them. In this way, folk knowledge of playing “Contemplation” has passed through several pedagogical generations: from Henriette Renie, through Miss Susann McDonald, and on to me, Holland Hettinger Denny. Ask for my autograph--you’ll need it later ;).
How many teachers have you had over the years and what do you consider the most valuable knowledge you have gained?
ReplyDeleteI've had five teachers since I started 10 years ago. The most valuable thing I've learned is to DO WHAT THE MUSIC SAYS. It sounds easier than it is, but it's not, and I think it's about 50% of the battle.
ReplyDeleteHow long did you study at Indiana University?
ReplyDeleteThat's neat to belong to that type of a musical genealogy. I imagine that Renie had a distinct method to her instrumentation. Having both the music of Renie as well as how she instructed it to be played, do they match well, or are there parts left out of the score?
ReplyDelete@Samuel: two years. It was SO awesome. I loved so much about it.
ReplyDelete@Blaine: Renie's "method" is one of harp-playing. Her music is just like anyone else's, but it's fantastically idiomatic (appropriate to the harp) and deeply emotional (a lot of other composers' music is, too, of course). I don't think her scores give you more or less information that other people's scores. They are more detailed, yes, but she's French and it's all about color and there just needs to be a little more detail to convey that. Many of the things I learned from Miss McDonald I wouldn't have gotten out of the score myself, and I imagine others aren't able to, either. No one else on earth (I think Miss McDonald is one of Renie's last students) says, "Madmoiselle Renie said..." you know?