Preluding on the harp in the late 18th and early 19th centuries

Abstract The practice of improvised or apparently improvised preludes has been widely documented over the centuries. Harpists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were widely expected to introduce pieces of music with improvised preludes. This article shows how harpists drew techniques from thoroughbass treatises and keyboard repertory. Harpists also created their own idiosyncratic features for preludes, using the idiomatic characteristics of their instrument (refined arpeggios, hand-crossings, harmonic sounds) while using the harp’s pedals to expand the harmonic and chromatic palette of the repertory. The article also shows how formulaic figuration and harmonic patterns were used as building blocks for improvised and composed preludes, and as elements in the education of harpists.