How did 18th and early 19th century developments of the single-action pedal harp affect playing technique

in France at the time?

Tracing the exact developments of the harp between the 18th and 19th centuries is a complex and
many-faceted enterprise. Despite being one of the oldest instruments, there is a relatively small range of
scholarship compared to other orchestral instruments, partly because of the role it played in society in the
18th and 19th centuries. I shall be focussing solely on the single action pedal harp, first introduced with 5
pedals in the 1720s and later with 7 (or 8) pedals around 1770 as these are the direct ancestors of the double
action pedal harp we know of today. Although the triple and cross-strung harps would also have been in use
at the time, these instruments died out rather quickly because of their impracticality. Generally considered as
"an inferior instrument that was merely a developmental step in the evolution of a more worthwhile … double-
action harp"1, I believe this should not be the case. Indeed, many of the techniques developed in the French
treatises on the single -action pedal harp are still relevant today, despite the development of the double-action
pedal harp in 1810 by Erard which essentially made single-action obsolete, as well as the evolution of musical
language and extended techniques. It is difficult however to discuss absolutes given the limited scholarship
and surviving examples of instruments of this period, and variations can be found from maker to maker which
further complicates matters. Nevertheless, the reputation of the harp today is still heavily influenced by the
late Classical and early Romantic developments, and a study of the performance practice of this elusive
instrument is of considerable interest to any modern harpist.

The role of the harp drastically changed in the 18th century. Whereas between 15th and 17th
centuries harps were predominantly diatonic,2 the advent of a pedal system enabled a smoother and more
efficient flow of the music and a broader range of repertoire. Yet the technological advances which began to
free it from its chromatic limitations chained it down to the role of a domestic decoration in the process.
Indeed, whereas previous models of the harp would have been light and easy to transport (see fig.1), the
fragility and weight of the pedal mechanism running from the base of the harp, through the column and in the
neck, made it significantly less portable. Furthermore, its burst in popularity among the French court (initiated
by Queen Marie Antoinette) sealed its fate as a lavishly decorated and ornamental piece in the eyes of many
(see fig.2). As suggested by Danielle Perret, this may be one of the reasons why academic writers may have

1
Mike Parker, A Child of Pure Harmony: A Source Book for the Single-action Harp (2005), 1.
2
Although many models did have hooks where one could manually alter a string up by a semitone, it would have been
cumbersome and impractical to change accidentals individually and a change of key mid-performance would not have
been possible. Developments such as the triple harp and the double harp were also used before and parallel to the
development of the pedal harp, but these were not as practical or commonly used.
avoided the instrument - "its very beauty has worked against it.”3 Its "sudden flowering"4 in popularity paired
with "little if any extant teaching tradition"5 led to a flourishing of ‘Methodes’ for the domestic amateur which
are truly the originators of much of what we consider harp technique today and provide a key insight into the
performance practice and musical interpretation of the time.6
Fig.1&2

Left - Jacob Hochbrucker’s Harp (held upright by strings), Donauworth, South Germany, 1728. 7 Right- Marie Antoinette’s
Harp, 1775.8

It is believed that the first pedal harps originated in Germany in the 1720s, and had a "relatively small sound
box, slim and shallow,"9 very similar to models of previous non-pedal harps. The range, number of pedals and
hook type seems to have varied from instrument to instrument, and even a mix of pedals linked to hooks and
manual hooks have been found on some harps.10 Illustrations and descriptions of positions at the harp by both
Bochsa and Desargus depict a man sitting further back in a seat than is recommended today, "the legs do not
stick out of the seat more than by an inch or two”11 which would also have a knock-on effect on the manner

3
Danielle Perret (June 2005) in Parker, Child of pure Harmony, 4.
N.B. The exact starting point of the pedal harp is unclear. The first documented performance on a single-action pedal
harp was supposedly at a 1749 ‘Concert Spirituel’ in Paris.
4
Parker, Child of pure Harmony, 16.
5
Ibid, 34.
6
N.B. Despite the changing developments in the single-action pedal harp, many of the Methods consulted for this essay
are more or less identical in their teachings and are generally reflective of the 18 th century approach to pedagogy. I
have therefore limited quotes to the more concise descriptions rather than offer a range of quoted sources.
7
http://mediatheque.cite-
musique.fr/masc/?INSTANCE=CITEMUSIQUE&URL=/mediacomposite/CMDM/CMDM000001600/harpe_musee_05.htm
8
http://thisisversaillesmadame.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/for-love-of-music.html
9
Parker, Child of pure Harmony, 18.
10
See Parker, Child of Pure Harmony for more information on the different types of mechanisms found.
11
“les jambes ne … debordent pas [du siege] de plus d'un pouce ou deux" in Nicholas Charles Bochsa, Nouvelle
méthode de harpe, Op.60 (1814), 25. N.B. All translations in this essay are by Mathilde Rouhi.
in which they used their feet with the pedals (see figs 3&4). It seems that harpists would have had to lift the
entire foot from the floor to move a pedal rather than today's more ergonomic solution, sitting further forward
on the chair and keeping the heels on the ground. Bochsa even suggests adding some sort of iron screw12 in
order to provide more stability to the tilted harp for the player to rest on when lifting both feet. Later in 1823,
Bochsa slightly revises the posture with the harp resting further on the shoulder and sitting a little more
forwards. However, as seen in fig.5 the proportions of the illustration are slightly misleading and confusing,
especially with regards to the legs. The player is also often depicted to have the neck at eye-level or even lower
as opposed to earlier harps where the higher register would have been behind the player’s head (see fig.6).13
This could be because of the changing role of the harp – no longer a continuo instrument like in the Baroque
or early Classical (see fig), the player could now reach the higher strings and play more virtuosically.
Fig. 3,4&5

Left – Illustration in Bochsa Nouvelle Methode 1814. This harp seems barely titled, although we may wonder
whether this is because of artistic misinterpretation. Middle – Desargus Nouvelle Methode 1804. Right –
Revised position at the harp in Bochsa, Standard Tutor for the Harp 1823.
Fig.6

Andrew Lawrence-King on the Italian Baroque triple harp.14

12
Bochsa, Nouvelle Methode, 25.
13
Excluding Irish and Celtic harps as well as other smaller variations which would have been played on laps.
14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRuCNLD5IA
The 18th century pedal layout is still intact to this day15 with the exception of an elusive 8th pedal which features
in many models of the single-action pedal harp between 1784-1835 (see fig. 7). This ‘swell pedal’, typical of
the Empfindsamkeit idea of sensibility was placed between the B and E pedals opened shutters in the back of
the soundboard which provided enhanced timbre and dynamic control (see figs 8 &9). Its reception was mixed
and perhaps not the most idiomatic feature of harp playing at the time: although harpists such as Krumpholtz
listed different symbols related to the swell pedal in his method, Bochsa dismissed its effects as “horrible” and
“pretend.”16
Fig.7

An Erard No.777 with and without shutters, 1803. 17

Fig.8

Krumpholtz on the use of the swell pedal.18

15
From Left to Right, D C B|E F G A.
16
Harpcolumn blog, https://www.harpcolumn.com/bi-weekly-harp-bits-1-when-7-pedals-just-arent-enough/erard-8th-
pedal-harp/
17
Idem.
18
“Here are the signs employed for the use of the shutters. The first is a gradual increase from its natural sound to its
enhanced sound …. < The second is to keep the shutters open …. [r] The third to gradually close them …. > The fourth is
to suddenly open then close …. V The fifth for ‘vibrato’ …. vvv” Jean Baptiste Krumpholtz, Principes pour la Harpe
(1800), 21.
Fig.9

Etude for swell pedal by Krumpholtz19

19
Ibid, 69.
Several developments were made around 1794 affecting the tone and general aesthetic of the harp. We can
see that the curve of the neck was intensified later to fit a larger range, growing from 34 to 41 strings. This
would again have increased the repertoire possibilities and virtuosic ability for the player. The 'Empire' design
(see fig.10), defined by its "conical capital, bent, laminate back and fourchette mechanism"20 enabled a thicker
string and higher tension in the strings21. This change in sound could be linked to developments in keyboard
instruments - by the end of the 18th century, the harpsichord was being replaced by the fortepiano - an
aesthetic shift paralleled in the harp with a (relatively) heavier, more prominent sound. No longer was the
French “taste for subtlety … elegance” and delicate instruments in the forefront of artistic values.22 Parker
goes as far as to suggest that the soberer 'Greek' style of the Empire and the less frivolous timbre could have
been a post-Revolution attempt to distance the harp from Marie Antoinette and "her personification of the
evils of the Ancien Régime."23 Regardless, there was a general shift towards the German concepts of the “re-
uniting of the tastes” “the true art of playing”24 and Empfindsamkeit which would have promoted a preference
for an instrument which could react more to the tensions and releases in music. Furthermore, in his Nouvelle
Méthode de Harpe Bochsa suggests that thicker strings "not only… offer a more beautiful sound but… are less
prone to breakage.”25
Fig. 10

The ‘Empire’ style Harp, Erat, 1808.26

20
Parker, Child of Pure Harmony, 10.
21
N.B. compared to modern harps, these period instruments are still much softer and lower in tension.
22
Andrew Lawrence King, “Single-Action Harp: Making Sensibility of the Methodes”
https://andrewlawrenceking.com/2013/09/19/single-action-harp-making-sensibility-of-the-methodes/
23
Parker, Child of Pure Harmony, 10. N.B. The French ‘Marie Antoinette’ style harp was nevertheless still popular and
coexisted with the Grecian Erard in the early 19th century.
24
Andrew Lawrence King, Ibid.
25
“non seulement … donnent un plus beau son mais … sont encore moins sujettes a casser" Bochsa, Nouvelle
Méthode, 10.
26
Parker, Child of Pure Harmony, 24.
The manner of tuning the strings seems to be universally accepted and did not consist of starting with an A
natural like most other instruments. Because of the single-action system, the harp was usually tuned in Eb
major,27 and "the A natural could only be reached by using the pedal, and we would risk therefore that the it
would not be so in tune, which would disturb the tuning of other notes.”28 The method used can be found in
books by harpists such as Bochsa and Krumpholtz which suggests this was a commonly accepted manner of
tuning (see fig.11). Interestingly, this technique still lives on today in spite of electric tuning devices, although
the player would start on a Cb.29
Fig.11

Krumpholtz’s method of tuning 30

As is still the case today, the majority of the strings were gut, with metal woven silk strings in the bass. Whether
the strings were lacquered does not seem to be specified in any original documents but Bochsa's
recommendation to brush the strings "with a duster covered in a fine oil”31 suggests they may not have been.
Lacquering strings, as it is done today, increases lifespan and stabilises tuning but "stiffens the string in relation
to its diameter, changing the pattern of harmonics produced.” This, as well as using less pressure to pluck
unlacquered strings, should be considered when comparing performance practice of an early 19th century
harp today.

Articulation and fingering seems to have been synonymous with phrasing – Cousineau suggests fingerings that
would naturally create the correct phrasing for the aesthetics of the time (see fig.12). This was based on the
17th century concepts of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ fingers but this was developed into a more complex and subtle
technique in the 18th century. Like today, four fingers were used to play the harp, except for Genlis who
occasionally used the 5th.32 The general approach to fingering was determined in these types of treatises
emphasizing ‘Sensibility’ and is mostly used today (see fig).33 Genlis believed that one should avoid
symmetrical and predictable dynamic phrasing, “the fortes and the piano must always be almost
unexpected.”34

27
As this offered the greatest availability of commonly used keys.
28
“On ne pourrait l'obtenir [the A] que par la pédale, et qu'on risquerait ainsi que le la naturel ne fut pas très juste ce
qui dérangerait l'accord de toutes les autres notes" Bochsa, Nouvelle Méthode, 20
29
As modern harps are tuned to Cb major.
30
Krumpholtz, Principes pour la Harpe, 5.
31
“avec un plumeau chargé d'huile fine” Bochsa, Nouvelle Méthode, 20
32
Genlis, Nouvelle Méthode pour Apprendre à Jouer de la Harpe en Moins de Six Mois de Leçons (1811), 60.
33
With the exception of the ascending 5-note shape where the modern player would probably play 32121.
34
Genlis, Nouvelle Méthode, 14.
Fig.

Fingerings described by Cousineau & others35

Fig.

Ornamented cadences with fingerings, Krumpholtz.36

None of the Méthodes describe what pitch the strings are tuned at, and this would most likely have affected
the tension of French harps. Sources recommend non-French strings to be used,37 yet academics believe they
would have tuned these strings to a much lower “French pitch”. Compared to Vienna and London pitch which
would have been A420, Beat Wolf claims 18th century French pitch would have been around A391.38
Furthermore, harps were not tuned to Equal Temperament, which Cousineau believed to be “too… harsh on

35
Lawrence-King, “Single-action Harp”.
36
Krumpholtz, Principes pour la Harpe, 26.
37
Both Cousineau and Bochsa claim the Neapolitan strings to be of the finest quality.
38
A tone below A440.
the ear” but instead would have followed the sixth-comma Meantone tuning for a “rounder, smoother
sound.”39

We can see a great frustration among some harpists at the limited repertoire offered for the harp and how it
was not pushing its boundaries. Bochsa and Genlis shed light on the fact that the harp has been "excluded" as
a vocal accompaniment in preference for the piano despite its expressive abilities.40 Bochsa argues that the
reason for this may be because of the lack of teaching and more interestingly, believes that "it is because of
the current state of imperfection in which the harp finds itself ... the mechanism significantly preventing the
ability to modulate.”41 It was also seen that the harp could not play the same level of harmonic complexity as
the piano - yet Bochsa claims that this is only because people had not attempted to push the repertoire of the
harp in a new direction. Most harpists still use Bochsa's etudes to learn the harp, as I have done in the past,
which is a testament of how early 19th century techniques are still in use today. Because of the limitations of
the single action pedal harp, Bochsa suggests harpists should learn the piano beforehand. Yet despite
considerable advancements since, this belief is still firmly held within the harp community.42 He claims this
should be done “in the meantime until more challenging pieces written especially for harp further multiply.”43
It therefore goes to say that several modern practices are in fact founded on reactions to deficiencies in harp
scholarship and repertoire for the student in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In conclusion, the development of the single-action pedal mechanism in France and the shifting
aesthetics of the late 18th century shaped harp performance practice in ways which are still relevant today.
Although ultimately an umbrella term for a plethora of variations on the instrument, whether it be the
mechanism, strings or body, the single-action pedal harp has acted as a springboard for the development of
the double-action pedal harp in more ways than one. The sparse literature preceding the upsurge of ‘Method’
books means that much of the 18th century harpists relied on these techniques which are for the most part
very similar across the board and correspond directly to the contemporary aesthetics on music and
performance. Yet in some way, there is a certain indeterminacy in the nature of the single-action pedal harp,
fostered within an environment of constant innovation towards a better and more versatile instrument, which
ultimately cannot be appreciated by today’s pedal harpists due to an increasingly fossilising instrumental and
musical culture.

39
Lawrence- King, ibid.
40
Bochsa, Nouvelle Méthode, 5.
41
“il résulte de l'état actuel d'imperfection ou la harpe se trouve encore … le mécanisme des pédales qui restreint
beaucoup la faculté de moduler." Ibid, 30.
42
Although I did not personally follow this suggestion when I started, I was strongly advised to do so and almost every
harpist I know of started by playing the piano.
43
Ibid, 31.
Bibliography:
- Alexandre Etienne Choron, Manuel complet de musique vocale et instrumentale ou encyclopédie musicale,
Volume 3, 1838.
- Andrew Lawrence King, “Single-Action Harp: Making Sensibility of the Methodes”
https://andrewlawrenceking.com/2013/09/19/single-action-harp-making-sensibility-of-the-methodes/
- Anonymous, “History of the Harp”
https://www.harp.com/history-of-the-harp/
- Beat Wolf, “The Louis XVI – Harp”, Harpspectrum, 2009.
http://www.harpspectrum.org/historical/wolf_long_updated.shtml
- Gustave Krumpholst, Principes pour la Harpe, 1809.
http://hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/3/3a/IMSLP453284-PMLP736897-Krumpholz-
Principes_pour_la_harpe.pdf
- Hannah Lane, https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/librarycollections/2017/03/22/a-lost-eighteenth-century-harp-
method-rediscovered-michel-correttes-nouvelle-methode-pour-apprendre-a-jouer-de-la-harpe-1774-a-new-
acquisition-for-rare-music/
- Mike Parker, “The 8th pedal- Factor Fiction?”, 2008
http://www.harpspectrum.org/historical/the_eighth_pedal.shtml
- Mike Parker, A Child of Pure Harmony: A sourcebook for the single-action harp, 2005.
- Nicholas Charles Bochsa, Methode de Harpe, Op.60, 1814.
https://imslp.nl/imglnks/usimg/6/68/IMSLP464729-PMLP219063-bochsa-M%C3%A9thode_de_harpe-
op._60.pdf
- Stephanie Félicité de Genlis, Nouvelle Methode pour apprendre a jouer de la Harpe en moins de Siz Mois de
Lecons, 1811.
https://ia800502.us.archive.org/14/items/nouvellemethodep00genl/nouvellemethodep00genl_bw.pdf
- Xavier DesArgus, Traité général sur l'Art de Jouer de la Harpe, (1768-1832?)
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k11633001/f9.item.zoom
- http://beatwolf.ch/HarpKnowledge/Worthtoknow/tabid/826/language/en-US/Default.aspx
- http://beatwolf.ch/Portals/14/pdf/Timeline_pedalharps_2012.pdf?ver=2014-09-12-140457-193
- https://www.harpcolumn.com/bi-weekly-harp-bits-1-when-7-pedals-just-arent-enough/erard-8th-pedal-harp/
- http://www.harping.co.uk/harpart/giroust.htm
- http://mediatheque.cite-
musique.fr/masc/?INSTANCE=CITEMUSIQUE&URL=/mediacomposite/CMDM/CMDM000001600/harpe_musee
_05.htm
- https://www.theharpconsort.com/study-early-harps
- http://thisisversaillesmadame.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/for-love-of-music.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRuCNLD5IA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSg-ihnMIBQ
For reference only: An estimated timeline of the developments of the single action pedal harp by Beat Wolf.
This is to illustrate the highly complex and overlapping nature of the pedal harp innovations between 1700
and 1820.