Arpa

As Printed on a Score

Labels the harp staff — Arpa, Arpe for two or more, Arp. later — written on a grand staff like a piano. Pedal settings are printed below the staff as note names or a pedal diagram, and gliss. with a line marks a sweep. Arp. also abbreviates arpeggio, so check whether it heads a staff or sits over a chord.

Abbreviations: Arp.

Also spelled: Arpe

How Composers Use It

The pedal harp is tuned diatonically: seven pedals set each note name to flat, natural or sharp in every octave at once, so chromatic lines and quick modulations need planning, while enharmonic pairs such as C-sharp and D-flat let one pitch sound on two strings. It plays at written pitch and is strongest in arpeggios, chords, harmonics and glissandi. Its notes fade quickly, so it colours and punctuates more than it sustains; thin the orchestra around it, or it will be covered.

Example

Liszt, Transcendental Étude No. 11 (“Harmonies du soir”), S. 139, piano, m. 59: “accompagnamento quasi Arpa.” — the pianist is asked to make the accompaniment sound like a harp, in the same bar as “Più lento con intimo sentimento.”

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