Using harp in impressionist music and analysis of Maurice Ravel "Introduction et Allegro"

The works composed by Impressionist composers for solo harp or harp chamber music constitute an important part of today's harp repertoire. The technical development the instrument went through in the 19th century, which resulted in defining the timbral characteristics, and the harmonic/melodic possibilities and the reflections of these possibilities on the playing technique attracted the attention of the trailblazing composers of this period. This paper primarily focuses on the development of the instrument mechanism of the harp, which provided new musical possibilities to the works of impressionist composers. In conjunction, this paper further examins the impact of the community of harp makers and performers around greater Paris and the Paris Conservatory on harp music. While discussing the impressionist composers who found inspiration from and composed music for the newly developed harp, the temporal and spatial boundaries of the impressionist movement and the characteristics of the common aesthetic language between the art disciplines of the period is examined. The paper concludes with the analysis Introduction et Allegro, composed by the quintessential French impressionist composer Maurice Ravel, which was commissioned after the mechanical development of the harp was completed. KEYWORDS: Harp, Double-Action Harp, Impressionist Music, Maurice Ravel, Introduction et Allegro